The attention of the ENUGU EAST LIBERATION FRONT has been drawn to a new dimension of media onslaught, smear campaign and imputation of political violence against the PDP led Government of Enugu State, by the Enugu Labour Candidate for the March 18 Gubernatorial-election Chijioke Edeoga.
Silence would have been golden but for the reckless, misleading and relentless lies that are meant to deceive the unmindful and innocent electorate.
With the evolving level of political awareness, expectations and the inviolable revolution pervading the Nigerian State, the leadership recruitment process must not only be transparent, devoid of baseless calumny and nauseating slants but must be fully entrenched in the freedom of voters without threat, intimidation or inducement.
It is against this backdrop that would-be managers of statecraft must win the confidence and votes of the electorate through persuasive, robust and sustained issue-based campaigns predicated on achievable milestones and impeccable track records.
Is it not ironical that the governorship candidate of the Labour party has decided to target an otherwise peaceful government that has offered the Enugu people the luxuriating ambience for unprecedented political proliferation? For a fact, Enugu State conducted the most peaceful Presidential and National Assembly elections on the 25th of February 2023. Has anything changed in the dynamics of our politics if not inordinate and alarmist protection of self interest?
Nevertheless, the 2023 Gubernatorial and State Assembly Elections, present a completely different set of options. Not the least though, sadly, is another opportunity for politicians to further expand the coast of unprovoked animosity to fuel their cynical aspirations to political power.
Enugu State like every other state in the southeast has had her share of insurgency orchestrated by non-state actors despite the spirited efforts of the state government which earned Enugu the unassailable fortress of Ndigbo and their safest haven. Why would anyone for political expediency, label properly constituted members of Vigilante organizations as thugs when they were established in accordance with our instant laws and working in conformity with the standards and dictates of our law enforcement agencies? Obviously, desperate search for a dubious political capital is the answer.
The good people of Enugu State certainly understand and acknowledge the yawning chasm separating people-focused aspiration, driven by a well-articulated philosophy, and a whimsically concocted ambition laced with mere rebellion and clannishness .
The resilient people of Enugu are however, more than ever vigilantly prepared, to repel the torrents of falsehood from all persons who are punching with venom to reduce our dear state to a lawless fiefdom.
Those who make incendiary and provocative statements capable of igniting unnecessary tension in the state are hereby advised by this body to sheath their sword. The masses have resoundingly admitted the peaceful nature and dispositions of the Government of Enugu State. It is instructive to note that the Government of the state has consciously avoided bruising of the temperament and sensibilities of the good people of Enugu famous for their harmonious coexistence and peerless sense of peaceful history. In Enugu, neither the nobility has been reduced to despair nor the people to discontent in line with the unassuming and tranquil mien of this regime. It is therefore dangerously disturbing that any candidate will cling onto an inflammatory imputation of violence and disparagement of Government Officials as his final campaign strategy.
Thankfully, the people know the purveyors of these hostilities and merchants of restiveness in the state now. Their unenviable profile of recycled theatricals, betray a sense of looming failure. We wish however, to commend the comportment of all other candidates for the 2023 Enugu Gubernatorial and State House of Assembly Elections, most especially Dr Peter Mba who devoutly espoused his manifestos, enunciated issue-based policies, canvassed sound arguments while effortlessly distancing himself from cheap and nefarious smear politics.
It is even more compelling now that all security agencies remain proactively vigilant in keeping tabs on the activities of all persons that may wish to truncate the elaborate and peaceful arrangements for the elections as Saturday the 18th of March draws closer.
Our organization uses this opportunity to remind Ndi-Enugu that as the 2023 gubernatorial election beckons, more spurious allegations are bound to re-surface. It’s ennobling to note however, that the good people of Enugu have awakened to the realities of voting superiority of competence, integrity, credibility and compassion for the people, over and above whimsical recourse to emotions, repugnant sectarian barriers, primordial sentiments and brazen insensitivity to the challenges of posterity, so that responsible and responsive leadership can be maintained beyond parochial and pedestrian proclivities. Ndi- Enugu vote wisely.
COMRADE ERASMUS UGWU
State Publicity Secretary
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