Former Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi
By Tony Adibe
The Ohanaeze Ndigbo Youth Council – the youth wing of the Igbo socio-cultural association – Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide – has lashed out at the Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Dr Ibrahim Abdullahi, for his unwarranted verbal attack on former Enugu State governor, Rt. Hon. Dr. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi.
NewsBits recalls that Abdullahi, while appearing on Arise TV earlier in the week, made needless uncomplimentary utterances against Ugwuanyi, claiming that his “political role had diminished in Enugu State.” He further claimed that Ugwuanyi had reduced himself into a PA to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, literally “carrying a bag for him, Wike.”
But his verbal attacks on the former Governor caused discomfort and anger among the Ohanaeze youths, who questioned how he arrived at such “baseless attacks on Ugwuanyi.”
In a statement by the National President of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Youth Council Worldwide, Mazi Okwu Nnabuike, he accused Abdullahi of either “suffering selective amnesia” or pretending not to know “Ugwuanyi’s political prowess” in Enugu State.
Okwu recalled that “Rt Hon Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, as governor of Enugu State, recorded the highest percentage of votes ever witnessed in the state during his second term election in 2019. The youth leader said, “His percentage of victory is a history that may not be easy for anyone to break in the State again.
“That His Excellency, Rt Hon Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi is a gentle man and has maintained that posture does not in any way diminish his political sagacity and acceptability in Enugu State.
“Two years after leaving office, Ugwuanyi (Gburugburu) still remains very popular and much admired by the people. It is, therefore, illogical and baseless for the PDP spokesman to claim that Ugwuanyi’s influence has diminished.”
The youth leader further said that the anger of the PDP spokesman “stems from Ugwuanyi’s defection to the APC”, alongside Governor Peter Mbah.
According to Okwu, “We know where his anger is coming from; the PDP is all tears for losing such a caliber of people to the APC.
“But the party is behind its own woes; it should reap what it sowed by neglecting the South-East despite drawing its strength from the zone over the years.
“The PDP should cry a river; it won’t change anything. We are solidly behind Ugwuanyi and Mbah for dumping the party. We also reaffirm our confidence and belief in Ugwuanyi as a leader, with whom we are well pleased.”
