By Chidimma Odo

Fresh facts have continued to emerge on why the former Enugu State's PDP governorship aspirant and Labour Party gubernatorial candidate, Barr Chijioke Edeoga decided to quit the PDP and joined Labour Party, even after conceding defeat and organizing a well-attended reception for the PDP governorship candidate, Dr. Peter Ndubuishi Mbah, in his house where he asked his supporters to work for Mbah’s electoral victory in the 2023 general elections.

While addressing a group of newsmen in Enugu, the state capital, the Labour Party Governorship Candidate in the state accused some people of betrayal and abandonment even after assuring him of their initial support.

Edeoga, who insisted he had no plan of contesting the governorship election under the Labour Party or any other political party after the May 25, 2022 PDP primary election where he lost to Dr. Mbah, said he was urged to reconsider his position by some critical stakeholders from Nsukka who promised to finance his political venture.

According to the trained journalist, it was a difficult decision to take having openly declared support for the candidacy of Mbah, a business mogul, but he had to accept the gauntlet due to mounting pressure and assurances of both financial and material supports which he said were not coming from the respective quarters.

The Eha-mufu born politician further accused Senator Chuka Utazi, a Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria representing the Old Nsukka zone otherwise known as Enugu North Senatorial Zone, of betrayal and backstabbing after persuading him to pick the Labour Party ticket with an understanding that he would serve as his running mate and make available material and financial resources for the prosecution of the elections.

Giving insight on why he chose a running mate from Enugu West senatorial zone, Edeoga noted that the Nsukka Senator backtracked after offering him the opportunity and stopped picking his calls. “Every effort to have meeting with him or reach him was abortive as Utazi started frustrating the move. To say the least, he surprised me. He went back to Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi and is surreptitiously supporting the PDP governorship candidate in the state. Isn’t that an act of betrayal? How can you send someone on a mission like this and back down?,” Edeoga queried.

The visibly angry former Commissioner for Environment accused Utazi of collecting money from the governor to work against his interest, stressing that he had shouldered all the burdens of the electioneering campaigns without contribution from those that encouraged him to work against Mbah and his former party, PDP.

He said: “Chuka Utazi, himself as a lawyer should understand the moral burden hanging on his neck. How can you lead an innocent man to the slaughter? He literally abandoned us in the race after initially championing the cause. I have no issue with Barrister Peter Mbah. If I had any, I couldn’t have issued a communique supporting him. I could have immediately joined another party. I couldn’t have organised reception for him in my house nor asked my team to work with him. God will judge Utazi. Judgment will surely come upon him.

“Why will a man who claimed integrity not have a modicum of integrity? Even with the bank overdraft that we had all arranged to pursue this cause, Utazi perfidiously backed down. You can see how wicked human beings can be”.

When asked his relationship with the billionaire transporter and CEO Peace Mass Transit Company, Dr. Samuel Maduka, Mr. Edeoga noted how he had suffered betrayal from his people, and the arrowheads of those that hatched the Labour Party governorship contest in the state, describing them as double-edge sword.

“My relationship with Mr. Maduka was rosy and everything was going on well before and immediately after the PDP primary election. We discussed on the way forward after the ticket was given to an Nkanu man. In all fairness, there’s nothing that should stop an Nsukka man from retaining the seat of Lion Building. Agbaja, Greater Awgu and Nkanu people used to be the same people from almost the same ancestral forebears. So, it’s nothing wrong to have Chijioke Edeoga represent our collective interests for another 4 years. That’s what transpired and why we decided to pursue the cause. Maduka promised to finance most of the projects. I don’t want to mention any amount, but he has not given anything yet.

“These are the people who pioneered the Nsukka project. He is now using his ongoing university project as excuse for not parting away with his dime. Maduka has refused to identify with our cause or project after all the promises.

“In politics, you will be stabbed by your trusted friends and allies. The Shakespeare’s example of Brutus and Julius Caesar should be an eye-opener. We have had ups and downs in this journey due to treachery from the very Nsukka people that clamoured for this project. Despite their desperation and bad faith, we are sure of Nsukka votes. We are not doing this thing because we wanted to. We want to pacify the aggrieved members of our society and give them that sense of belonging,” the former Isi Uzo council boss lamented.

On his relationship with the incumbent governor and his first cousin, Edeoga said since the PDP primary election both actors had parted way. He added that Ugwuanyi was unfair to him by not giving him the ticket after serving him for seven years, saying as commissioner for Environment, Enugu State was adjudged the cleanest and neatest state in Nigeria. Edeoga, who lampooned members of the public for lying against him when reminded that evidence showed the contrary on the state’s environment when he headed the environment ministry, said those claiming the state was dirty under him needed to have their brains examined by psychiatrists.

Asked relationship with the Catholic, Anglican churches and other Pentecostal, the Enugu LGA News’ CEO said he had a healthy and robust relationship with religious bodies irrespective of denomination. He, however, said as a ranking member of the Anglican church, he would like to see the Anglican worshipers vote massively for him. Edeoga lamented that despite his huge donations to catholic and pentecostal churches, they still discriminated against his candidacy.

“I think the Catholic Church is unfair to me and to Ndi Enugu. Catholic Church and pentecostal have been dominating Enugu State politics since 1999. We are worried about that. The truth is that if you look at all the ministries and appointments, they’re dominated by Catholics and non-Anglican. We have the data. Look at the appointments of judges and other judicial bodies. They’re either Catholics, Redeemed, Methodists, Winners or other mushroom churches. Where is the place of Anglican in all these? Our people should be wise. It’s time to vote an Anglican governor. It’s not about me. It’s all about the church—Anglican. The domineering spirit of the Catholics should be regulated. Don’t misquote me; I’m not against Catholic or other churches, but let’s try Anglican. We have almost the highest population, followed by the Catholics,” Edeoga said.

When reminded the position of the Anglican Bishop, Rev. Emmanuel Chukwuma that Enugu State is not a Labour Party state and would vote for PDP governorship candidate, Edeoga dismissed the Bishop as running after his personal interest rather than putting Anglican church at the forefront. He said the Bishop who couldn’t have registered for his voter’s card should be disregarded.

Admitting that Ugwuanyi should be scored a B passmark in the overall rating in the state, Edeoga insisted that Nsukka people should be grateful to the governor for the works he did for them, adding that Nsukka got more employments, empowerment and infrastructure under the governor. However, he said the benefits he made under the governor could have been satisfactory if the PDP had ceded the gubernatorial ticket to him, saying he was entitled to the two Prado utility vehicles, 3 Hilux vans and other land properties he go from the Ugwuanyi’s administration having served him meritoriously as a Commissioner for Environment and Local Government for seven years.