A former Commissioner for Lands and Urban Development in Enugu State, Prof. Victor Nnam, has warned politicians defecting to new political parties against heating up the polity with their utterances against their former parties.
He stated that there was no justification for any politician who had leveraged a political platform to achieve prominence to turn around and criticise the same platform because he was embracing a new political platform.
Nnam, who stated this in reaction to comments and criticisms against the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in Enugu State by a former leader of the State House of Assembly, Ikechukwu Ezeugwu, insisted that politicians were free to align forces without stoking discontents in their former parties with their utterances.
Ezeugwu, who represented Udenu Constituency for 12 years (2011 – 2023) at the State House of Assembly under the PDP, was the Leader of the House for eight years (2015 – 2023). He recently resigned his membership of the party, but not without upbraiding the party members and its leadership in the state.
In a resignation letter he sent to the PDP Ward Chairman in Udenu Local Government Area, he had cited internal discontent within the party’s operations as his reason for quitting. He alleged that the party leadership had betrayed its values.
Ezeugwu wrote: “Merit was frequently sacrificed on the altar of mediocrity and deceit. I thank God for giving me the wisdom to reject a gift of a Trojan Horse then. I was slated to have been economically grounded and politically ridiculed, but they forgot that my name is IKECHUKWU.
“For me, trust is a fundamental aspect of any relationship, and without it, relationships can become challenging to maintain.”
Reacting to the letter, Nnam accused Ezeugwu of “hypocrisy” and questioned his decision to speak out only after leaving office. He stated that Ezeugwu could quit without criticising the party and its leadership.
He said, “He is just a sycophant who shouldn’t be taken seriously. If not, why is he crying foul now? Why didn’t he tell the world since 2022?
“One wonders why Ikechukwu Ezeugwu suddenly found his voice and started attacking the man who made him. Why is he attacking an administration he was fully part of?
“Without former Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, who is Ikechukwu Ezeugwu? The former governor made him and even gave him a third-term ticket against the zoning arrangement in Udenu.”
On the allegation that the PDP was deceiving him into undertaking constituency projects in exchange for a return ticket, Nnam responded: “So a third-term House member needs to be deceived before he can empower his own people? That’s laughable.”
On Ezeugwu’s legislative record, Nnam challenged his credibility: “As a former leader of the State Assembly, what was his track record?”
“During his 12-year tenure in the Enugu State House of Assembly, Ikechukwu Ezeugwu’s constituency projects were the construction of just two bus stops in Udenu Local Government Area, a modest contribution considering the length of his service.
“Ezeugwu benefited immensely from the administration of former Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi. He was reportedly allocated prime landed property in high-value areas during his time in office.
“Notably, he once sponsored a controversial bill seeking to provide pension benefits for former governors and their deputies. However, the bill was eventually dropped following widespread public outrage.
“His recent resignation from the PDP is driven by personal frustration after being denied a fourth term in the House, an ambition that would have extended his stay to 16 years. Now, he appears to be shifting blame onto Gburugburu for his political exit.”
Ezeugwu represented Udenu Constituency in the Enugu State House of Assembly from 2011 to 2023 and served as the Assembly Leader from 2015 to 2023.