By Charles Ilodi
It is no longer news that Peter Obi, the Labour Party presidential candidate has lost interest in Enugu State Labour Party.
This started from the moment all manner of allegations started rocking the party. The whole issue began from the moment Everest Nnaji (Odengene) was milked of his N25M which the leadership of the party forced him to pay in order to be given the Party’s guber ticket.
The last straw that broke the Carmel’s back was the brazen stealing of Ernest Ike Ugwu’s Enugu North Senatorial ticket which was handed to a 75 year old man, Okey Ezea (Ideke). All efforts made by Ike to reclaim his stolen ticket met with stiff resistance from the Enugu Labour Party leadership.
Peter Obi being a man who detest evil, looked at all manner of evil rocking the party, he decided to give Edeoga and his co-travelers a long rope.
On his arrival to the Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu, on Wednesday 12 January, 2023, Peter Obi was only seen in the company of Labour Party officials from the national level and had gone down to the University of Nigeria, Nsukka before Edeoga and his neglected Enugu Labour Party officials got the information and raced to Nsukka town to go and identify with him.
The reverse was the case in Nsukka as Obi who was supposed to be welcomed by the candidates of LP in Enugu was the one that welcomed the so-called Labour Party candidates. What an irony!
Obi finished his business in the University without introducing anyone as the candidate of his party, but majority of us said he was going to do that in Okpara Square, Enugu, where the presidential rally will be taking place.
It is time for pictures to be taken and Edeoga made a juncous move to stand shoulder to shoulder with Peter Obi but such desire was frustrated when Obi said “No, wait, let the former Vice-chancellor of UNN, Chukwuma Ozumba stand here beside me”. That was why you saw the trending picture where Chukwuma Ozumba was standing in the midst of Peter Obi and Chijioke Edeoga which got people asking if such pictorial arrangement wasn’t wrong?
We got to Okpara Square and Enugu people were there en masse chanting “Obi Kererenke” which was a popular song the Obidients sing with immeasurable joy to show total support for the presidential candidate. Obi, through the open-roof of his car was seen waving to the elated supporters and all were struggling to touch his garment from the slowly moving car.
Meanwhile, as could be seen in some cases where other presidential candidates of other party would ride in the same vehicle with the guber candidate of the state he visited, Edeoga in his Prado Jeep was seen (ten) 10 cars away from the one carrying Peter Obi.
What drew my sympathy and that of my colleagues who were there to cover the event was that Edeoga brought out his hands waving to the Obidients but was greeted with disdain. It was not long and he took back his hand and wined up.
Peter Obi was introduced to address the large supporters and joy was in the air. It took the moderator, MC and others more than ten minutes to calm the supporters down in order to allow the presidential candidate to speak. Peter Obi spoke excellently well to the point of cautioning Ndi Enugu not to vote for a party but to vote to a competent candidate; one who has private sector background and will be a good manager of the state resources. He was open to tell us that we should not vote for career politicians but vote for a technocrat who is knowledgeable in his own private endeavor.
Does he not know that Edeoga, the guber candidate of his party is not a technocrat but a career politician who has no knowledge of private sector? Yes, Obi knows but he maintained that he can’t introduce any candidate to Ndi Enugu but would rather ask them to vote for Obi on the day of presidential election but choose rightly the God they will serve in guber election and other elections to come.
Surprisingly, Obi left the podium happily and went back to Abuja without introducing any of the Labour Party candidates to Enugu people. What does this tell Ndi Enugu? It tells us that Enugu people are only Obidient at the presidential level as Peter Obi our leader has no single trust for any of the Labour Party candidates in Enugu State.
