Okonkwo Samuel
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[dropcap][/dropcap][highlight color=”yellow”]Chris Ngige[/highlight]Ordinarily, I would have allowed this to pass, it is not common practice in politics that I will reply to this, but I will do it myself because it has become a catechism for you ignorant.
Firstly, I was already a Member of AD in 2006 when APC came on board in Lagos. My Law office was No: 6 Campbell Street.
The AD Office for the LGA was directly on top of my Office. When I decided to contest for an election, I had to come down to Anambra. When I joined AC in Anambra, *Sen. Ngige was still in exile.*
I financed the Party 80% in the LGA just to be modest, the Party in the LGA didn’t get a dime from Sen. Ngige who was on exile. I campaigned and contested the Party primaries with one Ifeomimi from Nnokwa who was so confident that the ticket will be awarded to him, according to him because he’s Ngige’s Boy.
My only saving grace was Chief Ndubuisi Nwobu, (Obuka Awka) who was the AC State Chairman then and the current PDP State Chairman now. He made sure the primary election was credible and I won in 11 out of 12 wards in Idemmili South LGA.
My problem started when Sen. Ngige came back from exile and insisted that I should be substituted, that he did not know me and Ndubuisi Nwobu would have asked him whom he wanted in his LGA constituency, but Ndubuisi Nwobu refused.
[ads1]*That singular act destroyed his relationship with Nwobu, eventually when Nwobu was kidnapped and later found in coma and was taken to the hospital Sen. Ngige removed him as the State Chairman while he was on sick bed. I challenged anybody to put a call across to Ndubuisi Nwobu.*
We went for election and eventually ended up at the Tribunal without success and I went back to my practice bruised and broke. Nwachukwu Ngige, I know you don’t know all these, in all these I didn’t get a dime from Sen. Ngige, in short the Party even collected money from me as a Candidate. It was an awful experience.
This is part one of my story and I will follow it up with part two.
*PART II…*
In 2010 when it was time for the next election, because of the previous experience, I was not too keen in contesting any election. I was equally aware that ACN gave people like us automatic tickets. All those who contested 2007 election under the Party, went to Tribunal and still remained in the Party were given automatic ticket. Weeks to the primaries, nobody showed interest for HOA Idemili South constituency, and I didn’t indicate any interest.
On a fateful day, I got a call from Chief Uzoma Igbonwa (Okeife), that Sen. Ngige wants to see me, that he was at Awolowo road, Chisco Motors’ Hotel there. I went and I saw him with Okeife. He asked me, whether I was not aware that I have an automatic ticket, I told him I was aware. He further asked why I hadn’t indicated any interest, I told him that from my previous experience, that I don’t think I would want to go through that road again. He now said that it was because he didn’t know me then that now it will be different. He then told me that the Party was too quiet in the Anambra, that he knows what I could do, that I should go and start making noise.[ads2]
That I exactly did. To, my greatest surprise, after a while Hon. Odedo joined the Party and a lot of people joined the Party, one Late Ibekwute from Nnokwa started campaigning for the same seat with me, I thought it was a joke. But Party members told me that he had gone to see Sen. Ngige and he told him the coast was clear and I didn’t believe them. I went straight to Sen. Ngige and what I was told still rings a bell in my brain up till today. *In his own words ‘that automatic ticket is democratic and besides, if I am really popular, I can easily defeat him’. I have never experienced that level of betrayal and treachery in life.* My decision was to abandon the entire thing, because as a Lawyer I believed trust is important but probably not in politics. I was prevailed on by Party members to soldier on, which I did. By God’s grace, I won the primaries, as usual, I was asked to bring N500,000 then before I would be given the INEC forms, which I did, please verify this from Enyi Aguleri, who was the State Chairman then.
I went to the Tribunal alone, I was not offered a dime. My Lawyer was Barr. Emeka Agbapuonwu, he expected a lot of money, but I was trying my best. At a point he accused me of collecting a lot of money from Sen. Ngige without remitting to him and went ahead to confront him and got his shocker that nothing was given and nothing was hidden. God saw me through and the election was cancelled and rerun scheduled.
[ads1]On the rerun day, Sen. Ngige told his confidants that he will be in Aniocha for Federal House Representatives rerun for Ekwunife and Dozie Nwankwo, that Federal House is more lucrative to the Party than House of Assembly and Hon. Odedo that was supposed to be around was nowhere to be found. I was once again abandoned to my fate.
In short that day, I was in Ojoto and I suffered a lot of bodily harm because they were ready to repeat what they did at the previous election in short they succeeded and were jubilating not until after collation, they were shocked that I won the election with 53 votes. You can’t disgrace God, they wanted to disgrace my God. It was in the evening, when it was cleared that Uche Ekwunife had outsmarted Dozie Nwankwo that Sen. Ngige ran back to Idemili South, that was during ward collation and he tried to go to Ojoto Ward and the Police blocked him. Thank God the collation Officers were honest people and they did the right thing.
I went to the House, they brought Petitions against me and I won them up till Court of Appeal. I was in the House, Peter Obi did everything to bring me to APGA to humiliate Sen. Ngige, did I join APGA? Obiano did his own, did I betray him? No! Rt. Hon. Rita Mmaduagwu and Hon. Victor Okoye that followed Gov. Peter Obi to APGA and back to APC is your hero now and Hon Barr. Ebele Obi is the villain.
Please, how do you test loyalty? As I am writing this reply to you, I have gotten a lot of calls asking me to stop, but I refused to stop because a lot of you have not bothered to hear my story. I will end this and enter the next part.[ads1]
Nwachukwu Ngige, I will not blame you so much, _a si na onye a noro ebe e nili ozu na e si na ukwu abo ozu_. By 2015, it was obvious that with APC, I was going to loose the election, I still remained put. There was nothing Obiano did not do, I said, No! Please, go and ask Mrs. Azuka Enenmuo about all her efforts to bring me over to APGA and I said, No! That is loyalty, that is the true test and not Sycophancy.
How many of all these noise makers will pass that test. Even, after the election, Obiano still called me and promised to make me Special Adviser and later Commissioner, anytime he reshuffles his cabinet, I said, No! Please, ask Hon. Obinna Emeneka (Ijele Nando). Hon. Tony Oneweek left, here I am unappreciated for all my loyalty. I guess your wrong perception of me started in 2016.[ads2]
Sen. Ngige was appointed a Minister and Sen. Umeh nullified Sen. Ekwunife’s Election and Sen. Ngige declined contesting for the rerun. A meeting was called at Olde English to that effect. I didn’t know that there was a secret meeting before that meeting, that the Old English meeting with a lot of Pressmen invited was just for window dressing to adopt Sen. Ekwunife. I was the only person that disagreed with all of them on principle and supported Chief Barr. Sharon Ikeazor on principle.
Nwachukwu Ngige, up till today I owe nobody any apologies for that. If airing my opinion at my level means challenging the Leader and being ungrateful according to you to your brother, so be it. Since, that incident, nobody invites Ebele Obi to Caucuses, Stakeholders Meetings, it will amount to offending Sen. Ngige. *Is that your brand of Democracy?* Imagine your post! What did Ebele Obi do? Two APC meetings were called in Abuja, Sen. Andy Ubah invited me and Sen. Ngige did not invite me, I honoured Sen. Andy Ubah, which *incidentally had up to 90% of the real Caucus members* and you christened me an ingrate?
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*Nwachukwu Ngige, haba, you are bigger than this. Have you asked yourself why people like Chief Chibuzo Obiakor, Odu Olisa Onyeka, Callista Nwachukwu, Chris Udeze and so on were at that meeting?* How can you be a Leader of a Party and you are quarreling with over 80% of the major stakeholders. Please, advice him accordingly.
Nwachukwu, I hope you can appreciate the help I was given so far, this is the end of part two and part three will follow.
PART III LOADING…
How Ngige sold my Senatorial Ticket to Barr. Sylvester Okonkwo in 2018 APC primaries…
Me and Sen. Ngige who betrayed each other and who owes each other an apology?
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Hon. Barrister Ichie Ebele Obi
(Ichie Mbadahi)
*Former Member Anambra State House of Assembly Idemmili South Constituency. And Former Board Member NIMASA.*
13th December 2021.
Via his Facebook handle.
Compiled by:
Ikemba Iyke-Oliobi, Esq.
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