“No one has monopoly of power to make anyone Senator except God and one’s constituents. I believe that the beauty of democracy is fair-play and the President has promised a level playing ground for all aspirants…”
The above were the words of former Governor of Abia State, Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu as he picked his nomination form to run for Abia North Senatorial seat on the platform of the PDP ahead of the 2015 elections. Kalu who said that he picked his nomination form at Wadata Plaza, informed that his move in doing that, having served his state as governor between the period of 1999-2007, was because he has had numerous calls from and by his people in that respect to represent them again, not as governor, but as senator this time around.
Before venturing into politics, according to Kalu, he had been empowering his people same way when he was in public office, so based on this, he’s confident of victory. He believes that it is on the desk of the people to decide who their representative should be and not any person in the state. As a great man Kalu is, it is obvious that some persons who think themselves power brokers in Abia are now jittery for this time-consuming move by Kalu, because the lion has come back to her fold.
It is obvious that Abia North Senatorial District that Kalu hails from is now engulfed in rainbow of thoughtfulness among the infinitesimal group that remorse Kalu because of politics. It could be recalled that barely five days to the 2011 senatorial elections in Abia State, the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) nearly went into rubbles following the oligarchic approach of Governor T.A Orji that targeted two party muscular members, Chief Ojo Maduekwe and Senate President, David Mark. The governor feared the overwhelming weight of the Progressive Peoples Party (PPA) senatorial candidate and former governor of the state, Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu.
Governor T.A Orji against David Mark
As it was to the build up for the election in 2011, Governor Theodore Orji pushed for the PDP candidate, Uche Chukwumerije and persuaded the people from that Abia North constituency to vote for Chukwumerije. The governor is from Abia Central, while Kalu and Chukwumerije who were the major contenders in that election come from Abia North Senatorial District.
The governor was doing that, because of the resentment that he has shown to Kalu – the man that spent his resources and energy and he became governor in the 2007 elections? Against this backdrop, many people from Abia State had wished Maduekwe would be national chairman of the PDP, but the governor was out and was pushing Chukwumerije to become senator in order to represent the Senate President David Mark. But as nature wanted it, Mark was fully out of returning to the National Assembly as president of the Senate.
According to a report in a national paper with the title, “Abia North Tears PDP Apart”, March 29, 2011, “Apparently, Governor Orji is not comfortable with having Maduekwe, who is from Ohafia in Abia North as PDP chairman, and is, therefore, pushing Chukwumerije as Senate president even when he has not won a third-term ticket. Governor Orji knows that following the party’s continuity arrangement, Senator Mark, who is a strong backer of President Goodluck Jonathan, has brighter chances of winning Senatorial elections than Chukwumerije.”
Kalu as his rivals’ waterloo
Kalu was not making noise within the period. He allowed ‘noisemakers’ make the noise, while he used his head. As the source had it, Emeka Obasi who’s Kalu’s aid, in his postulation said: “That is a sweet umbrella battle. Kalu is their waterloo. Expectedly, the ‘Otimkpu’ regime has started playing ‘kalo-kalo,’ building castles in the air.
“This is just a ploy to knock out Maduekwe from the PDP chairmanship race. I hope Senator Mark is watching. No governor has the power to anoint a Senate president. Elections have not even been held. And you know it is now one- man, one- vote. No Federal might, no state power.”
(Obasi described the move as further proof that the Abia State government had run short of ideas, speedily turning into an island in the Igbo hinterland), while he continued, according to the source, “Believe it, we have a pariah government in Abia. The First Lady had since distanced herself from their terminological inexactitudes.
“The Chief-of-Army staff Gen. Azubuike Ihejirika, a worthy son of the state, said the army would not take part in politics. Somebody, somewhere wallowing in delusion, thought the renovated military presence in Ohafia would be part of their kitchen cabinet. And just Saturday in Abuja, Governor Chibuike Amechi rightly proclaimed Mr. President as a Rivers son-in-law. Now the umbrella in Abia cannot cover anybody.”
Would the PDP’s umbrella accommodate all this time?
Abia North is made up of Arochukwu, Bende, Isiukwuato, Ohafia and Umunneochi council areas. Chukwumerije hails from Umunneochi Local Government Area. Senator Uche Chukwumerije, who is the Chairman, Senate Committee on Education, won in that 2011 election and is still interested in picking the PDP ticket in the Abia North Senatorial zone in 2015.
However, he had fallen apart with Chief Obasanjo-led PDP when he mounted pressure against the third term agenda, when he won his first senatorial election in 2003-2007. When Obasanjo’s heat was much on him, he genuflected to the Progressive Peoples Alliance (PPA) (the party that Kalu built) in 2006 and was reelected to the Senate in April 2007. It was obvious that Kalu was rigged out of the election in 2011 with the arsenal of security operatives that were heavily present in Abia North.
Kalu rejects result
A total of 11 political parties participated in the election in Abia North. By April 11 2011, the news was everywhere that Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu had rejected the result of the April 10 2011, which declared Chukwumerije winner of the Abia North senatorial election, announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared Chukwumerije the winner.
Kalu vowed to challenge the outcome in court of competent jurisdiction. In the result, the commission said Kalu polled 34, 188 votes, while Chukwumerije scored 83, 206 votes. Kalu’s words for rejecting the result were: “The result of the election announced by the INEC does not represent the wish of the people of Abia North. I make bold to say that I won in four of the five local government areas in Abia North Senatorial District.
“I am going to challenge the result in a court of law because it was not a true reflection of how people voted during the election. I believe in the judiciary and I am very hopeful that I will claim my victory at the court.”
It is pertinent to say that Kalu cried out that he did not win in Umunneochi Local Government was based on a so-called unapproachable presence of soldiers that terrified entitled voters away from exercising their civic responsibilities. So, it behooves on the Federal authorities and the INEC to get the election right this time, so that no one cries out of blue murder and arm-twisting in 2015.
Rubby Obinna writes from Ohaji, Imo State.
The above were the words of former Governor of Abia State, Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu as he picked his nomination form to run for Abia North Senatorial seat on the platform of the PDP ahead of the 2015 elections. Kalu who said that he picked his nomination form at Wadata Plaza, informed that his move in doing that, having served his state as governor between the period of 1999-2007, was because he has had numerous calls from and by his people in that respect to represent them again, not as governor, but as senator this time around.
Before venturing into politics, according to Kalu, he had been empowering his people same way when he was in public office, so based on this, he’s confident of victory. He believes that it is on the desk of the people to decide who their representative should be and not any person in the state. As a great man Kalu is, it is obvious that some persons who think themselves power brokers in Abia are now jittery for this time-consuming move by Kalu, because the lion has come back to her fold.
It is obvious that Abia North Senatorial District that Kalu hails from is now engulfed in rainbow of thoughtfulness among the infinitesimal group that remorse Kalu because of politics. It could be recalled that barely five days to the 2011 senatorial elections in Abia State, the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) nearly went into rubbles following the oligarchic approach of Governor T.A Orji that targeted two party muscular members, Chief Ojo Maduekwe and Senate President, David Mark. The governor feared the overwhelming weight of the Progressive Peoples Party (PPA) senatorial candidate and former governor of the state, Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu.
Governor T.A Orji against David Mark
As it was to the build up for the election in 2011, Governor Theodore Orji pushed for the PDP candidate, Uche Chukwumerije and persuaded the people from that Abia North constituency to vote for Chukwumerije. The governor is from Abia Central, while Kalu and Chukwumerije who were the major contenders in that election come from Abia North Senatorial District.
The governor was doing that, because of the resentment that he has shown to Kalu – the man that spent his resources and energy and he became governor in the 2007 elections? Against this backdrop, many people from Abia State had wished Maduekwe would be national chairman of the PDP, but the governor was out and was pushing Chukwumerije to become senator in order to represent the Senate President David Mark. But as nature wanted it, Mark was fully out of returning to the National Assembly as president of the Senate.
According to a report in a national paper with the title, “Abia North Tears PDP Apart”, March 29, 2011, “Apparently, Governor Orji is not comfortable with having Maduekwe, who is from Ohafia in Abia North as PDP chairman, and is, therefore, pushing Chukwumerije as Senate president even when he has not won a third-term ticket. Governor Orji knows that following the party’s continuity arrangement, Senator Mark, who is a strong backer of President Goodluck Jonathan, has brighter chances of winning Senatorial elections than Chukwumerije.”
Kalu as his rivals’ waterloo
Kalu was not making noise within the period. He allowed ‘noisemakers’ make the noise, while he used his head. As the source had it, Emeka Obasi who’s Kalu’s aid, in his postulation said: “That is a sweet umbrella battle. Kalu is their waterloo. Expectedly, the ‘Otimkpu’ regime has started playing ‘kalo-kalo,’ building castles in the air.
“This is just a ploy to knock out Maduekwe from the PDP chairmanship race. I hope Senator Mark is watching. No governor has the power to anoint a Senate president. Elections have not even been held. And you know it is now one- man, one- vote. No Federal might, no state power.”
(Obasi described the move as further proof that the Abia State government had run short of ideas, speedily turning into an island in the Igbo hinterland), while he continued, according to the source, “Believe it, we have a pariah government in Abia. The First Lady had since distanced herself from their terminological inexactitudes.
“The Chief-of-Army staff Gen. Azubuike Ihejirika, a worthy son of the state, said the army would not take part in politics. Somebody, somewhere wallowing in delusion, thought the renovated military presence in Ohafia would be part of their kitchen cabinet. And just Saturday in Abuja, Governor Chibuike Amechi rightly proclaimed Mr. President as a Rivers son-in-law. Now the umbrella in Abia cannot cover anybody.”
Would the PDP’s umbrella accommodate all this time?
Abia North is made up of Arochukwu, Bende, Isiukwuato, Ohafia and Umunneochi council areas. Chukwumerije hails from Umunneochi Local Government Area. Senator Uche Chukwumerije, who is the Chairman, Senate Committee on Education, won in that 2011 election and is still interested in picking the PDP ticket in the Abia North Senatorial zone in 2015.
However, he had fallen apart with Chief Obasanjo-led PDP when he mounted pressure against the third term agenda, when he won his first senatorial election in 2003-2007. When Obasanjo’s heat was much on him, he genuflected to the Progressive Peoples Alliance (PPA) (the party that Kalu built) in 2006 and was reelected to the Senate in April 2007. It was obvious that Kalu was rigged out of the election in 2011 with the arsenal of security operatives that were heavily present in Abia North.
Kalu rejects result
A total of 11 political parties participated in the election in Abia North. By April 11 2011, the news was everywhere that Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu had rejected the result of the April 10 2011, which declared Chukwumerije winner of the Abia North senatorial election, announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared Chukwumerije the winner.
Kalu vowed to challenge the outcome in court of competent jurisdiction. In the result, the commission said Kalu polled 34, 188 votes, while Chukwumerije scored 83, 206 votes. Kalu’s words for rejecting the result were: “The result of the election announced by the INEC does not represent the wish of the people of Abia North. I make bold to say that I won in four of the five local government areas in Abia North Senatorial District.
“I am going to challenge the result in a court of law because it was not a true reflection of how people voted during the election. I believe in the judiciary and I am very hopeful that I will claim my victory at the court.”
It is pertinent to say that Kalu cried out that he did not win in Umunneochi Local Government was based on a so-called unapproachable presence of soldiers that terrified entitled voters away from exercising their civic responsibilities. So, it behooves on the Federal authorities and the INEC to get the election right this time, so that no one cries out of blue murder and arm-twisting in 2015.
Rubby Obinna writes from Ohaji, Imo State.
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