As the stage is getting set for the full commencement of politicking in Enugu state, more support has continued to pour in for the total re-arrangement of the seeming order with which the state political class had practiced a quasi-form of rotation for the governorship position of the state. The ubiquitous practice which many had thought will engender even development across the senatorial zones that make up the state, is being seen by many as having outlived its usefulness.
Speaking on the contentious issue, which is predicated on the assumption that the three zones in the state (East, West and North) will hold the governorship seat for at least one tenure each, the Director General of a political awareness platform, The GOT Organization, Mr. Ejiofor Agada, is of the opinion that such practice has not benefited the individual zones evenly. This, he claims, is based on the fact that the practice was not borne out of genuine love of the state by the political gladiators who are majorly in one political party, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP).
“This concept is a creation of some expired politicians mostly in the PDP that have lost touch with current realities in our polity, and majority of our people are resolved to jettison such baggage and move rather with equity, preparedness and acceptability, than arranged leadership”, Agada said. Relying on facts already established, the DG of The GOT Organization opined that the concept of rotational governorship position has undermined the development potentials of Enugu state since its creation. His words: “What type of rotation brought about Engr. Dave Umahi that transformed Ebonyi state from a squalid enclave just less than 8yrs ago, to a modern state with enviable infrastructure? What rotational policy did Mallam El Rufai use to create a 21century state in Kaduna? These and many others, were never achieved via rotation but a result of preparedness and unique ideology of those Governors”.
He called on well-meaning citizens of the state, to shun the antics of PDP to force them to accept mediocrity under the guise of rotational governorship. Citing the poor performances of some governors that arose out of the warped rotational arrangement, that threw up only party loyalists of the PDP and never those prepared for the job in the first place, Mr. Agada is of the opinion that other political parties in the state, especially the All Progressives Congress (APC), should take advantage of the apathy in the state for the PDP arrangement, and present a prepared, competent and well-followed candidate for the upcoming governorship elections come 2023. He explained that based on the field research carried out for his organization by a reputable Research firm early this year, a whopping 71% of respondents in Enugu state, who are of voting age, would love for the political parties to present candidates based on qualification and preparedness and not the hand-picking that had bedeviled the state’s political landscape in the past.
In a similar vein, another leader of the GOT Organization, Comrade Maduabuchi Ude was more emphatic about the rotational practice in the state when he said, “this rotation thing is a big scam that PDP used to perpetrate failure in our state. If you go to most areas in this state from Udi, Aninri, Awgu, to practically everywhere in Nsukka zone as a whole, the stagnation in development is appalling, all because some corrupt professional politicians would love to keep circulating power among themselves, subjugating the people and fleecing them of their commonwealth repeatedly over the years”.
On what their organization is doing to get more people in the state to support their crusade on the abolishment of the failed rotational practice, Mr. Agada disclosed that the sensitization and awareness department of the organization, has concluded plans to use the most appropriate channels to engage more citizens of the state, and show them why such an undemocratic practice is the main reason why the state is still majorly underdeveloped. “We are poised to get more people on our side by speaking to them in public fora, through radio and other media, so that they see why competence rather than anointment, should be the yardstick for choosing our leaders going forward” Agada concluded.
The GOT Organization is said to be a political education and sensitization group made up of young progressive minded professionals in politics, and has been in existence since 2018.