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Civil rights advocacy group, Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria, (HURIWA), which has become the leading potent voice in national affairs, on Wednesday hailed Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State for peaceful governance in the state and for upholding the tenets of core democratic values in the South-East state.
The Rights group has however called on the Enugu State Governor not to spare resources and manpower to ensure that political saboteurs do not flood Enugu with foreign criminal elements to foment trouble, cause insecurity and attempt to rubbish the heritage of sustainable peace, tranquility, and stability that his administration has built over the past seven and half years.
HURIWA said that as the election period nears, those political jobbers who aren’t happy with how peaceful the state has been may recruit undesirable elements to cause organized chaos and to seek to diminish the formidable legacies the Enugu State Government has achieved in the last seven and half years including gigantic infrastructural facilities of multidimensional status.
HURIWA, in a statement by its National Coordinator, Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko, described the governor as a true democrat acceptable by Enugu people and commended him for peaceful leadership by heads of security agencies like the police and army as well as leaders of socio-political and religious groups such as Ezeagu, Isi-Uzo, Ohanaeze, the Peoples Democratic Party and others
The group said Ugwuanyi in the last eight years as governor has promoted peaceful governance as a prerequisite for the aggressive economic development agenda of the state and warned that on no account should the heads of security agencies in Enugu sleep on their guards and let saboteurs and political opportunists destroy these visible achievements of the state in the last eight years.
HURIWA said true to democratic tenets, Ugwuanyi has followed the zoning formula existent in Enugu since Nigeria’s return to democracy in 1999 as anything outside that was anti-people and aimed at undermining the charter of equity, justice, fairness, and peace.
According to the contemporary political history of Enugu, there is indeed a written agreement on zoning. At the end of his two terms of eight years, former Governor Chimaroke Nnamani of the Peoples Democratic Party handed over to Sullivan Chime, who also handed over to Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi in 2015, due to the zoning arrangement.
HURIWA’s Onwubiko said, “As testified by credible leaders of diverse groups as well as heads of security agencies in Enugu and the South-East geopolitical zone, Gov Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi has promoted peaceful governance as a prerequisite for aggressive economic development agenda of the state in the last eight years.
“On no account, therefore, should the heads of security agencies in Enugu sleep on their guards and let saboteurs and political opportunists destroy these visible achievements of Enugu State which have happened by prudent management of resources, openness, transparency, and accountability in the last eight years. This high-level vigilance is particularly important as the February 25 and March 11 general elections draw nearer.
“As a strategy to maintain peaceful co-existence, Governor Ugwuanyi has maintained fairness, especially in the senatorial district to produce the next governor of the state.
“The decision of the Labour Party to concede its governorship slot to a Nsukka man who although is located in another zone same as how Ngwaland is spread into two senatorial zones in Abia State or how Arondizuogu is located in two senatorial zones in Imo State is politically suicidal. The Rights group said Labour Party in Enugu was insensitive to the charter of equity in the zoning of political offices.
“The decision by Governor Ugwuanyi to stick to the collective charter of equity of his party by way of zoning of political offices and his refusal to let his kinsman and former Environment Commissioner Chijioke Edeoga become his successor in waiting has shown that Ugwuanyi is a hard-core party-man and a true democrat.”