PETER MBAH’S DESPERATE SEARCH FOR LEGITIMACY: WHY THE ‘NGIGE TREATMENT’ APPEARS INESCAPABLE

By Jonathan Obiekwe

Though an Enugu resident and stake holder,  I was in my home state Anambra  in 2003, when Dr Chris Ngige was imposed on the people of Anambra State following that year’s  gubernatorial election by the duo of Chris Uba and his brother Andy Uba. Mr Andy Uba was then serving as a domestic aide to former President Olusegun Obasanjo. 

The drama  began when both men prevailed on their boss, President    Obasanjo  to reject  the second term bid of the then governor of Anambra State Dr. Chinwoke Mbadinuju who was elected under the PDP platform. The conspiracy came off as Dr Chris Ngige who once  worked as a physician in the presidency, was given the PDP’s gubernatorial ticket instead. 

Governor Mbadinuju in anger and frustration, defected to the  ‘Alliance for Democracy’ A.D where he controversially wrestled a  ticket from one Mr Nwokolo who was already flying the party’s flag. 

Mbadinuju  failed in the election  as the majority of Anambra people found his governance style outlandish and voted overwhelmingly for Mr Peter Obi of the All Progressives Grand Alliance APGA.  What  shocked everyone was not that Mbadinuju lost but    that Dr Chris Ngige who was declared winner by INEC was then an unknown quantity Ndi Anambra neither knew nor voted for. It was as though the heavens came crashing down on earth as the news of Ngige’s victory spread. The daylight assault on the sensibility of the ‘light of the nation’ cast a dark shadow  across its length and breadth  throwing it into  mourning.

While the shock lasted, many were still optimistic  that the then leader of the party( All Progressives Grand Alliance)   Chief Odumegwu Ojukwu would do something to upturn the heist  but that was not to be as Chris Ngige was sworn in as the third executive governor of the new Anambra State.

Peter Obi challenged the travesty in court for over three years. No one gave him any chance as Ndi Anambra, having accepted what happened with resignation, had moved on with their new helmsman Dr Chris Ngige.

Along the way however,  Governor Ngige fell out of favour with his Uba masters culminating in his abduction and alleged resignation from office as governor of the state. The rest is history.

The story sold to Ndi Anambra  and which was in fact true was that Dr Ngige was kidnapped because he refused to share ‘Ego Ndi Anambra’ with the two brothers.  For this reason,  Anambra people  made a volte face and  began to throw their weight behind Ngige. Understanding fully that he had lost the backing of the presidency as well as the Uba brothers  who  installed him, Ngige  turned to the people and began to do all what it took to please them.

The embattled governor immediately awarded a  contract (to the RCC)  to  asphalt a 25 kilometer road stretching from the two Idemmili local government areas,  Aniocha  to Awka the state capital,  through Mbaukwu;  something that was totally  unheard of in the  state. That project was completed on record time. Ngige thus suddenly became a hero  as Ndi Anambra who hitherto loathed to hear his name mentioned, elected  to provide him with private security, after an Enugu High Court presided over by  justice Stanley Nnaji, stripped him off his security apparatus, on the premise that he had resigned  and ceased to be a Governor. The decision of the judge led to his dismissal as a judicial officer.

While Governor Ngige was enjoying his new bonding with Ndi Anambra, Peter Obi was in court presenting his case and calling witnesses. The rest is now history.  The Hon. Justice Garba Nabaruma led tribunal, sacked Governor Chris Ngige in his final judgment, declaring Peter Obi the rightful winner of the 2003 gubernatorial election, a decision  upheld by the Court of Appeal which was then the highest appellate court on gubernatorial election petition.

The Garba Nabaruma tribunal did not consider the fact that at the time of the judgment, the majority of Anambra people had rallied behind Ngige and wished he continued undisturbed. That did not  matter to it because the governor’s foundation was faulty from the very beginning. Nothing therefore could be built on a faulty foundation.

Barr. Peter Ndubuisi Mbah’s quest to govern Enugu State has been contentious right from the outset and has the tendency to repeat the Ngige saga. From the allegation of conviction by a court of law following a secret plea bargain with the EFCC, pre  and post nomination scandals and controversies  to forgery of NYSC discharge certificate, the press have always had a dossier to put down about Peter  Mbah.

Then came the almighty 2023 gubernatorial election held on March 18th, 2023. Peter Mbah was again not beaten to it as he was  pelted with more controversies. From  bribing  one Dr. Ogbene to manufacture over bloated results( outside the BVAS)  from Nkanu East Local Government Area  to compromising Mr Festus Okoye and the Returning Officer Prof. Maduebibisi Iwe,   culminating in a   a highly controversial declaration  in favour of the PDP,  Peter Mbah’s footprints and signature were spotted at every point.  

Despite this sordid  record, Mbah’s loyalists still project him as a man fit in character and capable of being trusted by Ndi Enugu.

The process  leading up to his declaration as winner in the election notwithstanding, the legal practitioner will be sworn in as the fourth executive governor of Enugu state come May 29th, 2023. The problem is that having badly divided the state in pursuit of his ambition as well as the high possibility of being removed by the election tribunal, something that has hung over his head like the Leviathan, legitimacy is one scarce commodity Peter Mbah battles so hard to acquire.

During campaigns, Peter promised to provide water for Enugu metropolis  within 180 days of his inauguration. While Enugu metropolis residents look forward to the fulfilment of the all important promise, an adjustment has been noticed in recent weeks. Peter Mbah has since receiving his certificate of return, been speaking constantly about dualizing the Ugwogo- Nike- Nsukka road and hardly mentions the water supply self imposed deadline. Working a tight rope, he must have been advised that placating Nsukka, the stronghold of the Labour Party, more than anything else, should form his utmost priority. A strategic approach which could help calm frayed nerves and reunite the state and without which governance  could be a Herculean task.

Recently, Peter Mbah took yet another step by inaugurating a 60 man transition committee which according to his supporters is star studded. They boast that the committee comprises  the very best Enugu can offer. The opposition on their part,  mock some highly placed personalities for accepting to have anything to do with a government considered  for all intents and purposes, illegitimate not having been  elected by the majority of Enugu people.

Others say, the need for a 60 member transition committee is more political than useful? Is the committee coming to formulate fresh blueprints for the incoming government, something that have already been articulated in a manifesto? Who bankrolls the expenses of the committee; Peter Mbah or Governor Ugwuanyi?  If the job of the committee is merely to liaise with the outgoing government to ensure a smooth hand over, does it really require big names or the so-called experts?

Aside from  the transition committee image laundering stunt, Mbah’s aides have once more, taken over radio stations highlighting his bogus plans for the state and how Enugu will turn to London within a short time.

That remains to be seen but there’s something they should be more concerned with.  The  elephant in the room. The Labour Party’s petition before the tribunal and which legal pundits have found weighty and loaded with explosives. According to them, ground one alone is enough to make Peter Mbah the shortest serving governor the state ever had.

Is the tribunal expected to be swayed by whatever the new governor is able to do after his inauguration and thus return a favourable verdict for him?

From the Ngige experience, there appears to be little Mbah can do to turn the tide if the court establishes that the process which brought him to power is fundamentally flawed. He therefore has to bank on the strength of his case and not what happens outside the tribunal. It has never counted.

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