OKIGWE SOUTH 2019:
BETWEEN THE CONTENDERS AND THE PRETENDERS
How Emeka Nwajiuba undermines Buhari, daily, while pretending to fight Chike Okafor.
Following the lifting of bans on campaigns, by INEC, in lieu of the 2019 general elections, preparations are on top gear by interested participants to throw kick start their electioneering campaigns. Some are going to campaign on issues, and on their achievements as leaders, in the various capacities they have found themselves, at any point in time.
For the member representing Ehime-Mbano, Ihitte-Uboma and Obowo federal constituency in the House of Reps, Hon. Deacon Chike Okafor, his campaign has been made easy both by his high impact representation, and by opponents and supposed detractors who only end up making him even more popular by making him the subject of their campaigns.
One of such persons, is Hon. Emeka Nwajiuba, who even in his initial declaration message to his supporters has started campaigning for his younger brother, Hon. Chike Okafor.
Let’s have a quick look at how both candidates have fared, and in doing that, expose the contender and the pretender to the Okigwe South House of Reps seat, in the Green Chambers, come 2019.
Hon. Chike Okafor flew the APC party flag in 2015, at a time when it was unattractive and almost a taboo to do so, and he won his elections in a landslide victory. Meanwhile, Hon. Emeka Nwajiuba was already an APC stalwart, but NEVER came home to help/support the party, not even for the election of his political father President Buhari . Records are there to show how Buhari fared, during the elections, in Nwajiuba’s booth in Ihite Nsu ward, and even our Ehime Mbano LGA.
Not many people know that after Chike Okafor won the 2015 election to the Green Chambers, Emeka Nwajiuba came to him with a very childish plea that he should cede the position to him because Buhari has promised to make him Speaker or Deputy Speaker of the House of Reps, but Hon. Okafor refused to trade the mandate given to him by the people of Okigwe south. Nwajiuba went on to fight and malign Chike Okafor for the past 3 years plus, but Chike Okafor remained focus. As a 1st term member, Chike Okafor got a Chairmanship position in a House committee, the only 1st term member holding Chairmanship seat in this 8th Assembly!
Nwajiuba had threatened, and promised his few fans in Okigwe South that the APC ticket of the federal constituency MUST be given to him, because President Buhari had promised him that, and that the National Chairman of APC, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole had assured him also. So why did he eventually not get the ticket even when the party was taking tickets away from serving Legislators (e.g Shehu Sani, among others)? Why did he not take the ticket away from Chike Okafor with his so called closeness to Oshiomhole and Buhari?
Why did he have to kneel before Chike Okafor, begging him to relinquish the ticket to him in the presence of some members of Buhari’s kitchen cabinet, as witnessed by an Imo North Senatorial District hopeful, Prof. Nnamdi Obiaraeri and Frank Ibezim, from Nsu, Ehime-Mbano , but Chike Okafor told him, like he did in 2014, that he will not trade the ticket on sentiments. That meeting wouldn’t have been necessary, had he met with the Imo state Governor, Owelle Rochas Okorocha, who had severally called for a meeting, even when they accompanied President Buhari to China. Yet, he went ahead, during his declaration, in Accord party, to falsely and childishly blame his inability to secure the APC ticket on the inability to see the Governor.
The legendary desperation of Nwajiuba to lay hands on the APC ticket, at all costs, was so obvious, even to President Buhari’s ministers and three other kitchen cabinet members who were present at this meeting and this made them to urge Nwajiuba to graciously hold on to his job at TETFUND, and throw his weight behind his younger brother , Hon. Chike Okafor, who had not only warmed his way into the hearts of Buhari’s men, but also impressively handled the National Health Insurance scheme (NHIS) face off with the health minister, as well as moved several human angle motions, including a motion condemning the killing of a young female aid worker, from the North, Hauwa Mohammed Liman, by the dreaded Boko Haram sect.
Nwajiuba’s claim that he needed the APC ticket to return to the Green Chambers he left 20 years ago, so he can as a ranking member , become Speaker or Deputy Speaker is a huge fallacy. In truth, no one person that was in that house of Reps in 1999 with Nwajiuba is still there now, and none is likely returning by 2019, an evidence that Nwajiuba’s mates have grown, while he may be stuck to a fabled speakership seat. Else, out of the 360 House members that will sit from June, 2019, who will know Nwajiuba to elect him speaker ? And how would he win election as speaker or deputy speaker among people who knew him not? The truth is that he will be going there more like a first term member, unlike Chike Okafor who as 1st term member has become very popular in and outside the house. Statistics show that not less than 200 members of the 360 members of the current house will return, and with the Speaker or Deputy Speaker zoned to the South East, the very popular and loved Chike Okafor will easily be preferred to Emeka Nwajiuba who is an outsider from the current house.
Certainly, this is the key consideration the members of Buhari’s kitchen cabinet embraced while deciding to abandon Emeka Nwajiuba and his plan to have them help him wrestle the APC ticket from Chike Okafor. They have rather decided to pitch their tent with the popular Chike Okafor and support/work with him to become the Speaker or Deputy Speaker, as a young, vibrant and popular legislator, who is loved by the current leadership and members of the 8th Assembly, most of whom will be there to determine the leadership of the 9th assembly.
Now Nwajiuba out hatred or rather, jealousy, for the young man, Chike Okafor has just moved to pick up the ticket of Accord party to continue his wicked plan to undermine the APC in Okigwe South, and scuttle the plan to bring this plum position home to Okigwe, and Imo State.
He merely wants to use Accord party to deplete Chike Okafor’s votes in Ehime Mbano, since he knows that Ehime Mbano is also Okafor’s strong hold. His ultimate plan is to make way for the PDP candidate to win as 1st term member, thus, deny Okigwe South and Imo State the chance of a ranking member and speakership in 2019, but Okigwe South people are wiser than that. Chike Okafor as a 1st term member performed excellently and should be returned a ranking member for the benefit of Imo State and Ndi Igbo.
Emeka Nwajiuba is just taking his hatred and envy against the young man too far, even when Hon. Okafor has shown him and his family so much love.
His elder brother, Prof. Chinedum Nwajiuba has just resigned as Chike’s Campaign Director General, and his elder Sister’s Husband Matthew from Umuezegwu, Ihitte Uboma who is Chike Okafor’s Senior Legislative Assistant (SLA) from inception of this tenure, may now be made to start undermining Okafor from the inside. It is no gainsaying fact that Matthew cannot work against his wife’s younger brother. People are watching, and seeing how the Nwajiuba family are paying the young man back after he brought their brother in-law back from the UK, where he lived for over 25 years and practically rehabilitated him. Nothing else aptly explains why Emeka could not get his in-law employed in TETFUND (where he is Chairman), or Prof. Chinedum could not fix him in the Federal University in Ebonyi state, where he is the Vice Chancellor.
Certainly, Chukwuemeka Nwajiuba’s only scheme is to scuttle the chances of Chike Okafor returning to the Green Chambers for a second term. And nothing shows that this evil scheme will be of benefit to Nwajiuba, by any means. This is because, should he even by accident win an election on the ticket of Accord party, he most likely will be in the most infinitesimal minority, and at such cannot neither be the speaker, deputy speaker or even a committee chairman, since he obviously can only decamp to a majority party only after the House is inaugurated and the leadership emerges. This will deny Okigwe people, nay Imo state and probably, the south east the plum position of the speakership of the House.
God is kind to Chike Okafor and his actions buttress the fact he appreciates God’s benevolence. In this generation he is the only politician in IMO state with enormous goodwill and capacity to win election as an independent candidate if there is any. Is this awesome rise to mega popularity and fame not amazing? His God and good deeds did it for him. The expectation is very high as he sweeps Okigwe South to return to the Green Chamber where his colleagues would crown him for higher duties. The people of Okigwe South are united ever than before to re-elect Chike purely on achievements and personal merits. He will gather more votes to actualize this second term mandate. The reason is simple: Chike’s party and religion is doing good to everyone no matter where you belong. There is no discrimination in his dictionary. So who is it that won’t support a fair minded person to excel to do more? Every reasonable person will do so because progress is infectious.
By the way, who else noticed that Emeka Nwajiuba has been feeding those who care to listen to him with unending lies? The first was Buhari endorsement and APC automatic ticket as buhari son, now ,having defected to Accord party, Nwajiuba persists in attempting to hoodwink Buhari supporters that Accord party has no Presidential candidate, but we all know that Mr. Isaac Babatunde Ositelu is still the Presidential flag bearer of Accord party, and Nwajiuba maybe working closely with him to deplete the support base of Buahri in South south and South East. So much for a “Son of Buhari”.
Alex Ogoke writes from Umunumo, Ehime Mbano
