It was Douglas MacArthur who said, “A true leader has the confidence to stand alone, the courage to make tough decisions, and the compassion to listen to the needs of others. He does not set out to be a leader but becomes one by the equality of his actions and the integrity of his intent”. MacArthur could have had Senator Victor Umeh, OFR, who clocks 57 years on Friday 19th July 2019, in mind when he said this.
Umeh is a man of the people, a politician’s politician and a star in the east of the Niger who provided effective, strong, and courageous representation to the good people of Anambra Central Senatorial District in particular and marginalized Nigerians in general in the Eight Senate of the Federal Republic.
His Grace, Most Rev. Dr. Emmanuel Chukwuma, OON, the Archbishop of Enugu Diocese, Anglican Communion summed up his superlative performance in the Senate when he declared: “It takes courage to do what others are scared to do for people. Senator Dr. Victor Umeh, you truly stood for the people at the Senate”. Archibishop Chukwuma spoke at the 17th Synod of the Anglican Communion in Enugu on 28th June, 2019, where the Church’s prestigious “Distinguished Award of Excellence in Nation Building”, was conferred on Umeh in recognition of his noble, purposeful and courageous representation of Ndigbo at the Senate. He urged the Senator not to relent in fighting the cause of equity and justice for the people in the polity. A devout Christian, Senator Umeh is a Knight of St. John International (KSJI) in the Catholic Church as well as Papal Knight of St. Sylvester conferred on him by Pope Francis, the Catholic Supreme Pontiff in 2016. He also received numerous awards and chieftaincy titles in appreciation of his principled stance on critical national issues and people-oriented motions and bills he sponsored and co-sponsored in the Senate.
These were in tandem with his vision and mission of becoming a Senator of the Federal Republic which would give him the privilege of contributing his quota to advance peace, unity and development in Nigeria by sponsoring and promoting legislations that would guarantee equity, justice and fairness in the country.
After over two years of legal fireworks to recover his stolen mandate in the March 28, 2015 Senatorial election in Anambra Central, Umeh won a landslide victory in the Saturday January 13, 2018 court ordered fresh poll in the zone and was sworn in by the President of the Senate, Dr. Bukola Saraki on January 18, 2018.
Though a first timer in the Senate, he became the acclaimed voice of the voiceless and a breath of fresh air in representative governance. He was the Vice-Chairman Senate Committee on Employment, Labour and Productivity; Member Committee on Finance; Trade and Investment; Land, Transport, Environment and Housing; Petroleum Resources (Upstream); Culture and Tourism.
Ohamadike, as he is fondly called by admirers, deployed his political sagacity and savvy sponsoring and co-sponsoring several motions and bills including motion on, “The Urgent Need To Include The Eastern Rail Lines In The Nigeria Railway Development Project”, co-sponsor with Senator Stella Oduah (Anambra North), the Federal University of Education Aguleri, Anambra State (Est,etc) Bill, 2018 (SB, 653)”. He equally sponsored a motion on the “Illegal Confinement of Underage Offenders and Infants in the Same Prison with Adult Prisoners.”
Umeh strongly opposed the exclusion of the South East and South South in the constitution of the Board of Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) on 11th December 2018, and urged the Senate to step down the consideration of the report on the screening of President Muhammadu Buhari’s nominees pending when the lopsidedness in the appointment would be addressed to reflect Federal Character principle as provided in the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended). His observation was accepted and the list was sent back to Mr. President to reflect Federal Character and returned to the Senate for confirmation. He sponsored a Motion that intervened in the Federal Government’s planned down grade of Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu.
A grassroots politician, Umeh spoke out on the urgent need to halt the importation of palm oil and its allied products to protect the palm oil/kernel in Nigeria, strongly objected to the proposed cattle colonies across the country, the killings in Benue, Kaduna, Nasarawa, Plateau etc; supported minimum wage for workers, commiserated with traders who lost their wares in the fire that engulfed Dei-Dei market in Abuja.
On October 23, 2018, he sponsored a motion on the exclusion of the South East from the National Defence and the National Security Councils. He argued that the exclusion of the zone was unfair and unjust, and a violation of the provisions of the 1999 Constitution (as amended). After extensive deliberations, Senate President, Dr. Saraki said the issues raised by Umeh were reasonable and should not be jettisoned.
A paragon of patriotism, Umeh contributed immensely in various debates and deliberations of the Eight Senate which passed a total number of 293 bills as at 7th May, 2019.
Senator Umeh’s excellent performance in the Eight Senate, the outstanding constituency projects he attracted and executed, the first by any Senator in Anambra Central since 1999, the Federal and State employment he provided for some youths, his women and youth empowerment programme and scholarship to indigent students up to doctorate degree level, spurred his people to endorse him for yet another robust representation in the Ninth Senate. He campaigned vigorously across the 58 communities that made up Anambra Central Senatorial Zone. Political pundits predicted a landslide victory in the February 23rd, 2019 Senatorial poll.
The election in Anambra Central turned out to be the worst in the country. It was a charade and a mockery of the nation’s emerging democracy. Card readers were not used even when they were functioning to aid manipulation of results for his opponent, elections were not conducted in many polling units and results withheld for days before being announced in some places elections held which did not reflect the express will of the people, ballot stuffing, number of votes cancelled exceeding the margin of victory, thuggery and invalid nomination of the Peoples Democratic Party’s candidate. It is justice juxtaposed, impunity, flagrant violation of the Electoral Act and abuse of INEC’s Regulations and Guidelines for the Conduct of Political Party Primaries for the 2019 general election.
As an advocate of the rule of law and someone who believes in strict adherence to the rules governing the country, Umeh has to challenge the outcome of the polls in a petition to the Anambra State National Assembly Election Petition Tribunal, marked EPT/AN/SEN/16/2019. The recent Supreme Court judgments nullifying the entire APC primaries in Rivers and Zamfara States are eloquent testimonies of the triumph of rule of law and due process over impunity in electoral process. The Tribunal has since commenced hearing on the matter which will further deepen the nation’s fragile democracy and strengthen its jurisprudence as obtainable when Umeh flew the kite of APGA’s intention to seek judicial interpretation of Section 180 (2) of the 1999 Constitution on tenure of office of a Governor in an interview with the Sun newspaper of Thursday, 10th August, 2006, titled, “Obi’s four-year tenure not negotiable – Umeh”. The suit was instituted and in a landmark judgment delivered by Justice Katsina Alu, the Supreme Court declared that Governor Peter Obi’s tenure in Anambra State continued till 16th March 2010. This resulted in staggered governorship elections in Nigeria.
Senator Umeh who was the pioneer APGA National Vice Chairman – South East, National Treasurer on 10th January, 2003, was unanimously appointed acting National Chairman by the party’s National Working Committee on 15th December 2004, and was elected National Chairman in the party’s second national convention in December 2006 at Enugu. His tenure which ended in June 2015 was known as the golden Era of the party. He won over 30 suits instituted by party dissidents challenging his leadership, four governorship elections in Anambra and Imo States, while Governor Theodore Orji of the Progressive Peoples Alliance decamped to APGA with Federal and State legislators in the State, and were welcomed in Umuahia, Abia State by the late National Leader and Chairman Board of Trustees, Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu and the Umeh-led National Working Committee. Orji later decamped to PDP as APGA abhors political nomadism. The party also won a Senate seat in Imo State by Mrs. Chris Anyanwu in 2011, over 40 Federal and State legislators including two Speakers of Imo and Anambra Houses of Assembly; several Local Government Chairmen and Councilors in Abia, Anambra, Bayelsa, Imo and Taraba States.
Then President Goodluck Jonathan appointed three members of the party Ambassadors including the wife of the late National Leader, Iyom Bianca Ojukwu. Eminent Nigerians joined the party as it became the beautiful bride of Nigeria’s politics and the third leg in the nation’s political tripod.
Senator Umeh provided the desired synergy with the action Governor of Anambra State, Dr. Willie Obiano for rapid development of the State and accompanied him to Austria on investment drive. He was the Director General of Obiano’s Re-election Campaign for the November 2017 Gubernatorial Election which APGA won a landslide victory unprecedented in the State. Ohamadike is indeed, a formidable political juggernaut.
Ojukwu was impressed by Umeh’s spectacular performance as APGA boss in spite of strong opposition within and outside the party. He described him as the “Best National Chairman in the Federation” and praised his “tenacity, courage and resilience,” stating, “The might of a warrior is tested only in battle… Kudos”.
Indeed, Senator Dr. Victor Umeh, OFR, is a visionary leader of our time who still has a mission to accomplish in the National Assembly. A Fellow of Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers (FNIVS ), he is happily married to Lady Prisca Chineye Umeh, both have seven successful children.
I join millions of his supporters to wish Ohamadike Ndigbo a happy birthday.
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Dr. Eze, a political analyst sent this piece from Awka, Anambra State.
