By Ifeyinwa Ekwemchi
There is palpable fear, tension and disquiet in the Ebeano Group, and its ruling subplot, Gburugburu camp, as millions of members of the Labour Party in Enugu State staged a solidarity march in the state capital in support of their candidates in the forthcoming 2023 elections.
Young people, middle-aged men and women and some senior citizens were out in their millions in what many political watchers describe as a foretaste of the realignment that will mark next year’s elections, especially the governorship and senatorial elections.
The solidarity march, which stretched for more than five kilometres, started at the popular Okpara Square, behind the governor’s office, passed through Presidential Road and terminated at the Nnamdi Azikiwe Stadium on Ogui Road.
In what is looking like an epic topple, reminiscent of the victory of President Muhammadu Buhari against former President Goodluck Jonathan, in 2015, Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi’s choice of successor, Peter Mbah, appears to be unravelling, with rave of the moment, Chijioke Edeoga, the gubernatorial candidate of Labour Party, gaining the upper hand.
On the other hand, Okey Ezea, veteran of many past elections, is looking more likely to tilt the scale in his favour and scuttle Governor Ugwuanyi’s ambition of moving from Enugu State Government House to the Red Chamber in Abuja.
If previous calculations and dipstick surveys were viewed with some measure of doubt, the solidarity rally held by the Labour Party in Enugu on Saturday, September 10, has told everyone, particularly the Peoples Democratic Party in the state that an inevitable paradigm shift stares them in the face.
A source from the Ebeano group, in an informal chat with Enugu Monitor, said crippling fear has enveloped both the leader of the group, Senator Chimaroke Nnamani, and the PDP governorship candidate, Peter Mbah.
The source, who claimed he was one of the people sent by the camp to monitor the rally, said “everyone is scared of the fever that the Peter Obi momentum is sending all over Enugu State and Nigeria,” stating that with the number of people that turned out for the rally, Saturday even his boss, Dr Chimaroke Nnamani, is no longer upbeat and optimistic about returning to the Senate.
“I must tell you the truth,” he said, “all of us are afraid. Initially, we did not take this Obidient thing seriously. When we heard of this rally today, we thought it was going to be a gathering of a few boys and we had been briefed to disperse them or beat them up. But, my brother, who would make any attempt against this crowd?”
The source, who is a ranking member of a leading support group for the PDP candidate aggregated the fear of the Ebeano Group, saying the group is no longer as confident as they were before the solidarity rally.
He stated: “Let me tell you, my brother, before today, we were calculating that once we win the Enugu zone clearly and, with the influence of Gburugburu, divide Nsukka votes and then have a slight majority n Enugu West, the governorship ticket would be ours. But look at what happened today in Enugu, the zone where Peter Mbah was calculating to gain majority of his votes. If one-third of these people turn out to vote and cast their votes for Labour Party, then it’s all over for the PDP in Enugu.”
He added: “And mind you, the people of Nsukka and areas like Aninri, Oji River and Awgu, were not a part of this rally o! There is serious trouble.”
Further investigations among members of the inner circle of Governor Ugwuanyi also suggested similar fear, saying that the state of mind of the governor has been freaking everyone around him out.
Said the source: “Ugwuanyi has hundreds of people who scan and report on social media for him. A number of them were asked to monitor and report what happened at the rally. But up till late this evening, hours after the rally had ended, only a handful of these boys have strolled into the Government House, all wearing long, disappointed faces.
“His Excellency has been angry all day. He has been snapping and shouting at everybody. The reports are not encouraging at all. The worst thing that is breaking the heart of His Excellency is the reports that a lot of his trusted foot soldiers were spotted in the rally, wearing Labour Party and Peter Obi T-Shirts,” he said.
When asked what the response of the PDP would likely be, another source said the worst thing any person would suggest would be to stage a counter-rally.
“Even if we spend N10 billion, I am afraid we will not be able to mobilise this number of people,” he said, adding: “Did you see that turnout? I did not even know there was this huge number of people in Enugu. Even if we spend N10,000 per person, with the aim to mobilise one million people, we are never going to get this number of people.”
The source, who is one of the new appointees made by Governor Ugwuanyi in his election-motivated appointments, stated. “Do you know that even Chimaroke is no longer confident of returning to the senate? The man is frightened. That is just how bad the situation is.”
