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Enugu 2023: Ekweremadu and looming godfather confrontations



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EkweremaduCome May 29, 2023, the governorship position in Enugu State has gone full circle, traversing the three Senatorial Districts. By then the 24 years of current unbroken democratic experience must have been among the zones eight years apiece.

Within that period, the power-sharing arrangement put together by the state’s founding fathers had produced Dr. Chimaroke Ogbonna Nnamani, Mr. Sullivan Iheanacho Chime and the incumbent, Governor Ifeanyi Lawrence Ugwuanyi.

At the conclusion of the present four-year term of Ugwuanyi, it would mean that Enugu East, Enugu West and Enugu North Senatorial zone have each had its turn at the Lion Building, the seat of Enugu State Executive arm of government.

One issue that has begun to engage political stakeholders in the state is whether the next cycle would begin afresh from Enugu North, where Ugwuanyi hails or restart from Enugu East that last had it during the Chimaroke dispensation of 1999 through 2007?

In the entire 24 years of the unbroken democratic governance in Nigeria, one stakeholder from Enugu State that has remained in elective position in Senator Ike Ekweremadu. From being appointed Chief of Staff to the governor and Secretary to the State Government (SSG), by Governor Nnamani in his first term, Ekweremadu journeyed to the Senate, where has sojourned ever since.

By June 2023, the former Deputy President of Senate would have spent 21 years in the upper chamber of the National Assembly (NASS). The Mpu, Aninri Local Government Council-born politician says he owes his standing to the Grace of God, but to great extent, the internal undercurrents of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) also enabled his staying power in the polity.

In the entire 24 years of the unbroken democratic governance in Nigeria, one stakeholder from Enugu State that has remained in elective position in Senator Ike Ekweremadu. From being appointed Chief of Staff to the governor and Secretary to the State Government (SSG), by Governor Nnamani in his first term, Ekweremadu journeyed to the Senate, where has sojourned ever since.

By June 2023, the former Deputy President of Senate would have spent 21 years in the upper chamber of the National Assembly (NASS). The Mpu, Aninri Local Government Council-born politician owes his standing to the Grace of God and internal dynamics of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

In the buzz making the rounds in Enugu State about the 2023 governorship, Ekweremadu’s aspiration to join the fray, in addition to the issue of whether the zoning arrangement would begin anew from Enugu North, are raising apprehensions in the state.

Ekweremadu’s political allies have been championing the idea of jettisoning zoning, claiming that the time has come for Enugu State to focus on experience and merit in selecting its governors.

In the normal run of the power rotation arrangement, Enugu East Senatorial District is supposed to produce Ugwuanyi’s successor. However, some of Ekweremadu’s close aides allege that pressure was being mounted on the Senator to contest the 2023 governorship due to the quality of aspirants from Enugu East Senatorial District.

Credit: The Guardian

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