Enugu State stakeholders have described the absence of erstwhile Governor Chimaroke Nnamani at the inauguration on Monday, May 29, 2023, of Peter Mbah as the new State Governor as a manifestation that there is no honour among those they called “political brigands” in the state.

“There is honour even among thieves, but it is not so among the swindlers in our state who robbed the people of the mandate they freely gave the Labour Party on March 18,” declared the Enugu State Stakeholders Forum (ESSF) in a statement on Friday, June 2, 2023, signed by its President, Professor Joseph Aneke, and the Secretary, Dr Ifeanyi Agbo.

Outgoing Senator Nnamani brought out the “purported governor-elect from nothing and placed him on a high pedestal,” observed the stakeholders, who added: “Yet he did not find it worthy of attending Mbah’s swearing-in as Governor because they could not keep their agreement to shortchange the Enugu people.”

The stakeholders recalled how Chimaroke, as Governor, made Mbah his Chief of Staff, fresh from school and later appointed him the Commissioner for Finance.

The statement alleged that Mbah and Nnamani, both from the Nkanu sub-ethnic group, parted ways even before the conclusion of the 2023 general elections because of their “crass selfish interests which turned out to be mutually exclusive,”

The former Governor has publicly been accusing fellow PDP leaders in the state of betrayal since he lost the Enugu East senatorial race on March 18 to little-known Sir Kelvin Chukwu of the Labour Party, a younger brother of Chief Oyibo Chukwu of Labour Party who was assassinated three days to the National Assembly poll, a development which compelled the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to postpone the Enugu East senatorial election by three weeks later.

Dr Nnamani has, in a series of statements, accused the immediate-past Governor, The Right Honorable Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, and Mbah, of masterminding the rigging of the gubernatorial poll in favour of their party but refused to rig for him during the senatorial election for fear that the reaction of the people would be too severe for the PDP to bear.

“It was Senator Nnamani who convinced Ugwuanyi that Mbah is the right person to protect his interests after leaving office on May 29 as Governor and should, therefore, anoint him as his successor,” claimed the stakeholders.

“Still, both Mbah and Ugwuanyi had no scruples in ditching him when it mattered most because there is no honour among the political scavengers of our state.”

The ESSF described the parting of ways between Mbah and Nnamani as paradoxical because Mbah stoutly refused to betray him when he was arrested by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) after serving as the Finance Commissioner.

Though a lot of assets, including a number of properties, a radio station and a telecommunications company belonging to Dr Nnamani, were confiscated by the EFCC which told the court that they were acquired with proceeds from corruption, Mbah is reputed to have done well to avoid implicating his former boss.

“His performance at the EFCC impressed Nnamani so much that he decided to reward him with a higher political position at the right time,” said the stakeholders.

“He had no difficulty convincing Ugwuanyi to adopt Mbah as his candidate in the PDP primaries, all the more so since Mbah has made so much money through his Pinnacle Oil and Gas Company and was eager to spend a lot of it in order to become the Enugu State governor,” the group said.

With Ugwuanyi’s support, Mbah secured the PDP gubernatorial ticket by a landslide on May 26, 2022, at Nnamadi Azikiwe Stadium in Enugu, scoring 790 out of the 807 votes.

The ESSF advised Senator Nnamani to testify honestly at the Enugu State Election Petitions Tribunal where Chijioke Edeoga, the Labour Party gubernatorial candidate, is contesting INEC’s declaration of Mbah as the elected Governor.

“The testimony will not be borne out of vengeance against his party but to free his conscience and help liberate the state from brigandage,” stated the stakeholders.