We read with a disturbing and disconcerting curiosity the scathing, unwarranted, malicious, libelous and horrendous diatribes fiendishly dispatched by a certain covetous group of people operating under the mysterious guise of the “Political Committee of Adada Peoples Parliament” against our performing leader, father, and our dear Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State.

We were, at first, compelled by courtesy and sense of maturity, as peace-loving people and law-abiding citizens, to restrain ourselves and refrain from joining this faceless body and its sponsors in their voyage of show of shame as responding to them would dignify their insignificant posture and might send a wrong signal to members of the public. However, on further evaluation of the evil intent set out to achieve by these disgruntled and habitual losers and their frequent reinforcement of the propaganda to hoodwink and double-cross the unsuspecting praiseworthy people of Enugu State, especially the law-abiding people of Nsukka, we deem it a duty incumbent on us to dislodge the mendacious acts of these clannish and tribal bigots set out to incite hate speech, peddle fake news and fan the embers of sectarian violence against our outstanding and performing governor, the people of Enugu East senatorial district and, indeed, the good people of Enugu State in general.

It's on record and the data speaks for itself that Governor Ugwuanyi has affectionately endeared himself in the hearts of the people for his remarkable, landmark and legacy projects all littered across the state, enormously extending to as far as the extreme parts of Nsukka and other local government areas within the Enugu North senatorial zone. We are boldly unequivocal, exuding with pride and fulfilment to say, without apologies, that Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi has magnificently transform the State and brought in good governance to bear. It will amount to spiritual blindness and rebellion, being what the Holy Bible calls a ‘sin of witchcraft,' to deny the good works of the governor. There have been international rating agencies and development experts scoring the Ugwuanyi’s administration very high. We cannot, therefore, allow some serial political bankrupts and wandering scavengers to smear the long earned reputation and unimpeachable character and integrity of the governor in the name of freedom of information.

We strongly remonstrate the personal attacks launched against our governor because he allowed the right thing to be done. The governor, instead of being crucified by these ingrates who were redeemed from abject penury by the administration of Ugwuanyi, should be extolled at all times for holding tenaciously to equity, justice and fairness in all he does. He should be emulated as an exemplary of a detribalized national leader. We want to explicitly and unambiguously make it clear that all the deprecating and slanderous allegations made in the said article and other similar articles against the governor were all lies and should be contemptibly disregarded as our established findings revealed that such view represent only a handful of never-do-well political merchants rightly described by Williams Shakespeare in the Merchant of Venice as ‘Shylocks.’

It's quite mischievous to allege that Governor Ugwuanyi started his political ambition with failed bid to secure the Udenu local government area’s chairmanship seat. The governor, as a good and loyal party man, believed in the supremacy of the political party, and had to step down in line with the party’s doctrine having signed a memorandum of understanding to support whomever emerge, and as a man of integrity and unblemished character, Ugwuanyi did not only step down, he took further laudable steps of donating his campaign materials, money and other logistics as support and solidarity for the party and the candidate that emerged. The record of his spirit of sportsmanship and political fraternalism is there to verify. Hon. Chinedu Onoh who Governor Ugwuanyi stepped down for is still alive and active for confirmation. He vigorously campaigned for the electoral victory of the party at the polls. The party, impressed with Ugwuanyi’s character and discipline, asked him to represent Udenu/Igbo -Etiti federal constituency at the House of Representatives. While serving as a member of the House, Ugwuanyi became repute for his exceptional service deliveries not limited to his people alone, but extended to Nigeria as a whole. He offered hundreds of jobs to his constituents. Empowered youths through varying degrees of opportunities. Brought good governance back home and fought for the education of the less privileged. Ugwuanyi is known for his taciturnity and believes that the facts of his Olympian performances should be speaking without going to media to drum it. That’s why he refused to advertise his copious bills and his track records. But they’re everywhere in the public domain. It was his satisfactory performances that prompted his constituents to persuade him to continue his quality representations at the National Assembly.

It's shocking and rascally infantile for anyone to allege that Governor Ugwuanyi, whose antecedents have always been celebrated for incorruptibility, enmeshed himself in the purchase of the PDP gubernatorial ticket from former Governor Sullivan Chime for #6.7 billion or for any other amount. This is a desperate joke taken too far by the nearing extincting political gerontocrats who are bent at blackmailing Governor Ugwuanyi into conceding to their orchestrated nefarious act surreptitiously hatched to smuggle their political stooge and impose same on the people of Enugu State in 2023. Tragically for them, the people of Enugu State understood this plot and will resist it in 2023 as they are presently doing. Enugu State will never be run by proxy or by shadow elements. In fact, it’s quite timely when the former Enugu State Chief of Staff under former Governor Sullivan Chime, Mrs. Ifeoma Nwobodo, came out and abundantly made it clear that not a dime was paid by Governor Ugwuanyi nor anyone acting through him whatsoever and howsoever to procure the seat of the governor. She was strongly emphatic about that, and that puts a rest to the chain of lies oozing out by these few faceless social media marauders.

Let it also be on record that Enugu State and would other states of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, has three senatorial zones on the principle of equality as enshrined in the constitution. Prior the creation of Enugu State, the entity was part of the old Anambra State and the senatorial zones were delineated not as speculated by the faceless mischief makers but on the principle of equity, justice and fairness. Having created Enugu State, more local government areas were subsequently created. Parts of old Enugu senatorial zone were ceded to Ebonyi State and parts of Nsukka zones were ceded to Enugu East senatorial district and Anambra State—Ayamelum local government area. It’s, therefore, false to allege that Enugu North senatorial zone or whatever other name it has been decided to be called is equaled to both Enugu East and Enugu West senatorial zones in terms of size and population. That’s a tale of falsity told by the mystical drunks. The available statistics sharply contradicted the imaginary fabrication of these vendors. The data from the National Bureau of Statistics, National Population Commission, and the Independent National Electoral Commission will liberate their ignorance and parochial analysis.

Injustice only existed in the figment of imagination of these clannish bigots. There are presently three senatorial zones of equal status in Enugu State and power has been rotating amongst them peaceably. Rancour of whatever kind is getting blown by those with the rigid sense of entitlement and perverse mentality of greediness. By power rotating amongst these three zones, justice is defined and is seen to have been manifestly done. Those clamouring for Nsukka to continue to hold unto power should have the fear of God and allow sanity to prevail over their insatiable lust for power. Governor Ugwuanyi believes in justice and has saved democracy from collapsing in the state by ensuring that fairness, equity, justice and probity were enthroned despite duress and pressure intensely mounted on him by these political mendicants. Governor Ugwuanyi definitely deserves accolade for standing tall against deceitfulness.

It is nauseating for anyone or the faceless people whose characters pervasively whirl around in a rudderless consternation to claim that Governor Ugwuanyi sold the PDP’s governorship ticket to Barr. Dr. Peter Mbah for whatever amount they had cooked out of their loony imagination. The same allegation they hurled against Barr. Sullivan Chime is yet repeating itself without modicum of evidence. The ticket could have been won by any of the aspirants. However, it must be won by only one person at a time. The processes, it was established as a matter of fact, were devoid of interference by the leadership of the State. Aspirants were allowed to campaign and test their popularities and credentials at the polls. It wasn’t surprising that these same people sponsoring malicious attacks against Governor Ugwuanyi, Enugu East senatorial zone and the good people of Enugu State had frenziedly fought to truncate the processes in order to hijack the election for their puppet. Luck, however, ran out of them as the delegates refused to compromise on their antics. Barr. Mbah won the election through the most credible and transparent means, and we’re proud of that. This accounted for reason all the PDP governorship aspirants immediately congratulated Peter Mbah, with some even hosting him to a dinner and celebration. It, indeed, betrays even the less modicum of available conscience to lead a coup, although failed before hatched, against the good people of the state by way of blackmail, threats, and black market purchase of gubernatorial ticket from a featherweight political party.

Let’s sound this even to the hearing of the most dumbest among them that we the people of Isi Uzo and indeed Enugu state are with and are also membership of this body and we are happy being equaled members and stakeholders in Enugu East senatorial zone and the entire state. We are unambiguous on where we belong and we have always resolved to achieve our common destiny in the zone. A ticket to Isi Uzo, as against the insinuation of the scavengers, will never be a ticket to compensate the Nsukka people or the Enugu North senatorial zone. We are Enugu East body and soul, and we shall wait for our turn. We have been wondering why these faceless people have not been rooting for Ayamelum local government area of Anambra State to be considered for governor. Is Ayamelum not carved out of the old Nsukka and merged with Anambra State? Isi Uzo should be left out of this craze war of bitterness by these serial losers. We are eternally grateful to the Governor for extending massive infrastructure, human capital development and empowerment to Isi Uzo. We’ve never had it this beautiful. We will keep on supporting Governor Ugwuanyi and the candidate of the People’s Democratic Party. Any other person parading himself under whatever dubious guise is on his own.

Governor Ugwuanyi is a man we can trust with our collective patrimony and destiny because he will never disappoint. We want to call on the peace-loving people of Nsukka, Nkanu and Enugu West to disregard whatever that’s coming from the said Adada Peoples Parliament as their views do not represent nor do they speak for the people of Nsukka. They’re on their own frolic.

Signed: CHAIRMAN, ENUGU STATE CONCERNED CITIZENS