As politicians jostle for various elective offices across the country the race for who occupies the Ebonyi South Senatorial District has thickened and become much more interesting.
Although there are about eighteen political parties in the country, the attention seems to be focused on just four: the ruling All Progressives Congress; the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party; the All Progressive Grand Alliance; and the Labour Party.
The APC is fielding Governor David Umahi, whose candidacy to contest the seat was upheld last Friday by a five-member panel of the Supreme Court led by Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun.
For the PDP, the incumbent senator for the zone, Michael Nnachi, is in the race.
The APGA is fielding Ifeanyi Eleje, a private-sector operator and technocrat, while the Labour Party has Linus Okorie, a two-term member of the House of Representatives who, hitherto, represented the Ohaozara/Onicha/Ivo Federal Constituency.
Eleje is a 67-year-old chartered insurance consultant and risk management expert, born on April 21, 1955, in his hometown of Afikpo, in the Afikpo North Local Government Area of Ebonyi State. He is an associate of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations and holds a degree in Chemistry from the University of Lagos and masters in Business Administration from the University of Benin.
As a community leader, Eleje has championed many causes in furtherance of the interests of his people. As an Anglican Knight of the Order of St. Christopher and the current President of his Diocesan Council of Knights, he has many students on his scholarship.
Although a philanthropist and community leader of no mean repute with vast experience in the private sector who sits on the top boards of various brands, analysts say Eleje might not go far in the current electioneering epoch. This is because, according to them, little or nothing was known of his political voyage and activities until 2021, when he publicly indicated an interest in running in 2023. And even though many believe he has the financial clout to pull through the election, there is a general feeling that he lacks a strong political structure to win the election.
Umahi, who recently clocked 58 years, is the incumbent governor of Ebonyi State. He is a member of the ruling All Progressives Congress.
However, until his exit from the Peoples Democratic Party in November 2020, he was a local government chairman; the state chairman of the PDP and a deputy governor. He studied Civil Engineering at the then-Anambra State University of Technology (now Enugu State University of Science and Technology).
He declared interest in contesting the Ebonyi South senatorial seat after he lost his presidential bid to Ahmed Bola Tinubu, who eventually emerged is currently the presidential candidate of the APC. The senatorial ticket of the APC for Ebonyi South, which was said to have been won by Mrs Ann Agom-Eze, had been in contention, with Umahi claiming to be its rightful holder. However, the Supreme Court, last week, affirmed Umahi as the rightful candidate, thus putting to rest Mrs Agom-Eze’s claim.
It is on record that Umahi linked all the local government areas of Ebonyi South Zone with quality access roads. The construction of the Iyere Edda Bridge is also a plus for the governor. Umahi’s other projects include the Amasiri flyover, the Abaomege flyover, and the twin flyover in his hometown of Uburu.
Also, the governor built the Federal University of Medical Sciences at Uburu; renovated and upgraded the School of Nursing at Uburu, all in the Ohaozara Local Government Area of the state. Also, Umahi’s championing of the relocation and rebuilding of Ogwuma Edda after a landslide hit the area are some of his signature strides. Although, it is equally said in some quarters that Umahi does not have sincere and genuine loyalists, some believe the numerous appointments that have been made recently might work for him. He also has the advantage of being the incumbent, despite the fact that Ebonyians are widely expected to reject any attempt to coerce them into voting against their will in 2023.
On the other hand, Okorie was born on March 9, 1966. He attended the Federal Government College, Minna in Niger State, where he obtained the West African Senior School Certificate. He later obtained a Higher National Diploma in Accountancy. He’s a fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria and also at the Chartered Institute of Administration.
His greatest achievement is the facilitation of the employment of over 199 graduates and non-graduates into the federal civil service.
Prior to winning a seat in the National Assembly, the Onicha Igboeze community in the Onicha LGA, had less than 10 indigenes in the federal civil service. It is on record that Okorie was able to add up to 50 graduates to the service during his time.
During his tenure, he also launched the most aggressive and impactful Agricultural Empowerment Programme in the history of the House as a federal lawmaker, resulting in the training and empowerment of over 4,999 youths and women in various agricultural value chains.
In addition to over 20 bills and several motions, some of which touched on the needs of his constituency, he reportedly supervised the infrastructural transformation of the Federal College of Agriculture in Ishiagu, as the Chairman of the House Committee on Agricultural Colleges and Institutions. It’s also rumoured that he made a significant contribution to the successful shift of the governorship position (in 2015) to the Ohaozara/Onicha/Ivo Federal Constituency in the person of the current governor, David Umahi. It is also believed that Okorie has a formidable political structure and following in the Ohaozara and Onicha LGAs of the state.
His arrest allegedly by members of the Ebubeagu Security Outfit and the circumstances surrounding his eventual release last month, has continued to raise eyebrows among political watchers. Okorie was reportedly abducted on October 17, 2022, while driving from his Abakaliki residence to the Onicha Council area of the state, where he was to have a meeting with his supporters.
His whereabouts were uncertain throughout Sunday until news filtered in on Monday morning, October 18 that he had been arrested by members of the Ebubeagu team in liaison with the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, over alleged illicit drug dealings.
However, the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency State Commandant, Iyke Uche, denied ever knowing the whereabouts of the former lawmaker, saying the agency neither met nor arrested him.
The Ebonyi State Police Command, the same day, insisted the LP chieftain was arrested on the grounds of his illicit drug involvement in the state, saying he was neither kidnapped nor abducted.
He was in detention at the facility of the Nigerian Correctional Services for over a month. He eventually regained his freedom, on November 29, 2022 but until his release, his CaringHeart Foundation had raised the alarm over an alleged plot by Governor Umahi to rearrest the ‘abducted’ Okorie (who was then still in detention and whose lawyers were making frantic efforts to secure his freedom) and slammed fresh charges against him.
However, event watchers were surprised when, all of a sudden, the state government, announced Okorie’s discharge following the withdrawal of all alleged ‘criminal’ charges against him by a state High Court in Abakaliki, the Ebonyi State capital.
Speaking after his release, Mr Okorie thanked Umahi and his elder brother, Roy Umahi, for the roles both played in his release. To many, it is believed that the LP senator could have been made to sign some pact compelling him to jettison his ambition or play a spoiler role against his party during the elections. This perceived permutation in some quarters may hinder Okorie’s chances at the polls if he does not come out urgently to deny it. Others also alleged he had a lot of petitions against him before some anti-graft agencies over alleged misappropriation of funds meant for the execution of projects in his constituency while he held sway as a member of the House of Representatives. For this category of constituents, he still has a case to answer.
Meanwhile, Senator Nnachi, who is the Vice-Chairman, Senate Committee on Air Force and currently represents Ebonyi South Zone, hails from the Afikpo South (Edda) Local Government Area of Ebonyi State.
An architect by training, Nnachi has been around the political arena since the return of democratic rule in 1999. At one point, he ran to represent the Afikpo North/Afikpo South Federal Constituency on the platform of the All Nigeria Peoples Party. However, little was known or heard about him until 2019, when he was allegedly drafted into the senatorial “voyage” by Governor Umahi.
He has some pockets of projects ranging from roads to solar-powered electricity to education and other interventions in some communities of the five local government areas, namely Afikpo South, Afikpo North, Ohaozara, Onicha, and Ivo that make up the Ebonyi South Zone.
The incumbent senator was also said to be behind the release of N1.5 billion in the Ecological Fund by the Federal Government for the reconstruction of Ogwuma Edda village in the Umunna community in the Afikpo South council of the state in July 2022, after the hilly village was hit by a dangerous landslide. About 200 students were reportedly trained under his scholarship on innovation in science and mathematics.
Although a first-timer at the Red Chamber, there is a general belief in the zone that Senator Nnachi has, on average, not done well for the district. This thinking has led many to conclude the immediate past senator of the zone, Chief Sonni Ogbuoji did better than him even in his first term. There are insinuations in some quarters also that the incumbent senator is not accessible and treats complaints and petitions emanating from his constituents with levity. Aside from these, many say he does not have a strong political structure to navigate through the murky political waters of 2023, which also have Umahi as a major contender.
