ENUGU—Indications emerged, weekend, that the predicted battle against former Governor Sullivan Chime of Enugu State may have started from the local government areas where some chairmen believed to be loyal to the governor have been marked for removal.

The war against Chime appears to be coming from his own kitchen cabinet that fell out with some political heavyweights who also lost party nomination in the last election.

Already, some chairmen have been marked for impeachment as petitions to the Economic and Financial Crime Commission, EFCC, may be in the offing.

A close government source confirmed to Vanguard that a House of Representatives aspirant from Nkanu-East, who lost nomination in the last election, was being used to ensure that all the governors’ men were dislodged, even before the local government elections coming up later in November.

He was believed to be working with some Peoples for Democratic Change, PDC, bigwigs to destabilize the PDP in Nkanu-East, having failed in an earlier attempt to ensure that PDP failed the last elections in both Nkanu-East and West.

Already, Enugu State working committee of PDP, under the leadership of Chief Ikeje Asogwa, had inaugurated a disciplinary committee to investigate acts of sabotage from members of the party during and after the recently concluded elections.

The committee, headed by the state secretary, Steve Oruruo, Mr. Igwesi, Dr. Chris Iyiani, Mrs. Oby Nwofor and Mr. Armstrong Agbo as members, were charged with the responsibility of identifying members that engaged in anti-party activities and find out areas the party had lapses.

The recent onslaught against the governors’ men had also been timed to coincide with the transition and hand-over to the new governor and also unsettle his administration.
…. Residents yearn for good governance

ENUGU—The people of Enugu State have asked the newly sworn-in administration of Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi to hit the ground running with programmes and policies that would directly alleviate the sufferings of the masses.

A cross section of residents who spoke to Vanguard were, however, upbeat on the capability of Ugwuanyi’s administration to deliver on it campaign promises.

President, Enugu Unity Forum, EUF, Chief Tahil Ochi, said: “Appointment of political offices should be purely on merit. Politicians who are professionals in different fields of endeavour and have a grip of the peculiarities of their sector should be appointed.

“The governor should know that the 2019 re-election bid has started. His actions and inaction from the onset will determine his faith at the end of his four year stint.

“Policies and programmes that are employment oriented to absolve the teeming unemployed youths that roam the streets should be given priority.

‘’Loopholes where revenue leaked from should be plugged, especially now that allocation from the centre is thinning out gradually.”

Another respondent, former Commissioner for Inter-Ministerial Duties, Mr. Beloved-Dan Anike, said: “This administration should walk the talk of reducing pressure on Enugu metropolis by developing other semi-urban centres like Nsukka, 9th Mile Corner to trigger socio-economic growth in those areas.

“Improvement of workers welfare should by key in order to drive the wheels of government policies and programmes efficiently and effectively. The incessant killing, maiming, rape, kidnap and expropriation of our people and farmland by the now dreaded fulani herdsmen should be tackled frontally by this administration.

“Most of our people are predominantly farmers. The activities of Fulani herdsmen have left tears and anguish in most families. Our agrarian farmland  have greatly been devastated.

‘’It is worrisome that they have been allowed space to desecrate the land, while security agencies watch in surrender.”