…Asks Governor to Withdraw from Senatorial Race
Enugu professionals resident in various parts of the world have asked the Governor of Enugu State, Sullivan Chime to pullout of the senatorial contest as he is not fit for the legislature, in order not to jeopardise the comparative advantage which Ekweremadu’s continuity in the Senate would bring to the State and the South East.
This was contained in an open letter to the Governor signed by thousands of Enugu professionals across the globe. The principal signees of the letter are Uchenna Nnamani for Enugu Enugu East Senatorial District; Desmond Ugwu for Enugu North, and Moses Chinegwu for Enugu West.
Writing under the auspices of Enugu Concerned Professionals Worldwide, asked the Govenor to the interest of the State first and “listen to the collective voices of reason and to consider the distractions and great loss inherent in your contest for an elective position”.
The professionals listed ten-point reasons why the Governor should stay away from elective office.
The group said: “As a lawyer, we will not bore you with the constitutional provision of no-term limit for the legislative arm of our presidential system of government. The importance of no-term limit must override the need for zoning, which is not constitutional.
“The increase in effectiveness of legislators is due to experience: the more you do something, the better you get at it. Experienced legislators make good laws. The Senate and House of Representatives have incumbency and seniority rules, which favor greatly reelected and experienced representatives. Examples abound worldwide.
“The Enugu West senatorial zone has one senate position and two House of Representatives positions. The ranking senator is also the Deputy Senate President and the Speaker of the ECOWAS parliament. The people of this zone will be grossly short-changed if the incumbent senator is denied the opportunity to be reelected. Apart from loss of seniority, a change in the Senate wipes away the power and influence of the exalted office, which is fifth in the succession ranking in Nigeria”.
Continuing, the global community of Enugu professionals insisted Chime’s presence in the Senate would short-change State as a whole.
They further reasoned: “Enugu State houses the capital of Southeastern Nigeria, the home of Ndiigbo. The zone has benefitted from federal appointments and projects emanating from the Office of the Deputy Senate President. The loss of the Office of Deputy Senate President and Speaker of ECOWAS parliament will be a worst disservice to be visited on any people by their leader.
“It is necessary for Southeast to follow the North-central zone that has given automatic ticket to the Senate President. The Governor of Enugu State should be in the vanguard of making sure that the position is retained for the people of Southeast, Enugu State and, specifically, Enugu West senatorial zone”.
The group expressed worries that the political turmoil being generated by the Governor’s interest in an elective position could create unnecessary rift within PDP, which cause a breakaway that capable of adverse consequences on the presidential election.
They feared that violence and loss of lives, insisting that it would be worng to engender wasting of innocent lives over “unnecessary political battles that are not even in the interest of the people” in the first place.
The Enugu Concerned Professionals Worldwide insisted that the Governor was best fit for executive position as “the art of legislation calls for the type of political sagacity needed to lobby and move and pass legislations”.
“The eight- year experience in the executive position has prepared you better for executive position and less to delve into legislature, where a different personality is a better fit”, they said.
They further called on the Governor to focus on bequeathing a rich legacy and “stay out of elective office and allow the people of Enugu East, North, and West to elect their senators and representatives”.
