Ekwunife: Running On Impressive Scorecard

Sheddy Ozoene

There are indeed, only a few communities in her constituency that have not directly benefitted from her many development projects, educational institutions or her many programs for the less privileged. Across the district, billboards abound in every corner, announcing one project or the other, from roads to schools, from skill acquisition centres to water schemes and from health centres to erosion control projects. If indeed the projects littered around Anambra Central are anything to take into account, Iyom, as she is popularly called, is light years ahead of her rivals.

The contest has, however, come into strong national focus for other reasons, and especially since the emergence of Peter Obi who hails from the same Anaocha Local Government Area, in the presidential contest on the platform of the Labour Party. And since both seats will be contested on the same day, strong sentiment about a son-of-the-soil aspiring to the highest office in the land will come face-to-face against a woman who has, in words and in deed, embodied the larger developmental aspirations of the people of Anambra Central.

The brief appearance of Chief Victor Umeh in the Senatorial contest would appear to be a distraction of sorts. The former Chairman of the state’s ruling party, the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) had been Obi’s bitter foe since he left office as Anambra governor and joined the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Not until he lost the APGA senatorial primaries did he return to Obi in the Labour Party, and for some few months posed as the party’s Senatorial candidate before penultimate Friday when he was disqualified by the Federal High Court in Awka.

Umeh and Ekwunife are familiar political combatants, even if he always ended on the losing side. As the candidate of APGA he had lost the 2015 Senatorial contest to Ekwunife before he upturned the decision through a controversial Court judgment in 2017 that put him to serve out the tenure till 2019. He again lost in 2019 to Ekwunife and they were just warming up for a third face-off later this month before Umeh’s aspiration to return to the Red Chamber of the National Assembly came to a screeching halt.

The Federal High Court, presided over by Justice H.A. Nganjiwa, disqualified Victor Umeh from the contest on the ground that his nomination as a candidate of the Labour Party was in violation of the provisions of the Electoral Act 2022. The Court said Umeh stood for primary election in the same constituency under two different political parties, noting that while Umeh’s name was not in the membership register of the Labour Party as at June 3, 2022 when the primaries held, there was no evidence that he had effectively left the APGA as at the date. The Court consequently issued an order restraining him from parading himself as the Labour Party Senatorial candidate, with another injunction restraining the party from presenting Umeh as its candidate.

Although Obi and Ekwunife started out as close political allies, they have both come to terms with the fact of their political realities that their fates lie in two different parties. While Ekwunife took the departure of Obi from the PDP in her strides, she is quite convinced that his aspiration on a different political platform does not in any way dim her own chances of reelection.  Not one to be brow-beaten out of her political conviction, Ekwunife has since been encouraged by the groundswell of popular approval of her re-election bid.

All through the electioneering campaign, she has displayed maturity, refraining from calling Obi by name or making direct references to him or his presidential aspiration. While this has not stopped mischief makers from creating an imaginary cold war between the two, it has earned her widespread endorsements as well as the respect of her constituents. The day she took her campaigns to Peter Obi’s Agulu community, even the traditional ruler, His Royal Highness Igwe Innocent Obodoakor did not hesitate to join leaders of most other communities in the district who have endorsed the lawmaker.

 While she ensures that her campaign is focused on her performance and the promise to do more in the Senate, she also has to battle those fanning the embers of discord and who stand to benefit from it. Until his disqualification from the contest, Umeh who was unable to get his campaign going on the basis of his records, was the major culprit in that regard.

The sheer number of projects the Senator has attracted to her constituency is mind-boggling and her supporters proudly flaunt it as evidence of her outstanding performance. To her credit are scores of completed and ongoing road projects across the 59 communities in Anambra Central district, dozens of Water supply projects, electricity supply projects, solar street-lighting and erosion control projects. Over 30 primary, secondary and tertiary institutions in the area have benefitted from construction of classroom blocks and equipment of laboratories and libraries. At the Federal College of Education (Technical) Umunze, the Senator provided 100 pieces of ZPads and SIM Cards to students while 131 other schools benefitted from her ambitious program of providing furniture and supply of educational materials and equipment.

Just last year, she commissioned a 20-bed health Centre in Neni.

Outside of Umeh, Ekwunife still faces a stiff challenge from Honourable Dozie Nwankwo who represents Anaocha/Dunukofia/Njikoka federal constituency in the House of Representatives. Nwankwo who hails from Enugu-Ukwu is the Senatorial candidate of the APGA. His zeal to change from the Green to the Red Chamber of the National Assembly like Ekwunife before him, is obvious but the regular recourse to violence, intimidation by members of his campaign staff and destruction of opponents’ campaign materials have exposed him as a candidate ill-prepared for the high stake that representing the zone entails. Dozie Nwankwo is obviously intimidated by Ekwunife’s scorecard and his supporters have on several occasions displayed acts that show their candidate as desperate. On several occasions they have stalled the execution of projects attracted by senator Ekwunife in his own community. This has not only been counter-productive to his aspiration, it has elicited stern condemnation from elders in the zone.

Ekwunife’s projects may indeed be intimidating but she is even more passionate about alleviating the sufferings of the less privileged. Across the state, she has touched the lives of women and the less privileged, unlike many others for whom distribution of palliatives is a seasonal thing, she has ensured regular outreach in her area. For many, she has ensured the payment of stipends on monthly basis. Various trainings programs have been organised for the youth and women to become self-dependent while scholarships have been offered to hundreds that can further their education. For a few of them who are very poor, invalid or widowed and who live in dilapidated sub-human environments, she undertook to build brand new 3-bedroom bungalows for them. A less privileged woman, Mrs Victoria Okafor had her mud house in Isuaniocha community pulled down and a 3-bedroom bungalow built and equipped for her. It was the same story of human kindness for another woman, Mrs Mercy Emonye of Agulu, a blind man in Umuoji and such other less privileged persons in Abagana, Ukwulu, Oba, Adazi Nnukwu and 23 others who benefitted bungalows from the Senator. In all she has provided over 28 of such homes across the district.

If the massive infrastructural development she has attracted to the area are insignificant, her record in placing her constituents into job at the federal level are no less impressive. At the last count since her membership of the National Assembly, Ekwunife has secured high profile job placements for nearly 500 of her constituents. Considering the rate of unemployment in the country, the disadvantage faced by her constituents as well as the stringent quota systems in the country, her effort in this regard stand her out.

The lawmaker’s outstanding performance has not escaped the people who take every opportunity to also commend her humility and passion for service. During her campaign trips, traditional rulers and opinion leaders have kind words for her. At Adazi-Enu, the Traditional Prime Minister, Chief Sunday Okonkwo lauded Ekwunife for her impact in the community, adding that her unprecedented achievements in the community would be difficult to match. While extolling the Lawmaker’s pragmatic leadership style, the Prime Minister maintained that Ekwunife’s projects in Adazi-Enu elevated her status in the community because the people never believed that a Lawmaker would be able to construct roads the way she did to the surprise of everyone. He urged the people to massively support the Lawmaker’s re-election bid because she is the best candidate for the Senatorial elections.

At the palace of the traditional ruler of Agulu, HRH Igwe Innocent Obodoakor, Ekwunife highlighted her achievements in Agulu to include the siting of the National University of Science, Technology and Innovation which she attracted, construction of asphalted roads, schools, boreholes, solar street lights, federal government employment, amongst others. In his response, the Monarch endorsed the aspiration of Ekwunife, noting that her Senatorial Candidature under the PDP does not conflict with that of an indigene of the community, Mr. Peter Obi, who is contesting for the presidency under the Labour Party. He maintained that the Lawmaker has been doing well for the community right from her days in the House of Representatives and as a Senator, she has continued to do well for the community.

The atmosphere of commendation was the same at Nri, Anaocha LGA and Enugwu-Ukwu in Njikoka local government Area and indeed across the entire senatorial district as Ekwunife stormed the communities for campaigns. Speaking at the event which was held at Eke Nri, the President General of the community, Chief Dr Kelvin Obiegbunam noted that the entire community was happy with her representation and the goodwill she enjoys all over the zone.  While she had planned to use the campaign stops for project commissioning, it has turned a series of pleasant surprises as the traditional rulers, Presidents-General of communities as well as opinion leaders have taken turns to publicly endorse the Senator for what they regard as another well-deserved term.