Enugu governor-elect wades into lawmakers, executive crisis

The Enugu State governor-elect, Hon Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, has called on the two factions of the state assembly to sheath their swords and return to status quo for the amicable resolution of the contending issues.

The meeting, held behind closed doors on Tuesday in Enugu, was attended by members of the two groups as well as a former senate president.

The full details of the meeting was yet to be made public but a reliable source said that they were asked to follow legal means to settle the dispute.

Reacting to the development, the Speaker of the assembly, Chief Eugene Odo, confirmed that the meeting was fruitful.

'We were asked to sheath our swords and return to status quo. We are making peace,'' he said.

However, efforts to get the reaction of the Nwamba-led faction of lawmakers was futile as phone calls and text messages to him were not responded to.

Earlier schedule for the lawmakers to sit on Tuesday was aborted as security operatives manned the entrance of the assembly complex without allowing both workers and visitors to enter the premises.

The prominent sons of the state were also making efforts to resolve the impasse so that the good works recorded by the administration in the past eight years would not be rubbished by the crisis.

Meanwhile, some Enugu residents have called on the lawmakers and the governor to put the interest of the state above any other interest so that the incoming administration would not inherit crisis.

In a related development, no fewer than 1,000 Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) faithful in Enugu State stormed the Government House on Tuesday, protesting against the purported impeachment plan against Gov. Sullivan Chime.

The protesters, drawn from the 17 Local government areas of the state, carried placards with inscriptions: `Sullivan is fair to every member of the House', `Let peace reign in Enugu State', `Sullivan is a good governor', `We are solidly behind the new speaker, Chinedu Nwamba'.