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Opinion: 2023- All eyes on Ugwuanyi to anoint successor

By Chukwudi Nweje

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Politics is in the air. The gladiators and power brokers are already in the field. With the next general elections fast approaching, they are deploying and inventing all manner of strategies to secure expected political mileage.

As it appears, in 2023, Nigerians are going to witness the mother of all elections. The gloves of many politicians are already off. For the majority of the players, the end justifies the means.

In Enugu, the Coal City state, the atmosphere ahead of next year’s general elections is not different. The political temperature of the state is rising by the day. It is more so in view of the anxiety over who the state governor, Dr Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi would nominate as a successor.

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So, barely a year to the conduct of the general elections, political actors across the divide are already warming up to slug it out even though leaders of Enugu appear to have agreed that the governorship position will be zoned to Enugu East Senatorial District. This development is in line with the existing zoning arrangement that was introduced in 1999, when Senator Chimaroke Nnamani stepped in as governor.

Following the tradition when the Fourth Republic started, every Enugu State governor usually determined his successor. And from all indications and knowing the political sagacity of the governor, there is no iota of doubt that he also would definitely determine who would take over the mantle of leadership of the state on May 29, next year.

But despite the fact that everyone knows that Governor Ugwuanyi would soon anoint his successor, many would agree that in Enugu today, all politicians including the major power brokers are wallowing in confusion. Why? None has been able to interprete the body language of the governor with regards to his choice for successor. Despite the effort by many of the gladiators to push Governor Ugwuanyi to make a commitment, he has remained mute on the issue of succession.

Perhaps the only clue to his mindset is that from his few utterances, he has made it clear that his administration would not truncate the concept of zoning which has led to the peaceful transition of power in the state.

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The governor has not hidden his disposition to handover power to a candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) from the Enugu East Senatorial zone. The Fourth Republic started with Governors Chimaroke Nnamani(Enugu East) to Sullivan Chime(Enugu West) and now Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi(Enugu North).

Following the tradition, the expectation of the majority in Enugu is that power is going to Enugu East this time. So far, only the former Deputy Senate president, Prof Ike Ekweremadu is the only aspirant outside Enugu East that has declared his interest for the Lion Building. He and his supporters are kicking against zoning in the Coal City state to secure his ambition to rule the state.

But followers of the politics of Enugu State believe that power will berth in Enugu East in 2023 and Governor Ugwuanyi will be the ultimate decider of his successor. So, all eyes are on the governor who, many believe, is a master in the game of politics. The question on the lips of many is: “ who will Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi anoint in 2023?

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Surprisingly, last week, some politicians flew a familiar kite that the governor has endorsed Peter Mbah, one of the leading Enugu guber aspirants as a successor. The story had it that there was jubilation in Enugu by Mbah’s supporters on hearing the news which circulated when the governor was in Abia State for the PDP governors meeting.

But for many critical observers, the intention was to arouse the anger of the Enugu Governor and put Mbah in a disadvantaged position and as well portray him as a desperate politician who is in a haste to take over power. The whole idea in the estimation of observers is to weave a narrative that a man who is genuinely interested in presenting himself in the service of the people would not be so desperate to announce himself as the governor designate without proper recognition by the man currently at the helm of affairs in the state.

But one of Mbah’s supporters and former member of the House of Representatives, USA Igwesi dismissed the story of endorsement saying it is the handwork of detractors who want to set him up with the governor.

The former majority leader said Mbah beleives so much in the main political structure in Enugu State headed by Governor Ugwuanyi. He said that anyone familiar with Mbah would attest that he is a perfect gentleman who is not desperate for anything in life.

Igwesi said for instance that Mbah has no signboard of his governorship ambition anywhere in the state.

“Peter Mbah is an easy going person whose passion is to do good to the society. He is not the type of person that would like to have any problems with the governor and he knows very well that Governor Ugwuanyi has the ultimate power to anoint his successor?

But why is Peter Mbah a factor? He is a Nigerian professional and businessman with over 28 years experience. He has a long track record of entrepreneurship, characterized by iconoclasm, which has driven him to continually question the status quo in every industry he has found himself.

Mr. Mbah’s experience cuts across various sectors and activities including, Import trade, oil and gas sales and distribution and maritime logistics. He also has his footprints on the sands of public service, having served as the Chief of Staff to the Enugu State Governor and Commissioner for Finance and Economic Development of the Enugu State Government.

His Quest for continuous growth and empowerment has seen him through the completion of a Chief Executive Programme at the Lagos Business School, after which he bagged an MBA from IESE Business School, Barcelona Spain. He holds an LL.B in Law from the University of East London, and an LLM in Maritime Law from the University of Lagos. He is also a Fellow of the Certified Institute of Public Administration and Management (CIPM).

As diverse as Mr. Mbah’s career has been, its consistent underpinning factor has been his passion for excellence, integrity, corporate governance and the perpetual search for knowledge.

(Sun)