Abia and Enugu States occupy unique positions in South-East politics. The two states represent two different political parties and their lone regional representatives. Governors Alex Otti and Peter Mbah, having recognised that their political future depends on how far they can strengthen their platforms, are doing all to fend off the expansionist plots of the ruling All Progressives Congress, LAWRENCE NJOKU reports.
There are strong indications that even with the crises in the national leaderships of their political parties, the Labour Party governor of Abia State, Dr Alex Otti, and his Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) counterpart in Enugu State, Dr Peter Mbah, are determined to recontest on their platforms in 2027.
Their political parties at the 2023 general elections fielded candidates for the governorship positions in three states of the South-East region, including Enugu, Anambra and Ebonyi States, but they were unable to go beyond the states they occupied currently.
Following leadership crises that set in at their various political parties after the elections, further depletions were made on the parties as their members, including those elected to serve at the various cadres of the National and State Assemblies, started moving into the ruling national All Progressives Congress, (APC). Those who moved stated they did so because of the crises and to enhance their political chances.
The development had thrown up permutations of a likely move by the governors to the APC. Those who held the switch-party mantra insisted that doing so would help reposition their states for national relevance and provide better platforms that would see them retain their seats in 2027.
However, with the strong presence these governors have made in their states through their performances in less than two years in office and the way they have played their politics, the tendency that they would remain in the political parties that gave them a mandate to vie for reelection in 2027 has continued to increase by the day.
A peep into Governor Mbah’s Enugu State has shown that he is determined to restore the PDP as the party to beat in the state. Mbah inherited a PDP that was on the brink of collapse as it had barely managed to secure a governorship seat from a spirited fight it got from a Labour Party that was the rave of the 2023 general elections.
The PDP won only one of the three senatorial seats, one out of seven House of Reps seats and 10 of the 24 House of Assembly seats. This was a PDP that, until 2023, had dominated in previous elections in the state, producing those who occupied various elective positions from 1999.
However, through his programmes and policies, Mbah has continued to rebuild confidence in the party. In his initial first 10 months in office, his style of governance had attracted six members of the Labour Party in the State House of Assembly who, in one day, dumped their party for the PDP. The development was the tonic his party needed to gain a firm grip of the state’s legislative arm.
With the successful reconstitution of the party’s state chapter last year and the conduct of local government area elections that returned only PDP members, efforts intensified to reconcile and bring back the members who left the party out of anger. Only last week, a major breakthrough to restore the hold of the party was made with the return of the 2023 Labour Party governorship candidate, Chijioke Edeoga to the party.
Edeoga had left the PDP after its governorship primary to join the LP in 2023. The massive support he received in the election almost wrecked the aspiration of Mbah to become governor as the matter between the two over the outcome of the election was finally resolved at the Supreme Court.
When Edeoga returned amid jubilations from members of the PDP in the state, he had told those who cared to listen that the governor’s style of administration which has created rapid development in the state was responsible for the move.
Nonetheless, those who have followed governance in Enugu would readily agree that the level of transformation that has taken place in almost every sector of the state is fast drawing massive followership to Mbah and has continued to place him in the good books of his opponents in the state.
Recall that the crisis that emanated over the presidential ticket of the party snowballed into leadership disagreement on the choice of national secretary. Injuries created by these developments have not left the party.
Otti, on the other hand, had snatched power from a PDP-dominated state using a relatively unknown Labour Party. Although his party had won a majority seat in the State House of Assembly, his challenge was deepening the hold of the party in the state where PDP and APC also made appreciable impacts in the elections.
While contending with the challenges from the PDP and APC in the state, his party had erupted in a national leadership crisis that removed many of the members who worked for its success in the 2023 polls. Although he had stepped in towards finding a solution to the crisis when he hosted a meeting at the government house Umuahia that attracted a segment of the leadership of the party led by the 2023 presidential candidate, Mr Peter Obi, that did not restore the needed tranquility. The meeting had risen with the setting up of a Caretaker Committee led by a former Finance Minister, Nneadi Usman to pilot its affairs and restore peace, but that gave way almost immediately as a Court of Appeal had restored Julius Abure as the national chairman of the party.
As it is, the apex court where the matter had been last Friday, 4th April sacked Abure from holding position as national chairman of the party. The court that nullified the decision of the Court of Appeal insisted that issues of leadership are internal affairs of a political party over which courts lacked jurisdiction, just as it noted that Abure’s tenure had long expired.
It is yet to be seen how the decision would impact the crisis in the party as the combatants are giving it various interpretations to sustain their hold on the party.
But while the party’s national crisis festered, Otti had taken steps to consolidate his hold in Abia state. He has strengthened the party in the local governments, committed to the improvement of infrastructure and the welfare of the people. These have endeared him to the people. The reactions are loud with members of other political parties including elected officials joining the Labour Party in the state.
Recently, the Chairman of the Board of Trustees (BoT) of the PDP, Chief Adolphus Wabara had got himself into trouble with leaders of his party who accused him of anti-party activities and pronounced his suspension over his remarks about the works the Otti’s administration is doing in Abia State.
The way things are, both governors appear comfortable where they are at the moment and are prepared to deepen the hold of their parties with the intention to contest next elections in 2027 using the platform.
A Communication Specialist, Dr Stanley Nwangwu, while reacting to the development agreed that politics was local, stressing that those who play in it should draw strength from their performance and not the political party they belong to.
“Our democracy would grow when politicians realise that the political party is only a means of identity to get into power and not a means for good governance. If you are in power, what should be your paramount interest is how to make the difference in terms of service to the people and not how to be relevant in your political party.
“You should be able to realise that good works would always attract support to not just you but the party you belong to. This is what these governors have done. They have localised their parties such that if you want anything from those states, you must belong to the political party that threw them up, not the national party,” he stated.
Canvassing his argument further, he said; “Look at Anambra State, the APGA is not a national party, but you cannot be asking for appointments, contracts or do politics in the state outside the APGA. This is what Peter Mbah is doing in Enugu State with the PDP. Alex Otti has done the same in Abia State with the Labour Party. That is the way politics should be played to advance democracy and create stronger institutions. So, we should be able to play politics in a way that elicits confidence in us and the party we represent.”
A Public Affairs Analyst, Ikechukwu Nwabunwanne, who agreed with him, stated that what the governors had done was to give meaning to the country’s democracy “as that which operates a multi-party system and allows opportunity for anyone to express his political interest.”
“If you look at the formation, it is not going to be APC alone that will be on the ballot in the southeast region, other political parties now have room for other elective positions. That is a balanced democracy. It is better and more rewarding than having a region controlled by one political party,” he stated.
The former Minister of Power, Prof Chinedu Nebo, however, stated that the idea of jumping from one party to another has not helped in the development of the country and blamed it on lack of ideologies.
“It is so shameful. It is the bane of Nigeria’s party politics, and I don’t think anybody who behaves like that is worthy of being returned to office. It is not right, and it should not be done. Yet, it’s all possible because moneybags always win, and there is no internal democracy within political parties.
“We begin to ask how we checkmate this. But let me ask how you want to checkmate it when the ruling party wants everything. The ruling party encourages it with the manner in which appointments are made and the cover given to those who ordinarily should be facing corruption cases in courts. However, this is giving the wrong signal to the upcoming generation and it is unfortunate,” he said.
He added that what should speak for any officeholder is his impact within the time frame, stressing that “people should downplay politics while in office for the service of the people to avoid switching parties during electoral contests.”
