Enugu 2015: Group defends Ugwuanyi on party loyalty
The Enugu Regeneration Group (ERG), a socio-political organization based in Enugu and Lagos, has described Hon. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi as a loyal member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and has condemned what it described as 'desperate attempts by frustrated PDP vote losers' to malign the character of the party's consensus candidate for the state governorship election in 2015.
The group also described such efforts as futile attempts to diminish the standing of Ugwuanyi in the eyes of party's elders and other reasonable members of the public.
Reacting to reports in two national dailies on Monday that the Presidency was going after Ugwuanyi and others because of their alleged anti-party roles in the enthronement of the current House leadership, the ERG in a statement signed by the group's national coordinator, Mr. Hilary Ogili, stated that the allegation that Ugwuanyi was anti-Jonathan by reason of his being a loyal member of the House of Representatives under the House's current leadership, was 'only an immature and sadistic attempt to turn politics on its head and present Ugwuanyi as an untrustworthy character.
'Nothing could be farther from the truth. The truth is that Ugwuanyi is a loyal party member to the core, otherwise the entire party caucus in Enugu constituted by diehard Jonathan men, including the Governor, Sullivan Chime, would never have voted overwhelmingly to choose him as the party's consensus candidate for the governorship election next year. The truth is that Ugwuanyi's antecedents as a party man are clear and transparent and have never in any way, included antagonism to Jonathan's presidency or his ambitions,' the ERG stated.
The group added: 'Let's, for the sake of argument, accept that Ugwuanyi was among the spearheads of Aminu Tambuwal's election. Out of 360 members, an overwhelming 280 voted to enthrone the current House leadership. Would the PDP then go after every one of them? Four years after that election, the issue is no longer how the election was won and lost but what role individual members of the House have played in making the Jonathan Presidency realized its objectives or not. It's wicked for any member or group within the PDP to make the Presidency embark on needless vengeance mission when all hands must be on deck to help the Presidency win a re-election. Anyway, the Presidency is discerning enough to see through the shenanigans of a few disgruntled politicians and work with mainstream party leaders in the states to ensure that the president wins overwhelmingly in all PDP states.'
Recall that former Attorney General of Enugu State, Dr. Mike Ajogwu (SAN), had condemned Enugu State politicians for trying to diminish the integrity of Ugwuanyi.
Ajogwu had stated that he was embarrassed by the attitude of some politicians in the state, who, according to him, were hell bent on truncating the decision of PDP.
He said he had been a member of the PDP alongside Ugwuanyi and had never observed him engage in anti-party activities, adding that when the party moved to support President Jonathan in the January 12, 2011 primary election that eventually brought up Jonathan, Ugwuanyi was a staunch supporter of the president.
The former attorney general said the campaign that Ugwuanyi worked to produce Tambuwal as speaker of the House of Representatives, against the preferred candidate of the party, amounted to calling a dog a bad name in order to hang it. - The Sun.