By Sylvia Kodilichukwu, Enugu, and other reports
The 2023 governorship candidate of Labour Party (LP) in Enugu State, Hon. Chijioke Edeoga, has formally returned to the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
PeopleandPolitics.net on January 31 this year broke the news that Edeoga was being wooed to return, following a visit paid him by a powerful delegation led by State Chairman of PDP, Dr Martin Chukwunweike.
Recall that Edeoga had met with the leadership of Enugu State PDP behind closed doors on that date, fueling speculations about his possible return to his former party. In response to the visit, Edeoga had said he was a product of consensus and so needed to consult his supporters, before taking the next step.
Consequently, about 12 noon on Monday, March 31, Edeoga, accompanied by his supporters, drove into the PDP State office at No. 1 Charles Street, GRA, Enugu, in a convoy and was received by the state party leadership and stakeholders led by Dr. Chukwunweike.
Addressing the party faithful, Edeoga thanked Enugu State Governor, Dr Peter Mbah, and his Eha-Amufu Ward III, Isi-Uzo Local Government Area (LGA) and state party leaderships for making his return possible and smooth.
Re-dedicating himself to the PDP, the former LP gubernatorial candidate said it was time for all to join hands with Gov. Mbah for the latter to further succeed in the “great works” he is doing in Enugu State.
“I want to say that I’m happy to be here. I want to start by thanking in a very special way, the governor of Enugu State. I appreciate that what has happened today cannot begun to be conceived without his political involvement.
“By this gesture, he has demonstrated a mental state that is worthy of appreciation and that is worthy of being supported or rewarded to the extent that is humanly possible.
“A thing like this has never happened in the annals of Enugu State politics. It might look small, but it will cause a paradigm shift in the way politics is played in Enugu State. It is no longer something where you warehouse bitterness. It is no longer winner-takes-all. All those things that people have been trying to preach in Nigeria like accommodating everybody, are being demonstrated in Enugu State.
“So, I re-dedicate myself again to the PDP to make sure that the PDP remains a winning machine in Enugu State as it has always been. I am happy to be here. I appreciate all those who made it possible,” he stated.
In his remarks, Dr. Chukwunweike described Edeoga’s return as strategic for Enugu PDP, adding that the move also has the full blessing of Gov. Mbah, whom, he said, desired a united Enugu PDP.
“Our number one term of reference upon our election as the state’s party leadership is to reunite the party. His Excellency said that we must work to bring everybody together. So, today is a major step in that direction.
“With this move and many others like it to come, 2027 general elections will be a walkover for the PDP in Enugu State. So, we warmly welcome our brother and his supporters back,” he said.
Council Chairman of Isi-Uzo, Edeoga’s home LGA, Barrister Obiora Obeagu, described his return as a very welcome development and a milestone for Isi-Uzo and Enugu PDP, an affirmation of Mbah’s leadership, and vindication of those of them who worked for the governor’s victory in the 2023 election.
“It is a welcome development. For me, I will say it is long expected, considering the conciliatory dispositions of our capable governor.
“From day one, the governor has shown that after politics, we have governance. Not minding that the major opposition came from Isi-Uzo, Governor Peter Mbah started a lot of projects there. When the Smart Schools were first being awarded, Isi-Uzo got the next to the highest. That will show you the type of a leader he is.
“Beyond the Smart Green Schools, we have Type-2 Primary Healthcare Centres across all the wards. We have the almost completed 21.7km asphalt road going to our farm settlements as well as the ongoing 41km Owo-Ubahu-Amankanu-Neke-Ikem dual carriageway to help open up the economic corridors and solve the problem of insecurity.
“These things are practical and there is nobody that will see them and will not want to come back to the PDP and join the governor in the good works he is doing to transform Enugu State.
“So, what has happened today has vindicated some of us in Isi-Uzo that supported Mbah in 2023. We made our choices then and today Hon. Edeoga is also making that same choice. It is a welcome development. I believe we are all one now and we are all going to join Governor Mbah to work for the interest of Ndi Enugu,” he stated.
Edeoga, a former PDP member of the House of Representatives from 1999 to 2003, had also served as Special Adviser (Legal) to former Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, in the 6th Senate as well as Special Assistant on National Assembly Matters to former President Goodluck Jonathan.
He was a two-term Commissioner in the administration of former Gov. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi between 2015 and 2022, all on the platform of PDP, before he pulled out of the party after the party’s governorship primary to run on the platform of LP.
After electoral umpire, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), had declared Mbah winner of the March 18, 2923 Enugu gubernatorial election, Edeoga, who believed he actually won the poll, took his grievance before the Elections Petition Tribunal, and from there on to the Appeal Court, after the tribunal ruled against him, and finally he approached the Supreme Court for possible redress.
However, the apex court, in a unanimous decision delivered by a five-member panel of justices on Friday, December 22, 2023, dismissed Edeoga’s appeal and upheld the verdicts of both lower courts that Mbah was validly elected.
Nonetheless, feelers from Abuja indicate that, given Edeoga’s strong grassroots popularity in the state, the PDP may hand him one of its senatorial tickets.
