DAMIAN DURUIHEOMA, Enugu

Former governor of old Anambra State, Senator Jim Nwobodo has said that he stopped his children from seeking elective offices in Enugu State for other families to have a taste of elective public offices.

Nwobodo also called on the Enugu people to maintain the existing zoning formula for the governorship position in the State ahead of the 2023 elections.

The former governor, who spoke to newsmen in his Amechi Awkunanaw country home, Enugu South LGA, on the needs for the governorship to be micro-zoned to Nkanu East local government area, said rotation system allows others to have a taste of what is generally owned.

He stated that because of the need to have other people occupy public offices, he stopped his children to stop seeking for elective offices.

“I have children who wanted to be local government chairman here(Enugu South LGA), but I chased them away and stopped them.

“It should be enough for them that their father had governed the state. So, people from other families should be allowed to run too. And they stopped and listened to me.

“I think we should imbibe that. If as a person you enjoyed something, please allow others to enjoy. If you take it alone, God will be angry with you,” Nwobodo said.

He insisted that the State had always had zoning arrangements from which all previous Governors emerged.

According to him: “We have a zoning formula about governorship position in Enugu State. The first governor of old Anambra State is me. Enugu was just a Senatorial Zone. Anambra and Ebonyi were also Senatorial zones.

“We were only two Governors in the whole of Southeast then: myself and Sam Mbakwe. We tried zoning. I remember when we were dealing with Nkalagu(Cement Factory), Imo people came and said: you have Nkalagu, you have this, you have that, what are you giving us?

“I told them that if there was anything that belonged to both of us that was situated in Imo, take it. Today, Enugu has no say in Nkalagu. Nkalagu has been zoned to Ebonyi State.

“So, I want to tell you that the zoning system has been there. Do you know that Britain has no written constitution? But they do everything on the basis of trust and practice. So, we have been zoning.

“When we wanted to produce the Governor in 1999, we felt that if we threw it open, people would start spending money foolishly.

“You will see people coming to tell you (aspirants) that you have been chosen and you will pay and the people will collect the money and go to tell another aspirant the same thing.

“This money is what they should have used to prepare for an election. So, we decided that the best thing to do was to zone this thing.

“After Enugu East, Enugu West will take over, and after Enugu West, it will go to Enugu North. So, after Enugu North, it goes back to Enugu East. So, it was zoned.

“But there was no paper written. But it was in practice. I just gave you an instance with Britain where people live their normal, truthful and honorable life without a written constitution.

“People believe in what is fair and good. So, we should learn the same thing. I’m saying that if I have enjoyed something, it is not right for me to deny another person the right to enjoy the same thing.

“Enugu people should remember the story of the rich foolish man in the Bible. He had believed that he had made so much money from his harvest. He had so much in his barn. So, he said: my soul go to bed and enjoy what you have. He did not mention God in all those things. So, God now said to him: you foolish man, today I want your soul. The man died.

“I want the press to help me with this idea. There’s an unwritten zoning system in Enugu State and that zoning system should be maintained. Let us work as brothers”.

The elder statesman who used the opportunity to debunk reports that he had endorsed an aspirant from his local government area, said he had no such powers to endorse anyone.

According to him, it is only the sitting governor who should decide his successor.

“No governor wants to leave without having a say on who will replace him. If you are a governor of a state, you should have a say. In fact, you should decide on your successor. It is very important,” he said adding “But, giving Nkanu East the position will help develop the place a bit. Try to go to Nkanu East, you will shudder. It has always been a painful trip.

“You will be shocked to see that there’s no road, no water there. And they are part of Nkanu. It doesn’t make sense.

"My conscience tells me that they should have the first option to produce a governor unless they don’t have anybody. But I think they have”. (The Nation)

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