Perhaps because of the rumoured gubernatorial ambition of the former Deputy President of the Senate, Ike Ekweremadu who hails from Enugu West Senatorial zone, there has been heightened political horse-trading and allied activities on the Enugu political scene, lately.
The entire hullabaloo is centred on an alleged unwritten zoning arrangement of the production of state chief executives amongst the various zones.
However, some stakeholders insist such doesn’t exist pointing out that it has been an all-comers affair starting with the duo of Sent Jim Nwobodo and Chief CC Onoh in the old Anambra State, and later Sen Chimaroke Nnamani of Enugu State all hailed from the East senatorial district.
Meanwhile, Enugu West which has two subethnic blocs; Greater Awgu with three LGAs, and Agbaja with two LGAs have had just a slot through Barr Sullivan Chime who is from the Agbaja bloc.
Enugu North with a homogenous population that even spreads to Enugu East, have done it earlier through Dr Okwesilieze Nwodo in old Enugu state and are having a second turn through incumbent Gov Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi who is in the mid of his second tenure.
But then a school of thought insist that since it appears to have gone round all the zones, that Enugu East should begin the new rotational exercise.
In the light of these, the people of Enugu East Senatorial Zone of Enugu State, better known as Nkanu, Thursday, sounded a note of warning against any plan to truncate the zoning arrangement with regards to the governor’s hip position in the State.
They made the declaration at a mega rally held at the Michael Okpara Square in Enugu, the State capital, under the auspices of Oganiru Enugu East Senatorial district.
Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State was the Chief guest of honour at the rally.
Speaking on the occasion, Gov Ugwuanyi, said he was delighted to be in the midst of the people of Enugu East, adding that he appreciated their support in the 2019 election and had longed to express his gratitude to them but was prevented by the duo extenuating circumstances of Covid19 and Endsars.
Expressing his profound gratitude to them, he assured them that their support would never be taken for granted.
Ugwuanyi said he had listened to their speeches and assured them that as the 2019 election ended in praise, 2023 shall also end in praise.
He also assured them that the special grace of God who made it possible for him to elected and reelected coupled with dialogue, equity and justice that it would end in praise as it did for him in 2019.
The Okpara Square event had in attendance people from various political and religious divides, traditional rulers, among others.
First to speak was the convener of the rally and Speaker of the Eau State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Edward Ubosi, who warned that “we have the blood of a butcher in us, we can do and undo.”
He told Governor Ugwuanyi that his predecessors all anointed their successors, stressing “Your Excellency, your own will not be different.”
“In 1999, our father, Distinguished Senator Jim Ifeanyichukwu Nwonodo anointed Senator Chimaroke Nnamani to be the Governor of Enugu State. Chimaroke later anointed Sullivan Chime to be the Governor and after his tenure, he anointed you to be the Governor of Enugu State.*
“Your Excellency, your own is not going to be different, we are waiting for you to anoint the next Governor of Enugu State from Nkanuland, which comprises six local government areas. Any soul you pick, we will give you and the person all the needed support.”
The Speaker went ahead to hit at those he said have been going around with the notion that Nkanu people were butchers.
He stressed that they were indeed proud to be butchers, adding “I agree we are butchers. If not for the insecurity in this country we were supposed to come here with our matchets. ….How can you call us butchers? A zone that produced the first governor of the old Anambra State, you are calling us butchers.”
Ubosi listed other principal leadership Eau that the people from the zone had occupied and warned against any further denigration of the people.
“How can a reasonable person be calling us butchers? An Nkanu man can have anything, with that blood of a butcher in him he can do undo. I want to call on other zones not to undermine us.”
Meanwhile, Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in Enugu State, Dr. Ben Nwoye told the gathering that the party has already zoned its governorship ticket to the Enugu East Senatorial Zone.
Nwoye, who lauded Governor Ugwuanyi for the existing peace in the State said the zoning arrangement should not be destroyed.
The APC Chairman told Gov. Ugwuanyi that “the fact that you are here means you are with us, the fact that you are here means that you have agreed to bring the anointed one from Nkanuland come 2023.”
“APC has already zoned its governorship ticket to Enugu East,” he said amid applause, adding “we are here to tell the PDP to also zone the position to Enugu East.”
On his part, however, Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in Enugu State, Hon. Augustine Nnamani said his party was yet to cede the position to any of the three Senatorial zones.
Hon. Prince Offor Chukwuegbo, representing Enugu-North/South Federal constituency, who spoke on behalf of members of the National Assembly. lauded Governor Ugwuanyi for identifying with them and for the prevailing peace in the State.
He said the essence of the event was to solicit support for the emergence of a Governor of Enugu East extraction in 2023.