Gov Obiano, Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing?[ CONTAINED ON VANGUARD PAGE 32 23RD FEB 2015 ]
…Mr President, Beware!
Our attention has been drawn to several covert moves by the Governor of Anambra State, Chief Willie Obiano, to trade off the fortunes of the good people of the State on the altar of personal and selfish interest, even as we have uncovered an unholy alliance between Governor Obiano / Victor Umeh’s APGA-led government and APC to scuttle President Goodluck Ebele Azikiwe’s second tenure bid in Anambra State.
This is in sharp contrast to the Governor’s often celebrated show of support to Mr President, a development that is fast turning into a charade.
The Igbo saying of ‘’Show me your friends and I will tell you who you are’’, has come true here. Lately Governor Willie Obiano has been dining and wining with opponents of PDP and those of Mr President with an intention to champion the cause of the All Progressives Congress (APC) thus ensuring the emergence of Mohammad Buhari as the next President of Nigeria.
To begin with, it is common knowledge that after the Appeal Court threw out the case of Senator Chris Ngige by upholding the verdict of the elections petitions tribunal in Awka that the rightful governor of Anambra State was then Mr Peter Obi, it meant that Ngige was an impostor on the seat and was constitutionally was never a Governor, a view was also upheld by the Supreme Court of Nigeria.
But today acting under the guise of reinstating the paraphernalia of office of Senator Chris Ngige as a former Governor of Anambra State, Governor Obiano has gone on to provide a fleet of campaign vehicles to Ngige including eight Prado Jeeps and a number of Hilux vans. This is Governor Willie Obiano’s contribution to Gen Muhammed Buhari’s Presidential campaighn using Ngige as a mole and further to enable the latter campaign more vigorously for Gen. Muhammadu Buhari as part of a secret pact between both Parties.
Governor Willie Obiano has also gone further to make huge unquantifiable monetary donations to APC claiming that they were outstanding allowances/benefits due to Ngige as a former ‘Governor’ of Anambra State which were unpaid during the eight years of Governor Peter Obi as Obi stood by the Supreme Court’s stand that Ngige was constitutionally, never a Governor. Yet Governor Willie Obiano goes around everywhere telling people that Mr. President will give him funds for the presidential campaign in Anambra State as the ‘State Co-ordinator’ of President Goodluck Jonathan’s campaign team, even when his predecessor, Sir Peter Obi, never asked for such while supporting Jonathan in 2011. Who’s fooling who?
We have also uncovered the several clandestine meetings between Gov. Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State and Gov. Willie Obiano during which they have made a series of agreements to further the case of APC in Anambra State. A clear case is Obiano’s insistence that Gov. Amaechi’s direct in-law, Dozie Nwankwo, be given the ticket of APGA for Anaocha/Njikoka/Dunukofia Federal Constituency despite other more worthy candidates. It is also through Dozie that millions are being siphoned in the guise of helping APC. This shows Governor Obiano’s penchant and secret pact with APC.
To put the final seal on the secret pact between Anambra APGA and APC, it has been discovered that plans have been concluded for Ngige to surrender his senatorial ambition and direct his followers to back Victor Umeh so that PDP’s Uche Ekwunife will be defeated. Does the new romance between APGA and APC not look curious?
Next, let’s take another bizarre case of the Special Assistant to Chief Victor Umeh, National Chairman of APGA, one Engr Donatus Umeh alias ‘Campbell Umeh’ from Umuagu Village, Nnobi in Idemili South LGA of Anambra State who is seen as Victor Umeh’s mouthpiece and alter-ego.
At a time his party, APGA, is telling the world that they are supporting President Jonathan, the said Campbell Umeh who claims also to be the Lagos State Chairman of APGA, was quoted as consistently predicting the failure of President Jonathan at the presidential polls. This was carried in the Punch newspaper of Wednesday 11th February, 2015, in which he said that President Goodluck Jonathan had become so unmarketable to the extent that he cannot win 10 states of the Federation when the election comes up on March 28.
This was even as he adduced the postponement of the elections as a ploy by PDP to disqualify Gen. Muhammadu Buhari.
Now, for a Party which claims to strongly support President Jonathan, would it not have been the most natural thing in the world for such a Party to immediately suspend any of its members to whom such a statement was attributed? But by still having such a member in its fold, does that suggest that APGA is working with PDP? When contacted on the issue, Chief Victor Umeh stated that he was going to direct the Publicity Secretary of APGA to refute that statement. However, it is publicly known and acknowledged that Chief Victor Umeh is the personification of all National Offices in APGA except the Secretary as he (Victor Umeh) performs the duties of Treasurer, Financial Secretary, Auditor, Publicity Secretary etc.
Then how does one describe the branding by Governor Willie Obiano of some PDP chieftains as ‘Mad Men’? While addressing former commissioners under the Obi administration on Monday 9th February 2015 at 4pm at the Governor’s Lodge Awka, Obiano told them that he had begged the former Governor not to enter PDP because it was a Party of ‘mad men’ which included Sir Emeka Offor, Chris Uba, Prince Arthur Eze etc. He went on to inform them that APC was the Party to beat, hence his determination to model APGA after APC. He then begged them not to join PDP but to remain in APGA. It was also learnt that Governor Willie Obiano stated that ‘’since Peter Obi did not consult or tell me before decamping to PDP, I will not consult Obi or anyone before joining APC’’.
Indeed, in almost every action of Governor Willie Obiano, the hand of Esau is clearly seen, pointing to his non-support for President Goodluck Jonathan’s re-election bid.
Such hand of Esau is seen in the jingles inserted on the radio by APGA and Anambra State Government asking voters to cast their votes for APGA and its symbols in the State and National Assembly elections. However, for the presidential elections they are merely asking voters to thumbprint where they wrote Ebele Goodluck Jonathan without mentioning the PDP or the symbol of the Party – umbrella.
This was done knowing full well that Mr. President’s name will not appear on the ballot paper, thus Anambra voters amongst whom are many non-literate voters especially of the female gender in the rural areas would thumbprint APGA rendering the vote invalid or at worst APC.
An attempt by his Special Adviser (Political), who was the Director General of Willie Obiano/APGA Campaign Organisation, member of Goodluck Jonathan 2015 Election Campaign and who is an ardent supporter of President Goodluck Jonathan corrected the jingle when he went on air and this earned him an immediate sack (see front page Daily Independent, Tuesday, 27th January – Obiano sacks aide over Jonathan’s re-election jingle). Yet, Governor Willie Obiano and his people say they support Mr President!
In furtherance of their emergency dalliance with the opposition APC, Governor Willie Obiano has also gone deep to network with certain aggrieved PDP members like Engr. Prince Arthur Eze and Sir Emeka Offor, among others, to secretly work for the downfall of PDP in the State.
While Prince Arthur Eze is still nursing grudges against Mr. President for allowing Obiano under APGA win in last year’s gubernatorial elections in Anambra State thus jettisoning Tony Nwoye, his anointed candidate, Sir Emeka Offor is being compensated by allowing him to field a senatorial candidate under APGA in Anambra South (Ernest Ndukwe), thus working for the downfall of PDP in his senatorial zone.
Perhaps to drive the final nail on their imaginary coffin, the Obiano government as part of the plot to ensure that the President’s campaign in the state is weakened, is using a government agency – Signage – to heavily surcharge each of the President’s billboard mounted in the State for as much as N2m and is ready to dismantle as many as possible of the billboards with effect from Monday 16th February 2015 even when those billboards are mounted on Federal roads over which the State is supposed to have no jurisdiction (See the case of lagos State and the Federal Ministry of Transport). Does this action portray one supporting a friend? Capital No!
For now many clandestine meetings have been going on between Governor Willie Obiano and suspicious and disreputable characters all aimed at ensuring that President Jonathan does not receive maximum votes on Election Day.
On Thursday, 12th February 2015, the Resident Electoral Commissioner of INEC in Anambra State was sighted leaving the Governor’s Lodge accompanied by a prominent politician from Nsugbe at midnight and they said it was a courtesy call. Pray, what manner of courtesy call takes place at the ungodly hour of midnight?
But we have since discovered that the visit was to fine tune rigging plans against Mr President. As part of this plot, the foremost chief rigger in Anambra State, Chief Chris Uba, who has been seen frequenting the Governor’s Lodge in recent times has also been drafted in for a heavy fee to ensure that presidential, State and National Assembly elections results favour Governor Willie Obiano and his cohorts in APGA and APC . Stakeholders, traditional rulers and all observant Ndi-Anambra have been wondering what takes Chief Chris Uba, Eselu Uga to the seat of power in Anambra State when he is supposed to be a candidate/PDP stalwart. Who is sponsoring these strange visits and visitors to Governor’s Lodge? Are all the monies being spent not from the coffers of the State Government? We are aware that salaries of tertiary institutions and some offices have not been paid for several months and the Local Government system of the State has been grounded to a halt financially.
We are however happy to note that Governor Willie Obiano and his cohorts are on their own as the people of the State have since declared their stance on whom to vote for in the presidential election just like they did in 2011. Their man remains President Goodluck Ebele Azikiwe Jonathan.
Proof that Governor Willie Obiano is on his own is the stoning incident which happened in Agulu on 8th February 2015. The Governor had gone to campaign with Victor Umeh and began to disparage the former governor, Peter Obi. His words angered the crowd and this led to him and his entourage being stoned and this resulted in the mass destruction of his vehicles while some members of his team sustained injuries. While we are totally against violence and the stoning of His Excellency, we are of the view that the Governor should learn how to speak circumspectly and show respect to elders and stakeholders in the State.
But even though Governor Willie Obiano is on his own, it is necessary to let the world know his game of subterfuge. Gov Willie Obiano is not what he seems. He does not do what he professes. He is a total sell-out!
