Posted by By Okey Madufuro and Chukwujekwu Ilozue on
Uneasy calm enveloped Awka, the capital of the beleaguered Anambra State, over the weekend, as plots by members of the Peoples Democratic Party-led (PDP) state House of Assembly to impeach the governor, Mr. Peter Obi, thickened.
Uneasy calm enveloped Awka, the capital of the beleaguered Anambra State, over the weekend, as plots by members of the Peoples Democratic Party-led (PDP) state House of Assembly to impeach the governor, Mr. Peter Obi, thickened.
The plot, which is said to have the strong backing of President Olusegun Obasanjo, is expected to be executed this week when the House resumes sitting on Thursday.
The plot, Sunday Independent reliably gathered, is in furtherance of Obasanjo's promise to hand over the state's governorship seat to his Special Adviser, Domestic Affairs, Dr. Andy Uba, as a parting gift come 2007.
According to our source, the impeachment of Obi, barely six months after he became governor, having successfully dislodged Governor Chris Ngige at the law courts would pave way for the deputy governor, Dame Virgy Etiaba, who is 65 years, to take over.
The calculation is that Etiaba would be a lesser obstacle than Mr. Obi during the 2007 elections.
The deputy governor is also believed to have tacitly agreed not to continue in office after May 29, 2007 as a governor.
In an attempt to get the support of members of the House of Assembly, the Speaker, Mr. Mike Balonwu, is said to have been promised the position of deputy governor in the event he facilitates Obi's impeachment while the Deputy Speaker and other key members of the House had been promised seats at the House of Representatives, and N10 million each.
The two members of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) are believed to have been brought into the plot.
Recently, the PDP leadership at the federal level sacked the Chief Uche Emordi-led PDP exco believed to be sympathetic to Chief Chris Uba, the politically estranged younger brother of Andy, and in his stead, installed Mr. Tony Nwoye, former president of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS).
He is believed to be sympathetic to Andy's ambition.
Obasanjo, it is said, is committed to the plot as a way of saying thank you to Andy Uba who is reported to be the president's most trusted and loyal aide.
Because of the president's involvement, Dr. Uba is already enjoying support from some influential politicians including governors who are believed to have pledged various huge sums of money and cars to oil the wheels of the campaign.
As part of the mobilisation campaign, Dr. Uba paid a courtesy visit to one of the founding fathers of the PDP in Anambra, Dr. Alex Ekwueme, at his Okoh country home on Saturday.
The visit which was turned into a political carnival had in attendance members of the State House of Assembly including the only female member of APGA, Mrs. Njideka Ezeigwe, who confirmed to Sunday Independent her decision to defect from her party to PDP.
Speaking with Sunday Independent at Okoh on Saturday, Mrs. Ezeigwe confirmed that she would declare for PDP, citing the crisis rocking APGA as her reason.
Another member who pleaded anonymity confirmed the plot to impeach the governor. He however blamed Obi for the plot.
Said he: "The governor wrote a petition to the EFCC indicting about 15 of us, including myself. He accused us of graft. "
But Mike Udah, the Chief Press Secretary to the governor said nothing could be farther from the truth. "What purpose would it serve for the governor to write petition against members of the House? The allegation is tantamount to the proverbial giving a dog a bad name in order to hang it.
"The governor is saddled with enormous responsibilities, striving everyday to give the good people of Anambra credible leadership. He is concerned with the provision of Millennium Development Goals (MDG). So, that allegation can never be true by any stretch of imagination."