Group Faults Edeoga’s Defection To LP

A non-governmental organisation, Enugu Good Governance Group has faulted former Enugu State Labour Party (LP) governorship candidate, Hon. Chijioke Edeoga’s claims that he defected to the party because of Alhaji Atiku Abubakar’s emergence as Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate.

The group insisted that Edeoga left the PDP to pursue his ” personal ambition” to govern Enugu State.

The group also faulted Edeoga’s claim that he only congratulated, but never pledged his support to the PDP governorship candidate in Enugu, Dr Peter Mbah.

Justice Evelyn Maha of the Federal High Court, Abuja had nullified the governorship primary of the Labour Party in the state that produced Edeoga as its candidate. The court ordered the party to conduct a fresh primary election within 14 days.

But in a reaction yesterday to Edeoga’s interview published at the weekend wherein he said he reconsidered his position to support Mbah following the failure of the PDP to zone its presidential ticket to the South East in line with the principle of rotational presidency in the party’s constitution, the group faulted his claim.

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In a statement issued yesterday by its national coordinator, Comrade Odinaka Okechukwu, the group said, “The sequence of events clearly shows that Hon. Chijioke Edeoga was very economical with the truth in the said interview. While Atiku Abubakar emerged the presidential candidate of the PDP on 28th May, 2022, Edeoga issued a personally signed statement on 6th June, 2022, where he not only congratulated Mbah, but equally called on his supporters and Enugu people to support the PDP candidate. That was a sequel to Mbah’s visit to him after the governorship primary election.

“Edeoga wrote: ‘Peter Mbah has reached out to us and stretched out a hand of fellowship; we are disposed to supporting him. In view of the foregoing, I hereby urge all my supporters and the people of Enugu State at large to rally behind Mr. Peter Mbah for the tasks ahead’.

“So, Atiku’s emergence as PDP’s presidential flagbearer, which happened many days before Edeoga’s declaration of support for Mbah, could not have been a factor in Edeoga’s decision to renege on the support he pledged or jettison a pact he earlier signed along with other aspirants from Enugu East zone to support any among them endorsed by the governor and the party faithful. He only joined the Labour Party to pursue his selfish political interest, not Igbo interest.”

The group also faulted Edeoga’s claim that he decided to pursue the Enugu governorship seat to do things differently from PDP in Enugu State.

“Edeoga cannot predicate his governorship ambition on doing things differently in the provision of good governance, environmental sanitation, among others, when he could not do same as council chairman, member House of Representatives, special assistant to the president, commissioner for local government affairs from 2015 to 2019 and commissioner for environment from 2019 until March 2022 when he joined the race for the PDP governorship ticket.

“Besides, as a group promoting good governance in Enugu State, we have toured the immediate communities of the governorship candidates. It is noteworthy that while Dr. Mbah has to his credit kilometres of asphalt road, St. Cecilia Ultra-modern Hospital Owo, scholarships, skills and entrepreneurial training and health interventions through the Peter Mbah Foundation, the Mgbuji community and entire Eha-Amufu where Edeoga and many of us come from have nothing to show for his 25 years in various political positions,” the group stated.

The group, therefore, urged the people of the state to elect people with a track record of proven achievements, who could take the state to the next level of development and men of their words, who would not renege on their campaign promises.