By Chidi Ezeke
Ahead of the expected Enugu State Election tribunal judgment in the case of the Labour Party governorship candidate. Nr Chijioke Edeoga and Governor Peter Ndubuisi Mbah of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP ), the opposition Labour Party led by Edeoga had raised their tempo of desperation, subterfuge, gimmick and blackmail against the judiciary.
Typical of Barr. Edeoga and his cohorts since the commencement of his inglorious and inordinate governorship ambition, they have devised several tactics that include constant fabrication and peddling of stories and articles in defense, promotion and protection of NYSC, granting of ridiculous and frivolous media interviews calling on government to protect NYSC as an institution, sponsoring and sharing of favourable articles and stories in support of NYSC, doctoring, recycling and regurgitating of some unverified and unrelated court judgments of the past years, constant denigration and smearing of the images of the DSS and INEC personnel.
In short, it is not an overstatement and out of place for one to say categorically that Barr. Edeoga and his media hirelings have, in recent times, become spokesmen, public relations officers, and media consultants of NYSC than those of the Labour Party governorship candidate and party members in Enugu State. They have dominated the media spaces, especially social media, with media and publicity stunts for NYSC.
What this simply means is that Barr. Edeoga and his cohorts, despite their campaign of calumny, propaganda, lies and noise that they won the governorship election, but were rigged out, are only banking and hoping on NYSC’s false, faulty and compromised position on allegation of certificate forgery against Mbah, which has been debunked by the court, Mbah and the Department of State Services (DSS) to secure victory at the tribunal.
With Barr. Edeoga’s disposition, is anyone still in doubt that he didn’t win any election as he claimed, but is hoping to secure phyrric victory through the compromised and corrupt NYSC officials’ stand on alleged certificate forgery against Mbah?
These last-minute gimmicks and desperations of Barr. Edeoga and his social media minions to hoodwink or sway the tribunal to their side for a favourable judgment is dead on arrival because their antics are already known, anti-judiciary and outdated.
They will be of no effect on the judiciary that has consistently done justice to cases on the points of law and facts, not emotions and sentiments, as being desperately exhibited by Barr. Edeoga and his co-travellers. Let no one be surprised seeing or reading Barr. Edeoga and his retinue of social media bandits on social media accusing the tribunal of being compromised or bribed if they lose the case, which is likely considering how they faltered and fumbled at the tribunal proceedings and sittings.
It would be recalled that Barr. Edeoga and his supporters had falsely accused INEC personnel of being compromised after he lost the election to Governor Mbah. Repeating the same after the tribunal judgment will be just a case of history repeating itself.
Saying that Barr. Edeoga and his supporters are synonymous with deceits, lies, and sentiments since the beginning of his infamous governorship journey, is stating the obvious. The project has continued to hit brickwalls because of Barr. Edeoga’s unpopularity, insincerity, incompetence, lack of depth, humility, and strategy. It is obvious that nothing has changed and nothing may change positively for Barr. Edeoga in the case. Not even Barr. Edeoga’s recent flip-flop and sponsored “All Eyes On Judiciary” campaign of calumny against the Enugu tribunal staged at Okpara Square, Enugu will secure victory for him at the tribunal.
It could be observed that while Barr. Edeoga and his political godfathers have been searching, hibernating and shopping across the country for where and how to compromise and procure favourable judgment from the tribunal, having failed to prove their case beyond reasonable doubt, Governor Mbah, has been busy providing Enugu people with solid foundation for good governance, knowing full well that the mandate that was given to him by the people will not be tampered with by the tribunal, no matter what the opposition offers them as bribe.
