By PAMELA EBOH, Awka

The Labour Party candidate in the just concluded governorship election in Enugu State, Rt Hon Chijioke Edeoga, has hailed the people of the state for voting overwhelmingly for transformational change in the two elections held on February 25 and March 18, 2023, in the state.

He said that despite the determination of a handful of inelegant elements to change the course of history, the people have stood strongly with the Labour Party (LP) and have continued to be in solidarity with the transformational political party to this day,

Edeoga in a statement made available to News Express on Friday said: “In the Presidential election, you gave the Labour Party 428,640 out of the 468,891 votes cast, or 88.7 per cent of the votes. In the same election, your total support made our party win seven out of the eight federal constituencies in our State.

“The rival Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) could win only one seat. In the Senate election, your unflinching support saw the Labour Party win the Enugu North district with 104,492 votes; the incumbent State Governor, who is of the PDP, received only 46,948 votes, as he was well-beaten in his polling unit and ward by the Labour Party candidate.

“As expected, the Labour Party also won convincingly in the Enugu East senatorial race, which was rescheduled to March 18, 2023, following the assassination on Wednesday, February 22, of the Labour candidate, Chief Oyibo Victor Chukwu.

“The good people of Enugu East gave Sir Kelvin Chukwu, a younger brother of the assassinated Chukwu, 69,136 votes, as against the 48,701 votes scored by his closest rival, Dr Chimaraoke Nnamani of the PDP, a former Enugu State two-term Governor and a serving Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. All this took place because you want a change in Enugu State.

“The wind of change continued to blow across the State when you went to the polls on Saturday, March 18, 2023, to participate in the Gubernatorial and House of Assembly polls. You voted clearly for Labour Party candidates in the legislative election because you want a House of Assembly to work harmoniously with the Labour Governor of Enugu State.

“Consequently, 14 out of the 24 seats in the Assembly went to the Labour Party, with another one still on the way. In other words, you gave the Labour Party a two-thirds majority in the legislative vote to enable the Labour Governor to deliver the goods effectively and efficiently to the Enugu people.”

He said that the people’s strong desire for change made them vote overwhelmingly for him as the LP candidate in the gubernatorial election.

The LP Governorship candidate noted that by the night of Saturday, March 18, the result from every Local Government Area (LGA) in the State was already well known, and it was clear that he had been given the mandate to lead Enugu State in a new direction in the next four years.

While describing the mandate as a sacred trust that is non-negotiable, he maintained that the desperation of a coterie of politicians in the State working in cahoots with a handful of compromised Independent Electoral Commission, INEC, officers to toy with the destiny of a great people cannot succeed.

He added: “These persons cannot be allowed to subvert the will of millions of our people. The people’s will is supreme. Our team of dedicated and competent lawyers has been instructed to take the appropriate legal steps to restore the people’s mandate to me and the Labour Party.

“The Labour Party has been the subject of vicious attacks by cowardly and reactionary forces in different parts of the country simply because it represents change, a new social order. Its members, candidates and supporters have been murdered in different states.

“Its supporters have been demonised, maimed and disenfranchised in different states, and their businesses incinerated just because they believe a new Nigeria is possible.

“It took INEC a whole four days to engage in creative vote allocation before declaring the so-called result of the governorship election which the whole of Enugu State and the entire nation have rejected as one man. INEC engaged in sheer sacrilege.”

Edeoga further pleaded with Enugu people to go about their normal business, saying that they have great confidence in the Nigerian judiciary.

According to him, the judiciary has restored stolen mandates in a number of instances and has consequently proved to be the last hope of the people.

He also appreciated Nigerians from different works of life for their tremendous support, adding: “I will ever remain indebted to the Enugu people for their solidarity.

“There are not enough words to thank the Nigerian Labour Congress, NLC, the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, the Nigerian Medical Association, NMA,the business community, the market associations, the religious community, students, the academic community, civil service members, and, of course, my primary constituency which is the media, as well as individuals too numerous to mention here; they are committed to the truth, the common good and justice. My confidence in the Nigerian possibility is once again rekindled.”