A prominent chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Oji River Local Government Area of Enugu State, Mr. Sunday Ikechukwu Damian, has alerted Governor Peter Mbah about an alleged plot by Hon. Anayo Onwuegbu, the member of the House of Representatives representing the Awgu/Oji-River/Aninri Federal Constituency, to remove all the elected ward executives of the party in the area.
Damian raised the alarm in a statement released to journalists on Thursday, accusing Onwuegbu of working to replace the current ward executives with his own candidates.
He claimed that the lawmaker had recently met with the PDP state chairman, Dr. Martin Chukwunweike, to seek his support for the removal of the ward executives.
“It has been noticed with surprise that Onwuegbu, whom they spent their energy and resources to deliver during the election, is lobbying the Enugu State chairman of the PDP, Dr. Martin Chukwunweike, to remove and replace the ward executives with his preferred candidates,” Damian stated.
He continued, “At first when the news filtered in, we took it with a pinch of salt, but as the days passed by, it dawned on us that there is no smoke without fire.”
According to Damian, the situation became clearer when Dr. Uche Ugochukwu accompanied Onwuegbu to meet with Dr. Chukwunweike last week to further their agenda.
Damian claimed that Chukwunweike responded by saying he would consult with the Chief of Staff at the Enugu State Government House before making any decisions.
“We gathered from a competent source that the PDP Enugu State chairman, Dr. Martin Chukwunweike, in his response, told Onwuegbu and Dr. Uche Ugochukwu that he would consult with the Chief of Staff at the Enugu State Government House and revert to them,” Damian said.
He also expressed concern over Onwuegbu’s failure to engage with Oji River stakeholders, despite his election to represent them.
“The worry of the newly elected ward executives is that Engr. Anayo Onwuegbu, since being elected, has not called a meeting of Oji River stakeholders or even Oji, Awgu, and Aninri people to brief them on the mandate given to him by them,” Damian pointed out.
“All his efforts and stock in trade since his swearing-in as member representing Oji River/Awgu/Aninri has been to further divide the zone into tiny groups.”
Damian argued that instead of attempting to remove the ward leaders, Onwuegbu should be guiding them for the benefit of the party.
He questioned whether Onwuegbu’s “Christmas gift” to the Oji River PDP was to destabilize the party by removing its ward executives rather than offering them tangible support, such as providing gifts like his counterparts.
“Does it mean that the Christmas gift Engr. Onwuegbu has for the Party in Oji River LGA is to remove the ward executives instead of giving them bags of rice like his counterparts?” he asked.
Damian also reminded Onwuegbu that the same ward executives in Oji River were involved in electing the current local government executives, as well as the state party leadership under Dr. Chukwunweike.
He emphasized that if Onwuegbu refused to acknowledge the legitimacy of the Oji River Local Government ward executives, he would be rejecting the wider party structure.
“Engr. Anayo Onwuegbu (Omeiheukwu) should be informed that the same ward executives of Oji River LGA participated and elected the newly elected OJI RIVER Local Government executives. They also participated and voted for the current executive chairman of Oji River LGA, Greg Anyaegbudike. The same way they also participated and voted for the current PDP Enugu State executives under the leadership of Dr. Martin Chukwunweike,” Damian stated.
“If he does not recognize the Oji River Local government ward executives, he should also reject the Zonal and State excos of PDP in Enugu State.”
He continued, “The law says that once you identify with the whole, you have already identified with the parts.”
Damian urged Governor Mbah to pay attention to these undemocratic actions, which he warned could undermine the party.
He called on the state party chairman to resist any efforts to destabilize the party and disrupt its unity.
“We bring the attention of the governor of Enugu State, His Excellency Dr. Barr Peter Mbah, to these undemocratic tenets, which would not augur well for the party,” Damian said.
“We also call on the state party chairman to resist these destabilizing plans by those who do not mean well for the party and the state in general.”
Damian also cautioned Dr. Uche Ugochukwu to distance himself from any actions that could harm the party.
“For Dr. Uche Uzochukwu, our advice to him is to make hay while the sun shines by dissociating himself from things that will destabilize the party,” he said.
“Anybody taking any action that will throw the party into confusion is engaging in anti-party activities and should be so guided.”
As of the time of this report, efforts to get a response from Hon. Anayo Onwuegbu had not been successful.
