A chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Barr. Ray Nnaji has asked Senator Chimaroke Nnamani to stop blaming Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi for his electoral loss.
Nnamani, who lost his return bid to the Senate, had accused Governor Ugwuuanyi of playing a spoiler.
But addressing journalists in Enugu, Nnaji, a former National Auditor of the PDP, disclosed that Chimaroke built the foundation for his failure.
He said: “Former governor of Enugu State, Senator Chimaroke Nnamani naming Gov Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi as the cause of his defeat was laughable because he knew I, Barr. Ray Nnaji was the one that wrote the petition. I wrote the petition to the National Secretariat of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and even threatened to take them to court if they failed to discipline him.
“It’s very unfortunate, If he starts digressing looking for another person to blame because I discussed the issue of petition with him. I wrote the petition initially and how it started was when his name appeared in the presidential campaign council of APC, but before then there was a publication he made at the back of Sun Newspapesr where he eulogised Bola Tinibu.
“So, when his name was listed among APC Presidential Campaign Council, PCC, I thought it was a mistake and I put a call on him and told him that what he is doing is not good, that his name appeared on APC, PCC. I told him to refute it but he refused. I even defended him during an interview that it was a mistake without knowing, I was making a very big mistake.
“Subsequently, he hosted the APC PCC in his house at Agbani, which was published in the Guardian Newspaper on December 28, 2022. The publication made me look like a stupid person, defending him not knowing he had a different agenda. Then, I couldn’t stomach it any longer and wrote a petition and attached a copy of that publication. I asked the party, why should they allow such a thing to happen, that the man is going to destroy the party? Incidentally, someone I told that what Chimaroke was doing was wrong and that I am going to write a petition against him went and told him.
“So, he called me and said that somebody is here and he said that I am going to write a petition, I said no that I have written and sent to the National Secretariat already. He asked what he did and I told him it was as a result of anti-party activity. He asked me what he had done to me and I told him it was too numerous to be mentioned.
“He asked what he can do about it and I told him the petition has gone out and it’s like a bullet that can never be controlled once released. He asked me to be his lawyer and I said no, that I cannot be a judge in my own case and that he should look for another lawyer. We discussed it for over 20 minutes that day and I told him that what he is doing is going to mess him up.
“I even threatened the party that I am going to sue them if they fail to discipline him. So, one week later, I saw that he has been suspended but instead of him to calm down and meet the party hierarchy to explain his situation, he started making mouth that it was nonsense, but initially he was telling me that he has read the electoral act, that he have been given nomination form and that nobody is going to remove the nomination from him.
“I told him he is making a very big mistake because if the party removes him, he has no platform to contest. I told him not to forget about what the Constitution said. Eventually, the man was actually dealt with. He started having a series of problems when Oyibo Chukwu was assassinated and it was ascribed to him. But I am not saying it’s him. No, I can’t vow for anybody but myself.
“He didn’t handle the matter well because, if I were him and had an ear to listen to advice, he would have come out and condemned it in strong terms. He didn’t condemn it but said “I could have won him if he didn’t die”. That was not condemnation. He is looking for where his problem lies, when he built up a foundation that created his problem.
“When Oyibo Chukwu died I felt so bad because all of us were practising and there was even a meeting we entered recently. So, he was a very good friend. Ordinarily, I will not say that he is the one that killed him, but the steps he took to condemn it led to that. He would have condemned it in a strong term and he didn’t do it but that doesn’t suggest he was the one that killed him.
“Subsequently, that was when he went to Camp for campaign and they started jeering at him. That was the build up to his defeat and he is now holding on to governor Ugwuanyi as the cause. He should hold me who started the whole thing responsible for his failure and I am happy I made him fail. I have been reading and never see where he mentions my name whereas I was the one who initiated what made him fail.”
Nnaji went further to say that Chimaroke’s arrogance contributed to the PDP’s failure both at National and state, adding that the Labour Party swept all positions in Enugu based on the vacuum created in the PDP.
“All these things made it look so easy for the LP. I believe that when we come out of this terrible situation that the party will be very careful. This arrogance has cost us National and the same thing is happening to the state. If we are not careful, I don’t know, the Labour Party will be taking everywhere. What I am saying is that Chimaroke contributed to the party’s failure. He didn’t help us anywhere.
“Gov Ugwuanyi contributed to the problem we are having, when he brought Chimaroke back to the party from PDC without following the constitutional provision. The constitutional provision is that when you leave the party and later return to the party, you have to queue up for your turn. You queue up and wait for your turn, but as an exception to that, you have to apply and get a waiver and the governor didn’t do that but just brought him, and gave him a form for the Senate.
“So, I was asked, why did I do it on the eve of election and I told them that the Bible told us that when one part of your body will take you to heal, you better cut it off than entering hell fire with the whole body intact.
“Incidentally, he said he is resigning from the party when he has already been expelled from the party.”
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