By Eze Solomon

In recent times, there have been gutless, mind-numbing, poorly written articles sponsored by Mr. Chijioke Edeoga, a notorious serial failure and fake news purveyor, and his faint hearted stooge, Dons Eze, an extremely infirmed gramps, who, despite his old age that calls for sober reflection, penance and reconciliation with his creator to atone for all his years of misdeeds, still exhibits the traits of infantilism wrapped in an adult body. When will Dons Eze, an 80 year old juvenile grow up?

Chijioke Edeoga, who recently suffered a devastating blow and a shameful disgrace when a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja not only sacked but also ordered him to stop misleading the public by parading himself as the governorship candidate of the Labour Party in Enugu State, is at it again, doing the hatchet job customary of his person. Not only that, Dons Eze will also not shy away from the fact that he has mortgaged his soul like Faustus to Beelzebubian Mephistopheles for crumbs borne out of self-inflicted hunger and frustration.

Chijioke Edeoga, in his odious contempt for the court, keeps parading himself as a governorship candidate of the unpopular vainglorious Enugu State Labour Party, and his Dons Eze accomplice, had written a vitriolic and acerbic diatribe against Dr. Peter Mbah, the governorship candidate of the PDP, Enugu’s performing Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, whom the citizens had nicknamed, Mr. Projects, Senator Chimaroke Nnamani, known across the nation as a human capital enabler and builder of institutions, and indeed, declaring war against the good people of Enugu State.

If not for desperation and inordinate drive for power, Edeoga who parades himself as a lawyer couldn’t have gaffed again after his recent humiliating outing at the Enugu’s Nigerian Bar Association Law Week where he declared that he neither had manifesto nor agenda for the state. He had purportedly attributed his lack of manifesto to Mr. Peter Obi, presidential candidate of the Labour Party. Unfortunately, yesterday at Chief Nnia Nwodo’s 70th birthday’s reception, the whole world saw Edeoga struggling vainly to take pictures with Mr. Obi even when it’s obvious Obi was trying to avoid him. That’s by the way.

For submitting that Dr. Peter Mbah was being sponsored by Governor Ugwuanyi and Senator Chimaroke as PDP’s governorship candidate in the state, Edeoga and his cohorts have proved themselves as bereft of the basic knowledge of the electoral law. Yet, Mr. Edeoga would claim to have attended Harvard, Cambridge, Yale and Princeton universities. He could have attended these universities in his Mgbuji village where he is presently colluding with criminal herdsmen to butcher his people having sold away their communal land to them without the knowledge of his kinsmen.

Edeoga and his co-travelers, perhaps, need to be weaned of their ignorant minds caused by acute decline in reconciling their cognitive orderliness with the reality. Sections 29 and 84 of the Electoral Act 2022 are unambiguous as to who sponsors a candidate in elections. The provisions are straightforward with no iota of ambiguity when they provide that it’s only political parties, and not individuals or persons, that can sponsor candidates for elections.

That settled, it’s the responsibility of every card carrying party member to support the candidates presented by their political party. PDP as the dominant party in the state is enjoying massive endorsement and support not only from its critical stakeholders but also from the general populace. To lay this fundamental emphasis; it'll be anti-party, politically and morally unjustifiable for Governor Ugwuanyi and Senator Chimaroke not to support the candidacy of Dr. Mbah as party members. This extends to others within the party fold.

 It's laughable for Edeoga and his social media miscreants to allege that the PDP gubernatorial flagbearer is losing support from the people. Such postulation flies in the face of reality and remains a conjecture and featherweight argument from drowning voyagers befallen by heavy political misfortune of failure. There’s no doubt that Edeoga is yet to come to terms with his electoral failure from the May 25th PDP primary election where he could only garner an embarrassing 6 votes from the over 700 votes cast. In the primary election, widely adjudged the freest, most peaceful and most fairest in the history of the state, Dr. Mbah gave Mr. Edeoga a bloody nose and a shocker of his life when hundreds of delegates queued behind him. It’s a signal that both of them are no match. One is a chick rudderlessly picking dirt for food, and the other is an eagle operating at a very high altitude. Edeoga is a no match to Mbah in all indices of assessments, qualifications and cardinal presentations of achievements both in public and private life.

As an aside, Edeoga accused Governor Ugwuanyi of promising many people the same position. Well, that could have been why Edeoga threw a large party, pitching canopies, hiring many DJs, highlife entertainers, sending messages across friends and foes that he would be the PDP gubernatorial flagbearer a day before the primary election. In the morning of the primary election, when we got to Edeoga’s house, we asked if there’s a funeral celebration he was about celebrating. He retorted: “You’re addressing the next governor of the state. I’ve got the PDP ticket.” Anyway, his celebration turned dirge and the oozing aroma from the stew’s condiments turned sour when he was overwhelmingly rejected by the electorate. The same fate awaits him at the general elections. _E pain am. As e dey pain dem, e dey sweet us_. Apologies to my Chairman in _Vawulence_, His Excellency, Distinguished Comrade Nyesom Wike.

May’s primary election marked the beginning of the rejection of the Edeoga’s and their Ukehe’s overlord. Enugu people rejected them because they’re tired of associating with a failure who couldn’t manage ordinary ministries of environment and local government. They rejected him outrightly because they were alarmed at Edeoga’s stark incompetence and cluelessness. They rejected him because they saw Barr. Mbah as a credible, viable, best and topnotch alternative who has the leadership dexterity and the solution to render the state for a new system of economy, politics and administration.

This is not surprising at the ongoing poll by the world-renowned independent United States-based research agency, Nigerians Decide, where the candidacy of Dr Mbah is polling thousands and thousands of votes by qualified voters in the state. At the time of piecing this write-up, Dr. Mbah is standing gallantly, victoriously and comfortably at the verge of 24000 votes, while Edeoga and other political scavengers are struggling with a paltry hundreds of votes. The differences are millions of miles clear. This is already giving them insomnia, high blood pressure and self-inducing suicides. Peter Mbah is becoming their nemesis because, all of them put together, are still no match even to the least of what he had presented. Why won’t there be envy?

With over 5000 support groups, professional bodies, civil society organizations, declaring support for the Mbah’s aspiration to lead the state out of the national economic malaise, it’s obvious that they believe no other person can do it better than the successful globally renowned entrepreneur and industrialist. Nobody has ever rejected the best on the altar of clannish interests and ethnic persuasion except in a clime where people are adverse to mental, economic and socio-political emancipations.

At the risk of repeating myself; Governor Ugwuanyi has been adjudged one of the best governors in Nigeria to manage the lean resources accruable to their states to turn the fortune of their people around. New Infrastructure such as road, hospitals, strong institutions have been constructed, with the existing ones under regular maintenance by the Ugwuanyi’s administration. Even though the government could not have been perfect, we saw where the imperfection spilled from. Chijioke Edeoga was a Commissioner for Local Government and Environment for almost 7 years under the PDP and Governor Ugwuanyi’s administration foisted on the government by his Ukehe godfather, however had nothing to show for his 7 years in the two offices. Despite the huge money going into the ministries, Edeoga shamelessly failed in all assessment indicators. He left Enugu environment at the mercy of cholera, swimming heaps of rubbish, and houseflies sharing tenancy with residents. Yet the same Edeoga, who served as a House of Representatives member and senior aide and presidential advisor under Senator Ike Ekweremadu and former President Goodluck Jonathan, respectively, with nothing to show his constituents, is belabouring to lead the state. Since Edeoga joined Labour Party, his years of failure, incompetence and looting had been forgiven right? Saint Edeoga, pray for your gullible followers and the innocent souls your clandestine transactions in Mgbuji sent to their early graves.

Edeoga will sell off Enugu State to the enemies of Ndigbo if he dares captures power. There won’t be anything like Coal City again and our beautiful 042 will be a history if Edeoga mistakenly finds the himself in power. It’ll be slavery in our land. Violent Edeoga and his thugs must be resisted now.

Always remember this; When Dr. Peter Mbah served as a Chief of Staff and Commissioner for Finance in the state, Enugu State was rated as one of the best few states designated as welfarist states. Salaries, pensions and gratuities were regularly paid. The economy improved drastically. New institutions were built. The best state university of science and technology was constructed. The Nigerian Law School was built in the state. Parklane Hospital gave the people hope of a healthy workforce. There were dualisation of new roads such as the Ebeano tunnel crossing, New Haven and many other super highways for a beautiful city to ease movements, give Ndi Enugu that sense of pride of the Coal City State. All these under Senator Chimaroke Nnamani.

But with the coming of Edeoga as a commissioner for environment, his gross ineptitude and incompetence sent our people to the aisle of shame, unpleasantness, ugliness and desolation. All thanks to the people of the state for crying out against him. We will never forget in a hurry.