By CHARLES IWUOHA

The House of Representatives aspirant in Ebonyi State, Comrade Okenwa Nnachi Uka, has described the comments credited to the Council Chairman of Afikpo South local government area, Barr Eni Uduma Chima, against him (Okenwa) as baseless and a sign of a drowning man who can get hold of anything to save himself.

Briefing journalists in Abakaliki, Nnachi Uka, who is running for the Afikpo North/Afikpo South Federal Constituency alleged that the Council Chairman used nasty language to campaign against his ambition while consulting the ward and LGA executives at the council Secretariat, Nguzu Edda.

Comrade Nnachi Uka said: “I gathered us here this morning to clear the air and put the records straight over the lies that were told by Eni Uduma Chima on the 27th day of April 2022 at our Local Government Area Secretariat when he invited the ward and LGA Executives.

“Ordinarily, I would have chosen to ignore him as even the people know his devilish and satanic antics but for posterity's sake, I have to debunk those lies and establish the fact that Eni is an unrepentant serial liar.

“It may interest the world to know that before the primaries of both PDP and Labour Party, I had personally advised him (Eni Uduma Chima) not go to Labour Party as the serving Governor and Senator Sonni Ogbuoji had promised to hand over the ticket of our Constituency House of Assembly to him, even the current occupant Hon. Nkemka Okoro Onuma had sent to Eni a congratulatory message and had pledged to back Eni but greed lured him to going to stand for House of Assembly primaries and later House of Reps for Labour Party as he was afraid of contesting election outside the sitting government.

“He later decamped to PDP after he lost his election, only two days to my election after he lied to me that he was going to Nnewi to meet friends that will assist financially only for him to end up at a hotel in Enugu, where our current Governor operated from to collect 14Millon Naira and got a commitment to be appointed our LGA Chairman.

“He came back and asked me to step down from the contest with a promise to be made the Coordinator of our Development Centre, I rejected the offer instantly in his parlour and told him that we need to consider the people, that it was more honourable for us to fight to finish.

“Eni never considered any of our supporters, he betrayed my humble self and many others and I expected him to be bold enough to apologise to us and even Afikpo North people who laboured day and night to support us before coming to run his mouth again before the people. "

On the funding of the said election, Okenwa Nnachi Uka accused Eni Uduma Chima of mopping up funds from the then LGA Caretaker Chairman of Afikpo South LGA, Late Chief Egwu Chima, to be building his hotel.

“I can attest to the fact that I spent my millions of naira campaigning for him as there were wards like Ebunwana, etc., that he could not enter to do a campaign.

“He alleged that I was given 23 million Naira, is that not rather ridiculous, the managers of Heritage Campaign Council are still alive and can attest to the fact no such money was given to any candidate, not even myself,” he added.

Uka who is a member of Governing Council, Federal Polytechnic, Bali in Taraba State, recalled that his political opponent, Eni Chima Uduma “alleged that he single-handedly paid for the wrappers we freely gave out to Ward and Local Government Area executives,” asking Uduma, to “show the world the receipt he used to purchase the wrappers.”

He maintained that the constituents of Afikpo North-Afikpo South Federal Constituency, “know his (Uduma’s) antics and he cannot deceive them again.”

The aspirant who is also the immediate past State Financial Secretary of APC further explained that: “We respected that we embarked on our consultative tour to the ward and LGA Executives, we were issue-based telling the people what we can offer if given the opportunity but he chose to use gutter languages on us, but I can feel his frustration, a drowning man can get off anything to save himself.

“The fact is that Eni knows he cannot win any election in Edda Land anymore, the people have rejected him.

“I want to seize this opportunity to thank Eni for the Greek gift of 1 million to the entire party structure, but I want to ask him a few questions;

“Ever since these Executives were elected and inaugurated, has he ever called them for any form of meeting before that 27th April 2022? Does his Amairi Ekoli ward, have an APC ward secretariat?

“After we were told that the State Chairman paid for the LGA secretariat and money was solicited from him as the council chairman to renovate the place, has he given any kobo?

“The answers to the above questions are “NO” and it attests to the fact that he (Eni) has no interest in helping the party to grow in Edda.

“He has been holding nocturnal meetings with other parties and has been like a duck beaten by the rain.

“For the records, Eni never made me a management committee member rather it was Senator Sonni Ogbuoji through the instrumentality of Bro Vincent Dike.

“In conclusion, I want the world to know today that, Eni Uduma Chima has no character, is very unpopular and incapable of representing our people.

“Almost all the elections he has won were on more or less appointment cum imposition by the Government and this time the people will revolt against any attempt to impose him on us.

“I challenge Eni to show us who he has established politically, economically or otherwise in his hold onto power for close to Sixteen Years. I challenge Eni to lay his scorecard viz a viz his achievements in our constituency as one who represented us for 8 Years in the House of Assembly not even a culvert in my ward.

“As a Council Chairman for over Six years, he only brought a few poles of a street light that are not functional to my ward. Let him show us what he has done in other parts of Edda. Eni should hide his face in shame as a betrayer and not turn the story upside down,” he said.

In a swift reaction, the council chairman, Eni Uduma Chima, said: “My attention has been drawn to the vituperation of Mr Okenwa Nnachi Uka.

“The summary of which is that I have made no achievements as a Political Office Holder and that I’m not popular enough to represent our people in the Federal House of Representatives.

“The young man is entitled to his incorrect opinions. The feeble attempt to deny my usefulness in bringing him into Ebonyi Politics as a Management Committee Member of Afikpo South Development Centre is also noted, they always deny what God uses me to do in their lives but the important thing is that the people know who is who and which is which.

“Okenwa is my boy who has private reasons to prance about like a cockroach challenging a Cock to a fight.....

“The boy’s political cancer was detected very early. At the appropriate time, he will undergo political chemotherapy...

“For the records, my achievements in infrastructure, human capital development, and functional and sincere representations e.t.c are glaring all over Edda and my popularity and capacity to win elections are palpable. These truths are immutable.”

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