By Chioma Gabriel, Deputy Editor
IT was all celebrations in Enugu State , Monday, when the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) published the name of Governor Sullivan Iheanacho Chime as the flag-bearer of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the forthcoming governorship elections.

In a dramatic twist, however, the Commission, barely twenty four hours later, put the decision on Chime and Governor Adebayo Alao-Akala of Oyo State on hold, raising obvious anxieties within the camps of the two helmsmen.

Ever since then, tongues have been wagging as to the fate of the two governors among others who suffered similar fate. In Enugu State , for instance, that announcement sent jitters down the spines of the numerous supporters and admirers of Chime who is widely acknowledged to have performed creditably since he came on the saddle.

Yet, some people in opposition have seized the opportunity of the pervading uncertainty to spread rumours that Chime may, afterall, not get PDP’s ticket.  It is on the strength of the foregoing that Saturday Vanguard sought the views of Chuks Ugwoke, the Enugu State Commissioner for Information, Culture and Tourism and Director of Media of the Sullivan Campaign Organisation. Without mincing words, Ugwoke reassures Governor Chime’s supporters that there is no cause for panic whatsoever.

How did you people receive INEC’s decision and why was the decision to hold on taken by the Commission?

I am not INEC’s spokesman but as far as we’re concerned, there is no cause for alarm. You’re probably aware that there’s a subsisting order by the Federal High Court, Abuja . A motion to discharge the ex-parte injunction and motion for interlocutory injunction will be heard on Monday, February 14.

The true position is that the applicant who obtained the injunction did not even canvass an order that INEC should withdraw the name of His Excellency, Governor Sullivan Iheanacho Chime as the PDP candidate. The court merely directed that all pending applications would be heard this coming Monday.

The decision of INEC to hold on, not withdraw, is, perhaps, in strict compliance with due process and full observance of the rule of law. It does not vitiate the irreducible fact that Governor Chime was duly nominated by his party, the PDP and had since filled and returned his nomination form to INEC.

For us, there is absolutely no panic because in the fullness of time, the legal issues will be sorted out and we shall all be there to witness the final verdict and who will be holding aloft the PDP umbrella as the governorship candidate of the party.

You sound quite confident. What informs your optimism?

It will be subjudice to delve into the matter before the court. I cannot even boast to possess the requisite legal knowledge to strive to pre-empt the outcome of the case. So, let us be patient for the learned men to do their job.  If you tell me that the negligible dreamers who want to be governor are spreading rumours that they will get the ticket of the party, my answer is that matters of  law are not based on rumours but substantiated facts.

Did PDP nominate any other person for the position? Did any other person outside the governor meet INEC’s January 31 deadline for the submission of the forms as it relates to the PDP governorship candidature of Enugu State ? I’ve merely asked questions, but the answers must come sooner than later.

Today, you all heave a sigh of relief with the ouster of the former national chairman of PDP, Dr. Okwesilieze Nwodo…

There is absolutely no reason to express such an emotion. Yes, we faced avoidable distractions but in this government led by Governor Chime, we don’t celebrate the downfall of another man. We’re always forward-looking here. There’s no gain whatsoever dwelling on what is behind us now. Governor Sullivan Iheanacho Chime has his eyes on providing continuous good governance to our people, the type that the citizens and residents have enjoyed these past 45 months. Our people have been wonderful in their solidarity and prayers for the governor and when the chips settle in April, they will show their gratitude with their votes.

Indeed, you feel so optimistic that your boss will win this election, why?

I’m not too sure that I’ve demonstrated the kind of optimism that is not reflective of the feelings of our people. In any case, I would have been happier if you posed this question to the cab drivers in Enugu State , the commercial motorcyclists popularly called Okada riders, the civil servants, the traders, the artisans and other professionals.  They are the beneficiaries of the quantum development strides of the Sullivan Chime administration.

From housing to health, education, transportation, provision of water, security, urban and rural electrification, rehabilitation of urban roads and construction of new inter-local government roads and enormous human development, our people have never had it so good. Please, feel free to ask any Enugu indigene you see in Lagos , Abuja , Kano and other parts of the country and you will hear the verdict of someone who is not into intrigues, who is not running a smear campaign because he wants to be a governor.

In summary, therefore, I say to you that our confidence derives from  performance, from instituting people-oriented projects and programmes, from creating a new Enugu State where there is accommodation, where there is peace, where the people are being empowered.

Now, tell me quite frankly, if you’re in the shoes of the Enugu people, will you vote for a tested and trusted leadership that has prospered you or will you gamble with those whose only connection with the people are their posters and jingles?

But one of the governorship candidates, Dr. Dan Shere of the People for Democratic Change said in a recent interview that your boss has not achieved much in close to four years

Now, in all fairness, how do you want me to react to such a sterile comment? In that interview that ran for a page and half, he was asked thirteen questions and he spent all of them attacking PDP and the government in power. I did not see where he told the people what he would do for them.

Governor Chime will run an issue-based campaign, not one of mud-slinging. He has already established that reputation for decency and decorum. He won’t descend to name-calling, no way! Dr. Shere was a chairman of Nsukka Local Government Council and I’m sure that the workers would not fancy any reminder of their plight where they were owed salary arrears running into months.

Or are you suggesting that the larger civil servants in Enugu State who, today, earn their salaries on the 25th of every month, would prefer to taste the bitter pills that the workers in Nsukka Local Government Area could not swallow? No, I’m just asking a question.

The PDC candidate said and rightly too, that he was part of the last administration and was at a time the Secretary to the State Government. He feebly tried to make some comparisons and I like it because this way too, the people can assess him.

For instance, he said that Enugu State pays the least minimum wage in Nigeria . One, it is totally false but he was also unconsciously reminding the people about the meagre minimum wage being paid when he was the Secretary to the State Government. Well, we did not expect him, anyway, to be the one to tell Nigerians that Governor Chime upwardly reviewed the salaries of workers on assumption of office.

There is nothing wrong with expressing an ambition to govern Enugu State . But those who aspire to lead or serve us, must say things to us that will show their respect for our integrity. Well, I believe that we shall have an opportunity to expose the falsehood so badly contrived in that interview