The Peoples Democratic Party convention which held at the Eagle Square in the Nation’s capital of Abuja on the 31st of October, 2021 must have come and gone but the echoes from that event will continue to linger in the minds of the party stalwarts for a very long time to come.
For one, the long road to the scheduled convention was one strewn with spikes and thorns that until the day to the scheduled event, there were palpable tension and fear, that the combined forces of subversion linked to the opposition political parties and the judicial processes might stall and prevent the event from holding. The embattled incumbent Chairman of the party, Chief Uche Secondus have had some running battle with the party hierarchy and the National Executive Committee for sometime leading to his suspension from office. Not ready to kiss the dust yet, Chief Secondus would put up a spirited fight by instituting series of court cases to press home for a perceived injustice done to him. The animal instinct in him would further push him to seek a court injunction to stop the proposed party convention completely. The case which journeyed up to the Appeal Court was still pending until the 29th of October, 2021 when an uncommon air breezed into the camp of the convention planning Committee. Las Las, the Appeal Court gave the major opposition party the needed green light to go on with their scheduled convention. Once again, it became another win for democracy.
It must be mentioned also that part of the spikes strewn on the part of the concluded convention has to do with consensus building and having an acceptable template to select the National officers of the party. There were also permutations that equitable and acceptable zoning of the National offices of the party will not only make the party stronger but would yet stem a possible implosion. Keen watchers of political events in the country know for sure that the country is not yet ripe or it’s people ready to accept leaders in whatever form without as much as ethnic considerations. With a conservative population of about 180 million people and still counting, political leadership of the country have largely depended on ethnic divide. So when the PDP hierarchy in it’s renewed zeal to reposition for future engagements, chose the Rt. Hon. Ifeanyi Lawrence Ugwuanyi of Enugu State to head the National Zoning Committee to articulate and fashion acceptable zoning template for it’s National officers, not quite a few believed that a Daniel has come to judgment.
For one, governor Ugwuanyi came from a region largely considered as having been cheated out of the leadership equation of the country for a very long time. Ugwuanyi too was even touted as a capable candidate for the Presidency should the lot fell on the South East Geopolitical Zone to produce the next Presidential candidate. There were permutations that the party hierarchy and other mischievous elements was looking out for a possible pitfall on Ugwuanyi’s Committee so that not quite a few people will blame him for not doing much to attract the Presidential slot to the South East Geopolitical Zone. As a leader who believe in openness, governor Ugwuanyi constantly re-echoed what the terms of reference of his Committee are and that it was to recommend which of the Geopolitical zones gets what at the National offices and not to determine where the Presidency and others goes in the country.
At the end of the important assignment enplaced on the shoulders of Ugwuanyi’s Committee, he confounded not quite a few by doing a thorough job that paved way for the rancour free convention which held on the 30th of October despite all the challenges before the event.
Ugwuanyi is a consummate politician, a bridge builder and quintessential man of peace. This assertion has continually resonated with a wide spectrum of the people both within and outside the state of Enugu. Expressing his profound joy at the manner and means, the concluded convention of PDP held in Abuja which has the signature imprint of governor Ifeanyichukwu Ugwuanyi, the Special Assistant to the Governor on Information and Communication,Sir Simon Martins Okechukwu reconfirmed that indeed the name “Gburu-Gburu” means peace to Nigerians. While congratulating his boss for leading successfully a contingent of Enugu State delegates to and from Abuja for the convention, which produced the new set of Executive Committee to take over from Uche Secondus led NEC,
reasserted that the rare combination of divine wisdom, political maturity, love for humanity and patriotism displayed by Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi completed the identifiable gaps that ensured the thorough coordination of the key segments of the convention.
According to Sir Okechukwu, the result of Gov. Ugwuanyi’s deep involvement in the entire exercise is the success and peace that eventually crowned the event.
His Excellency, Rt. Hon. Dr. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi has remained a huge leadership resource that our country Nigeria will yet to tap. Unarguably, his emotional intelligence and tolerance capability position remain an undisputed prefect in the class of Governors. There is no gain saying that God has silently used Governor Ugwuanyi to win many wars without the pull of a trigger. The recommendations of his committee on zoning which was widely accepted by his party faithfuls speaks volumes about Ugwuanyi’s political sagacity. Today, Enugu State has remained largely calm in comparison to other states even as 2023 is racing towards us. His adept management of the political atmosphere in the state have continued to confound even his ardent critics. Ugwuanyi is a tolerant leader par excellence.
It was the opinion of the Governor’s SA, Sir Okechukwu and other delegates who graced Abuja convention that the Governor, indeed, worked like a tireless lion whose roles met the aspirations of our diversities in the hope of a new Nigeria that deserves peace and prosperity going forward.
The Abuja convention it must be asserted provided another window where Ugwuanyi’s prowess and uncommon capacity to lead a population of about 200 million people come 2023 by God’s grace has been showcased. If God is truly ruling in the affairs of men, Ugwuanyi is set to strut the center stage come 2023. This is our prayer through Christ our Lord, Amen… It will surely end in praise.
Bibian Anekwe News added; “Leadership is a matter of having people look at you and gain confidence, seeing how you react. If you’re in control, they’re in control.
Written by
Austin Okechukwu Chijioke.
Public Affairs Commentator.
Media Team Member of ENUGU DI N’AKACHUKWU MOVEMENT
