By Tony Edike

THOUSANDS of the people from the 17 local government areas of Enugu State gathered last Sunday to witness and cheer Governor Sullivan Iheanacho Chime as he took another oath of office to govern the Coal City State for a second term of four years.  The Michael Okpara Square venue of the inauguration was filled with people from all walks of life who converged as early as 8 am for the colourful event.

It was indeed a remarkable day for many indigenes of the state some of who travelled from a far distance to participate in the inauguration of the governor and his deputy, Mr. Sunday Chidi Onyebuchi. The weather in Enugu was clement and the atmosphere was that of conviviality as the participants visibly expressed their joy over the renewal of the governor’s mandate.

Several events were organized for the governor’s inauguration which began with a public lecture delivered by the Vice Chancellor of the Federal University, Oye-Ekiti, Venerable Professor Chinedu Nebo at the Nike Lake Resort Hotel, Enugu on May 27.  This was followed by an Inter-denominational Church Service held in conjunction with the Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN and a musical concert tagged “Inauguration Blastz” where some Nigerian mega stars including P Square, Tu Face Idibia, Wande Cole, Flavour, and Bracketperformed till dawn on Sunday.

The grand finale which was the swearing-in and inauguration of Governor Chime and the Deputy Governor by the state Chief Judge, Justice Innocent Umezulike at the Michael Okpara Square, Enugu was preceded by a colourful ceremonial parade by policemen drawn from the state police command and mobile policemen from No. 3 Squadron Police Mobile Force, PMF, Enugu. Chime inspected the parade and took salute which marked his first official assignment for the second term.

Present at the inauguration were elected members of the National Assembly from the state, politicians, political appointees, traditional rulers, the clergy, local government chairmen, civil servants and students.

Among notable leaders of the state at the event were a retired state Chief Judge, Igwe Justice Eze Ozobu, Igwe Onyioha Nwanjoku, Senator Ayogu Eze, Senator-elect, Gilbert Nnaji, Vice Chancellor of the University of Nigeria, UNN, Professor Bartho Okolo, Chief Onyemuche Nnamani, Chief Nnoli Nnaji, Chief Everest Nnaji and Chairman of the state chapter of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Engr. Vita Abba.

However, members of the opposition political parties like the People for Democratic Change, PDC and the Labour Party that challenged the governor and members of his political camp in recent elections were conspicuously absent.

The leader of the PDC and Chime’s former sponsor, Senator Chimaroke Nnamani was in custody of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC on the orders of the Enugu State High Court now trying him for alleged contract scam. The fresh corruption charges against the former governor followed complaints from Chime administration regarding some contracts awarded during Nnamani’s tenure, which were allegedly not executed.

The governorship candidate of PDC, Dr Dan Shere who had congratulated Governor Chime on his electoral victory, his Labour Party counterpart, Chief Okey Ezea and their supporters did not show up at the governor’s inauguration.

Ezea is the only governorship candidate that has dragged Chime before the Election Petition Tribunal challenging his qualification to stand for the April 26 governorship election in the state.

Also absent at the ceremony were PDP members and candidates for various offices in the camp of the former National Chairman of the party, Dr Okwesieleze Nwodo most of who are in different courts battling to recover their mandates from those elected from the governor’s side.  Some strong supporters of the governor like former governor of old Anambra State, Chief Jim Nwobodo, former Senate President, Chief Ken Nnamani, Minister of Aviation, Mrs. Fidelia Njeze and Deputy Senate President, Chief Ike Ekweremadu, were absent at the inauguration as they reportedly attended President Goodluck Jonathan’s inauguration at Abuja the same day.

However, Governor Chime who addressed the crowd on the occasion listed a number of programmes that would be implemented under his second term as a matter of priority. He declared that the “unmistaken mandate” he received on April 26, 2011 had confirmed the approval by Enugu people of the thrust of the government’s policies and programmes.

“I pledge that we shall continue to consolidate and build upon the gains of our current achievements, driven by our 4-Point Agenda and the needs of our rural communities as articulated under the Visit-Every-Community (VEC) initiative,” the governor said, adding that the strategies for the implementation of the 4-Point Agenda would be refined and refocused to ensure that “we improve on our ability and expand our resources to meet the key development needs of our people.”

The take-off point of the administration, from all indications is human development.  Chime declared that his government was determined to secure the future of the state by equipping the children to compete in the knowledge economy by providing them with the best education that the state’s resources could afford.

The Chime administration had within the last year of the first tenure faced very stiff opposition constituted by PDP members who had been sidelined by the regime since 2007.  This group of politicians grabbed the opportunity created by Dr. Nwodo’s ascendancy to the exalted position of PDP National Chairman to assert itself politically and succeeded in factionalizing the ruling party.  The internal opposition has continued to fight on in their bid to recover power from Chime and others elected on the platform of PDP in recent elections.

The pending cases in court over the party’s contentious primaries are likely to cause a major distraction to the new administration unless they are disposed off as soon as possible to enable the government concentrate on issues of development.