The ultimate humble pie for a governor is to look askance in the process of choosing his successor. It is no easy thing for Governor Martins Elechi.

By Peter Okutu

THE last governorship primary election of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP in the state produced Engr. Dave Nweze Umahi from Ebony South zone as its candidate for the 2015 general elections.

While that of Labour party, LP, produced Arc. Edward Nkwegu from Ebonyi North zone, the All Progressive Congress, APC, produced Senator Julius Ucha from Ebonyi Central zone as its own candidate.

With the emergence of these candidates the political arena is now set for the political gladiators to woo Ebonyians on the need for them to be voted in the 2015 general election.

Since 1999, Ebonyi had remained a PDP state and produced all the governors of the state.

The dominance of the party has made it possible that even those who had left the party because of one grievance or the other had reasons to return to the party to run for elective position.

However, the situation this time is different given the overt support by the incumbent PDP governor to members of the opposition to wrest power from the PDP in the forthcoming elections at all state levels.

This was largely because the governorship aspirant supported by the incumbent governor, Prof. Onyebuchi Chukwu lost out in the governorship primaries.

Engr. Dave Umahi, the incumbent deputy governor and PDP governorship candidate for 2015 beat Chukwu who was backed by Elechi in the primaries.

The governor has thus thrown his support behind the candidate of the Labour Party, LP Arc. Edward Nkwegu has no record of being a politician.

Nkwegu is from the Northern Senatorial district which produced Governor Sam Egwu who ruled the state for eight years before the advent of Elechi who is from Central.

The argument by the political mainstream in the state was for power shift to the South, an argument that was pushed by the governor until his man, Chukwu lost out and he returned to his own North and settled on the LP candidate from the North senatorial district of the State.

Many southerners are of the view that if Governor Elechi was sincere in his pronouncement that power would shift to the south senatorial district of the state, he would have insisted that Prof Onyebuchi be made the LP governorship candidate for the state, so as to compete with Engr. Dave Umahi but the reverse is the case.

The difficulties of the governor may have opened opportunity for the APC through its candidate, Senator Ucha to actualise his long term goal of becoming governor. He was a gladiator during the 2011 general election and subsequently fought his case up to the Supreme Court, albeit unsuccessfully.

Many people believe that he is presently exhausted financially and politically after two successive campaigns in 2007 and 2011 and would find it difficult pulling a strong has lost touch with the present realities in the political arena as he is no longer an incumbent senator and do not have enough resources to fund his electioneering campaigns in the 2015 general election.

Meanwhile, the PDP governorship candidate is building on the goodwill he had while he was chairman of the state chapter of the party.

In that position associates of Governor Elechi say that the governor ignorantly allowed the state chairman to be empowered to his own disadvantage.

As a robust politician, he was able to emerge as the PDP gubernatorial candidate after defeating seven aspirants in a landslide victory and that, despite the stiff hostility of the governor.

His emergence and decision to run for the exalted position took years of careful analysis, consultation and graphic arrangement to ensure his victory at the polls.

Painfully, however, was the way and manner Governor Elechi’s candidate was edge out of the race despite his high sounding profile as former Minister of Health.

His endorsement by the governor without consultation with stakeholders made it a tough sell. It is an action that would haunt Chief Elechi for many years to come.