By Ogochukwu Ugwuodo
A manifesto is to elections and democracy what an architectural plan is to the professional builder. It is only a quack that would just begin to construct a structure without a design. It is a recipe for wasted time, efforts, resources, and ultimately a waste of lives. A manifesto gives the priorities, policies, programmes, and the direction a party or its candidate intends to pursue if elected. It outlines the broad vision of the candidate and states specific actions to be taken if elected into power. It is the charter of commitment to the electorate and guides voters in making informed choice.
Surprisingly, at a session between the Enugu State branch of the Nigerian Bar Association and the governorship candidates of various political parties during the Law Week on 6th December 2022, the Labour Party governorship candidate, Chijioke Edeoga, stated with an air of arrogance that he had no manifesto. This was greeted by loud murmurs of disapproval. Unfortunately, three months after that event and a few days to the governorship election, Edeoga still has no manifesto.
It was not therefore surprising that his recent radio programme was a disaster. Typical of a builder without a building plan, he rambled on without espousing any vision, inspiring any hope, or showing any direction. He was tepid and flatfooted. His radio outing was everything opposite of Dr. Peter Mbah’s recent outing on Solid FM; and any objective person that listened to both men would readily attest to this.
Obviously drawing from his manifesto, which he presented in October last year, Mbah espoused his vision to make Enugu one of the top three states in Nigeria in terms of GDP, achieve zero per cent rate in the poverty headcount index, and his mission is to deliver quality, people-focused governance by making Enugu the preferred destination for investment, business, tourism, and living. He specifically outlined his strategic objectives as ensuring peace and security, inclusive economic development, sustainable prosperity for all citizens of Enugu State by 2031.
Meanwhile, he did not just make promises, he reduced his vision to specific, measurable, achievable and realistic bits. Importantly, he gave a timeframe for each of his programmes. He said there would be water in Enugu in the first six months of his administration and he explained how he intends to achieve that.
In the area of economy, he promised to grow the state’s economy from the present $4.4 billion GDP to $30 billion in eight years and outlined strategic policy incentives that enhance public-private investments in key growth-enabling sectors, energy and natural resources development, agricultural and agro-allied industrialisation and rural development, private sector development and integrated development as the roadmap to that ten-folds GDP growth.
In the area of infrastructure, he promised to do 1,250 kilometres of roads, covering artery, access and rings roads every year. That amounts to 10,000 kilometres.
To tackle insecurity, he said he proposed integrated programme to speed up youth employment, integrated rural development programme (roads, water, sanitation, IT infrastructure, agro-allied industrialization, distributed renewable energy systems), as well as community policing and participatory governance. He said he would roll out and enhance security infrastructures such as CCTV cameras, drones and also build or modernise fingerprint analysis systems, databases, laboratories, DNA laboratories, etc.
From water resources, to creativity industry, urban renewal, public and civil service, judiciary, public transportation, tourism development, education, healthcare, employment generation, sport and youth development, environmental management and sanitation, etc., it is the same clear vision, programmes, how and when each would be achieved. He touched on pensions and gratuities and virtually everything that worries Enugu people.
To several callers who wondered where he hoped to get money to accomplish all these, especially given Enugu’s debt profile and the dried up federal allocations, he said he did not believe in federal allocations. As a private sector person, he said he was focused on enhancing the state’s Internally Generated Revenue (IGR), blocking revenue leakages, expanding the tax net without increasing the tax rate, attracting private sector investors, engendering innovative co-financing with the private sector, introducing Diaspora Investment Bond and Securitization, building partnerships with financial institutions and international development banks to attract funds and investments.
You could see in Mbah, not only a smart 21st Century leader, but also someone who is very prepared for leadership. You could see why he attained the great heights he occupies in the private sector, building Pinnacle Oil and Gas from nothing to the number one position in the downstream sector of the nation’s petroleum industry where we also have oil majors as fierce competitors.
This is why we must be careful in electing our next governor. Being a member of Obi’s party does not necessarily make one politician different from the other. What sets one apart from the other is capacity, vision, and integrity. A few months from now, many of the people we elected into the National Assembly for the simple reason that they belong to Peter Obi’s party will begin to unravel.
Only recently, Chief Okey Ezea (Ideke), who benefitted from the Peter Obi bandwagon effect and was elected as senator to represent Enugu North Senatorial zone declared the forthcoming governorship election a “do-or-die game” for Nsukka zone against Nkanu people. Is that what Peter obi represents?
Those who think that Edeoga represents something different simply because he is now in Labour Party are not thinking straight. Edeoga was a member of the National Assembly, Special Adviser to Senator Ekweremadu as Deputy Senate President, Special Assistant on National Assembly Matters to former President Goodluck Jonathan, Commissioner for local government in Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi’s first term, and Commissioner for Environment in the governor’s second term all under the PDP.
Besides, he was not just a member of Ugwuanyi’s cabinet, he was a member of his kitchen cabinet. If he did not perform as Commissioner for Local Government Affairs or Commissioner for Environment, how is he supposed to perform as governor of Enugu State for the simple reason that he changed party in June after losing the PDP ticket?
Again, Edeoga and Ugwuanyi’s mother are siblings from Obollo Eke. While Edeoga’s mother was married off to an Eha-Amufu man in Isi-Uzo LGA, Ugwuanyi’s mother was married to David Ugwuanyi in Orba, Udenu LGA, which also used to be part of Isi-Uzo. And if you fought for a Peter Obi presidency partly because you believed that Ndigbo have been badly shortchanged, what makes you think, in good conscience, that the governor’s cousin, who doesn’t even have a manifesto deserves to succeed him and rule Enugu State for another eight years?
