“Chairmanship of Enugu North Local Government Area, 2024: Beyond the Ogui and Ngwo Bickering.”

By Sebastine Okafor

With various Local Government Areas preparing for the potential appointment of Transition Committee Chairmen and ENSIEC gearing up for Local Government Elections in Enugu State before October, I, Sebastian Chukwuebuka Nwogwugwu Okafor, who has been involved in Enugu North Local Government politics for nearly 15 years, have decided to share my views on the ongoing bickering between the Indigenous communities of Enugu North Local Government (Ogui and Ngwo) and to declare my interest in becoming the next Chairman of Enugu North Local Government Area.

Since 2010, I have actively participated in the politics of Enugu North Local Government Area. Initially with the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP), which by virtue of the 2013 merger, transformed into the All Progressives Congress (APC) of today. Throughout this time, I have observed the growing bickering and squabbling between the Ogui and Ngwo communities. While some may describe these squabbles as a constant battle for the control or ownership of Enugu Metropolis, I, as a key player in the politics of the local government, will describe these squabbles as a constant demonstration of political greed, insatiability, and acute inability to accommodate one another for political stability and for the greater good of the entire populace of Enugu North LGA. What I find most baffling is the fact that despite being a Local Government Area largely dominated by Non-indigenes, Enugu North LGA until recently remained the only LGA in Enugu State where only two communities (Ogui and Ngwo) continue to enjoy the monopoly of elective positions and political appointments. While some LGAs like Nsukka, Ezeagu, and others have more than 20 – 40 communities jostling for the same elective positions, these LGAs have been able to manage their politics and distribution of political positions better than Enugu North LGA with just two communities (Ogui and Ngwo).

In recent times, I have read different articles sponsored by some politicians from Ogui community that produced the last Chairman of Enugu North LGA, claiming that it is their turn to produce the next chairman of the LGA. It completely beats my imagination how a community that held the exalted chairmanship position for 4 years and 3 months will turn around and say it is still their turn to produce the next chairman in the next round of LGA election. According to the Authors of these annoying write-ups, their demand for the next chairmanship position stems from a supposed 2011 political agreement which was purportedly broken in 2023 when the former Member (HOA) from Ngwo recontested for a second tenure and lost.

Having been a part of the politics of this LGA for about 15 years now, I am aware of the illegal but purported House Of Assembly (HOA) political agreement which was made in 2011 and also broken in the same 2011 by someone from this same community now crying fowl. For the records, we will now go on a journey of recollecting the political history of Enugu North HOA since the said agreement was made in 2011.

In 2011 despite the illegal but acclaimed agreement, the then House of Assembly Member and Deputy Speaker who hails from Ogui Nike recontested for the said House of Assembly Position and Lost to an Ngwo man Hon. Chime Oji. In 2015, Hon. Oji was elevated to the House of Representatives, paving the way for an Ogui man Hon. Phillip Nnamani to represent the constituency from 2015 to 2019. In the 2019 election, Hon. Nnamani followed the way of his brother and recontested for the primaries of the PDP to return to the House of Assembly but lost to an Ngwo Man, Hon. Ibenaku Onoh. Finally in 2023, Hon. Onoh toed the same line of his predecessors and recontested for the same House of Assembly position but lost to the current House Member Hon. Ani. Though I believe that this infamous single tenure agreement is unconstitutional and alien to modern-day democracy particularly as it relates to legislative positions, it is on record that the first two failed attempts to break this illegal agreement occurred in 2011 and 2019 by two Ogui men, while the 3rd and final failed attempt occurred in 2023 with an Ngwo man. I am therefore surprised as to why this 3rd failed attempt at correcting an illegality will qualify one community which has produced the chairman of Enugu North Municipal Council for the past 4 years and 3 months to produce another chairman from the same community for another 4 years. (Nke ahụ ama eme) This will be a total aberration and the highest level of injustice to the entire Enugu North People. One of the maxims of equity says that, anyone who comes to equity, must come with clean hands. I, therefore, urge Governor Peter Ndubuisi Mba to ignore those calling on him for equity because, they have never known what equity is even amongst themselves. One community having the chairmanship of Enugu Municipal Council for 8 uninterrupted years plus can never qualify as equity nor JUSTICE, whereas someone like Bookastro who has more stake than them in the politics of Enugu North is watching na akụrụ ha aka.

On this note, I urge Governor Peter Ndubuisi Mbah to appoint me Sebastian Chukwuebuka Nwogwugwu, a rooted and trusted politician and Journalist in Enugu North LGA as the chairman of this Municipal Council just for a tenure and see the development that I will bring.

I will now wait for any Ngwo man who claims it is their turn to produce the next chairman to come out and say so, so I will give them their own dosage.

It is time for All these iberibe in Enugu North LG leadership to stop and I have the plans to make it happen with disruptive innovations and grow the GDP from the unfortunate mere $100 where it currently is, to $2m where suppose to be with good leadership.
(Biko Your Excellency, Nyem ihe a)

My Name is Sebastian Chukwuebuka Okafor Nwogwugwu Ọgwụ Bookastro.