All is not well with the Enugu State chapter of the Labour Party (LP) as two brothers from Isiuzo Local Council, Chijioke Edeoga and Dr. Dave Nnamani, are laying claims to the governorship ticket of the party for the 2023 general elections.

Edeoga, the immediate past Commissioner for Environment, had contested the governorship primary of the People Democratic Party (PDP) but lost. He had since been paraded as the governorship candidate of the LP after he emerged from the party’s primary.

Nnamani also wanted to be governor on the ticket of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) but had abandoned the party when the coast became unclear.

Yesterday, however, Nnamani issued a statement with his running mate, Ocho Obodoeze, pledging to revisit the good policies of past leaders of the state, starting from the time of Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe to the present administration.

They pledged to give the state leadership that would turn things around for good, and promote unity and industrialisation of the state. They, therefore, urged the people to give them maximum support.

But reacting to the development, the state leadership of the party insisted that Edeoga remained its guber candidate, stressing that he emerged from the primary conducted by the party in the state in June this year.

State Publicity Secretary of the party, Ibuchukwu Ezike, stated there was no crisis in the party, noting that Nnamani did not participate in the governorship primary of the party in the state.

Insisting that there are procedures for the emergence of candidates in any electoral process, Ezike disclosed that since the emergence of Edeoga, efforts have been made to tarnish his reputation and destabilised the party in the state.

“We are not ignorant of those antics to sponsor campaigns against LP. How can somebody, who did not participate in the primary election, turn back to claim he is a candidate? There are procedures for doing things and Nnamani should follow the procedure. The polity of Enugu has not been the same since Edeoga emerged. He is a popular person and those who ensured he did not get the ticket of the ruling party are the ones behind these antics.

So people should disregard them and focus on how to ensure victory in the election. We are unstoppable and this is what people should know,” he said. (The Guardian)

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