Posted by By CHRISTIAN OCHIAMA on
Even with the nullification of the election of Barrister Sullivan Chime as governor of Enugu State by the Electoral Tribunal on the basis of a flawed process, permutations are in his favour to triumph in the final analysis.
Even with the nullification of the election of Barrister Sullivan Chime as governor of Enugu State by the Electoral Tribunal on the basis of a flawed process, permutations are in his favour to triumph in the final analysis.
This judgement, however, brings to a head the altercations between godfather and godson, Senator Chimaroke Nnamani and Chime which reared its ugly head soon after the swearing in ceremony on May 29, 2007. It also sets in motion a fresh battle of wits of some sort as to who is in control of the People's Democratic Party (PDP) structure in the state and may expose other electoral malfeasance especially in the legislative election.
Nnamani has consistently insisted that without him that Chime would not have been nominated candidate at all let alone elected as governor.
But the tribunal ordered re-election within the next three months will surely resolve this nagging issue that has soured what was a chummy relationship between Nnamani and Chime. And the aces are in Chime's favour even as Nnamani claims that he (Chime) was the only examination he (Nnamani) has ever failed, a calculated disaster.
For Chime, the incumbency factor is there. Furthermore, it is not for nothing that the governor rushed the local government elections which provided him an opportunity to install his candidates in the local government structure at the grass root most of them like Sir Walter Oji with ingrained animosity against Nnamani.
Religion is likely to play a role in the re-ordered election. Chime is a Catholic and for the first time, a Catholic chaplain is attached to the Government House, Enugu. Catholics see this as an advantage to even up with Nnamani who , during his tenure, rubbed the church's nose in the mud if one recalls the Adoration Tragedy.
To compound Nnamani's woes, they are in the majority constituting more than 65 percent of the state's population. They are likely to hold on to this advantage.
Even more than these, Chime's achievements in the state since coming to office especially in the area of rehabilitation of infrastructure such as roads, the restoration of security in the state, a situation that has restored night life in the coal city as well as the boost in staff morale with the regular payment of staff salary.
One would also want to factor in the PDP interest. Are they likely to play along with Nnamani in his determined effort to unseat the party's candidate. Unlikely.