Ije Awele Enugu East Senatorial Zone 2023 political movement has said that any attempt to alter the prevailing zoning arrangement in Enugu State will be countered with a superior argument.
The group in a conversation held at Universal Hotel, Enugu on Thursday, 2nd December, 2021 said they want to ensure a peaceful transition of power in the state come 2023.
The Convener of the movement and Special Adviser to Enugu State Governor on Agriculture, Engr. Mike Ogbuekwe said: “I don’t think that the zoning arrangement will be altered because we play a mature politics here in Enugu.
“If there’s an attempt to alter it, it will be countered by superior arguments and conversations just like in the days of the old in Greek, where people discuss in the assembly. We will be calling for an assembly of all the other zones in the state to cross fertilise ideas and ensure that the noble arrangement, the three edges of the triangle which are all equal will continue to coexist in peace and harmony.”
Speaking about the organisation, Ogbuekwe said they hope to sensitize the “good people of the zone and greater people of Enugu for a peaceful transition of governance come 2023 with respect to the prevailing zoning arrangement in the state.
“The platform aims to push for democratic discussions and conversations that will lead to a robust, and mature politicking come 2023 because Enugu is a cosmopolitan state.
“The aim is to ensure ‘Ije Awele’ (Smooth journey/transition) come 2023 and unite all the aspirants coming out from Enugu East Senatorial Zone. To do this, we will create a platform for discussions, conversations and debates, so we can have a common front about what we aim to achieve with the 2023 Governorship.
“The conversations will be the baseline and strong point for ensuring a united front for all aspirants from Enugu East Senatorial zone,” Engr. Ogbuekwe concluded.
Speaking earlier at the event, Bishop Chinedu Nwoye said any scheme to truncate the zoning arrangement is mischievous and people of good conscience won’t allow that.
Bishop Nwoye who’s also an SPA to the Governor on Inter Religious Affairs said “Ugwuanyi’s emergence in 2015 was peaceful, his departure will be more peaceful and the slogan ‘it will end in praise’ is about 2023, because it’s going to be a smooth journey (Ije Awele).
“Equilibrium is all we seek. When it was time for other zones to produce the Governor, there was an understanding, it won’t get to our time and it becomes problematic.”
He went further to say that they will be reaching out to other zones and make them see reasons to support them.
“We need to show wisdom and reach out to our brothers in the other zones to support us to produce the next Governor.”
He went on to advise that they also need to determine the type of character that they need to be the next Governor stressing that they need “young and energetic leader that will provide leadership and change the narrative of our people. We need to produce a Governor that will perform like our governor and even beyond.
In his admonition, the convener of Power Shift, Nonso Nnamani told the gathering that the first step they need to take is to get their Permanent Voters Card, PVC.
“You can make all the noise but without the voting power which is the PVC, you will make no impact.
“It’s important to register and vote. We need to also remind our people to register where they can access the polling boot on election day. We should endeavour to come out on election day, cast our vote and avoid transactional politics.”
Traditional rulers, PG of town unions, appointees of government, past leaders, party leaders and many others took turn to speak on how they can achieve their objective.
Igwe Edike Nweke charged the young persons from their zone to come out and declare their intention to govern the state.
“Our people need to demonstrate hunger for power and see how they will be supported, because power is taken and not given, thus, they should come out and show readiness to take power.”
The traditional ruler argued that zoning is the winning formula in Enugu State and you don’t change a winning team in a contest.
“Zoning has been winning the peace for Enugu and shouldn’t be altered.”