President-elect, Bola Tinubu’s campaign spokesman in the South East, Dr Josef Onoh has commended the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for coming out clear to state that Dr Chimaroke Nnamani remains a candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the March 18 rescheduled Enugu East Senatorial election.
The election was rescheduled following the death of the Labour Party Senatorial candidate for the district, Oyibo Chukwu, who was killed three days to the election.
The PDP had however written to the INEC saying it was withdrawing from the election, but INEC’s commission for Voter Education, Festus Okoye has expressly stated that it was too late for PDP to withdraw a candidate and cleared Nnamani for the coming Saturday election.
Reacting to the development, Onoh congratulated INEC for clearing the air but charged the people of Enugu East district to reelect Nnamani into the Senate so that the state could have a ranking Senator who could possibly become a Senate President if the position is zones to South East.
Onoh noted that the Senators-elect for Enugu West and Enugu-North districts would become as first timers who would not be considered for the position of President of the Senate in the midst of other ranking Senators across Nigeria, but that if Nnamani is reelected, he would be a third-term Senator, ably qualified to attract the position to Enugu state.
Onoh urged the electorates of the district to disregard parochial sentiment and vote for Nnamani for the interest of Enugu state, the southeast and indeed the entire country.
He said: “I commend INEC for clearing the air and upholding democracy because PDP acted with impunity because of a mere disagreement in the party. For the people of Enugu East Senatorial district, they should understand that the Senate is all about ranking and it will be detrimental for us to play a politics of emotion and compromise a bigger picture.
“So I urge that we support Chimaroke Nnamani to go back to the Senate so that we could benefit from the ranking of a Senator from Enugu state, particularly now that a lot of states in the southeast no longer have ranking Senators. It will be more beneficial for us to support Chimaroke Nnamani so that Enugu would have a high-ranking Senator in the Senate that could emerge as Senate President if the APC zones the position to the southeast.
“The people of Enugu state should rise beyond myopic politics and ask themselves how long they will continue to settle for a slice of soaked bread. We should rise beyond Abacha, Ugba and the native soup mentality brand of politics that has held down the state from progressing beyond what it was in colonial times.
“We should look towards what Asiwaju’s presidency can offer the state instead of being misled by the so-called godfathers whose interests do not represent the interest of Enugu state and have failed to push Enugu state into the centre of National politics.”
