Ben Ezechime, Enugu
All may not be well with the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Enugu State as the Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Hon. Edward Ubosi, appeared to have dumped the party ahead of the 2023 general election.
Ubosi, representing Enugu East State Constituency in the Assembly is a staunch inner caucus member of the ‘Ebeano family’ created by former Gov. Chimaroke Nnamani, to further his political nest in the state since 1999.
The speaker, who also contested the last PDP governorship primary on May 25, 2022, but was unceremoniously dribbled by Gov. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, was said to have been heading towards irrelevance since that Maradonic experience as his political future has remained uncertain.
However, Ubosi made a bold political Statement recently in Abakaliki, Ebonyi State, when he attended a political campaign rally organised by the All Progressives Congress (APC) to drum support for Sen. Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the presidential candidate of APC.
Though, the sudden appearance of the speaker came to many, members of the PDP in Enugu State as a rude shock, many observers were not taken unawares.
Political events in Enugu State since the last governorship primary of the party on May 25, have shown that, the ruling party in the state is no longer a political family as it used to be.
There has been grumblings which has led to the defection of some political bigwigs to some other political parties, especially the emerging Labour Party, which is highly favoured in 2023 due to the emergence of, Mr Peter Obi.
Even as the crises of confidence continued to brew in the party, Dr Nnamani came out fully in support of his “friend” BAT in what appeared like a total betrayal of Gov. Ugwuanyi and his cohorts.
Since the sudden alliance with BAT by the former governor and the arrowhead of the Ebeano” political dynasty, the PDP and her political family had continued to crack as more members, especially those on the payroll of the governor have remained bodily present.
Meanwhile, the bold step taken by the speaker without minding whose ox is gored is a clear indication that sooner than later, the burble will burst.
Chimaroke had earlier been excluded from the campaign team of, Mr Peter Mbah, the governorship candidate of the party, despite being touted as the brain behind Mbah’s emergence.
In an interview with the media, Ubosi was reported to have said that “PDP has failed Nigerians hence his decision to support APC’s presidential candidate in the forthcoming general election.”
It was also alleged that the speaker confided in a close associate that he was no longer a member of the PDP but “cannot say it openly,” for fear of losing his seat in the house of assembly.
And that several of his colleagues in and out of government have abandoned the PDP for Labour Party but cannot openly decamp for the same reason.
A member of the PDP campaign council told Ikengaonline in confidence that, it was just a matter of time for the PDP in Enugu State to witness a “tsunami.”
“I am afraid, we may have lost hope of winning the next year’s general election as PDP’s major stakeholders in the state, like Sen. Chimaroke Nnamani, Rt. Hon. Ubosi and a host of others, have abandoned the party even when some of them are still contesting on the party’s ticket,” he said.
The political situation in the state is very interesting as more is yet to be heard as the once “dominant” political family in Enugu State is crumbling like a pack of cards.
