From Jude Chinedu, Enugu
•Prof Nnamchi (m) with traditional rulers
The rich cultural heritage of the people of Enugu East/Isi-Uzo Federal Constituency was displayed profoundly recently when they welcomed their representative in the House of Representatives, Prof. Paul Nnamchi.
Different groups and masquerades showcased spectacular dance steps with the zeal of competition and zest of professionals. The acrobatic feats made a good spectacle.
Even elders and community leaders were not left out. Their performances reinforced the saying that a woman is never too old to forget a familiar dance pattern.
Indeed, Nnamchi is a leader in whom his people are very well please and they show it at any given opportunity. They first displayed this on February 25, 2023, when they voted overwhelmingly for him as candidate of the Labour Party (LP) against the then incumbent legislator for the constituency, Cornelius Nnaji of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Again, on June 25, they staged a carnival of some sort at Community Primary School, Ako Nike in Enugu East LGA, as a post-inauguration reception for their illustrious son.
Then, came another joyous occasion on November 5, when hundreds of constituents and Labour Party faithful abandoned going for Sunday worship in their respective churches. They instead trooped to the Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu, to receive Nnamchi, who had just won his case at the Court of Appeal in Lagos as the duly elected member of House of Representatives for the area.
The jubilant crowd rolled out the drums; sang and danced, giving God the glory for answering their prayers.
An Appeal Court sitting in Lagos had reinstated Nnamchi to the position he won with over 40,000 votes, sparking sporadic jubilation across his constituency and the state capital on Friday, November 3.
PDP’s Nnaji, who lost to Nnamchi in the poll, had petitioned the National and State Assembly Election Petition Tribunal, which sat in Enugu, claiming that the Labour Party candidate was not qualified to stand for the election on the grounds that he did not properly resign from his place of work, the University of Nigeria Nsukka.
In a shocking decision, the tribunal led by Justice A.M. Abubakar concurred with the petitioner’s allegation, thereby, declaring Nnaji winner of the election. However, Nnamchi, who described the judgement as a perversion of justice, appealed the judgement.
After examining the petition by Nnaji and the judgement of the tribunal, the Appeal Court found that it lacked in merit and that the issue was a pre-election matter, thereby, reinstating Nnamchi as the duly elected legislator for Enugu East/Isi-Uzo Federal Constituency.
On getting wind that Nnamchi would be back home on Sunday after the court victory, the excited constituents stormed airport from where they moved with him in a motorcade to his Ako Nike hometown, where a large number of supporters were already waiting for him.
The highly elated lawmaker thanked his people for their support, stating that he would in return ensure that they enjoyed quality representation at the National Assembly.
“I thank God that at this moment, both God and the law are on my side. And I can only thank them for upholding the people’s wish and the overwhelming votes the people have bestowed on us which was validated by the Appeal Court. It is a thing of joy.
“I cannot thank my constituents enough for the support they have given to me. They earlier demonstrated this during the election with their overwhelming votes.
“My constituents in their overwhelming numbers are here to thank the judiciary and embrace its final decision and that they are solidly standing with me and that people should not do otherwise again.
“And now is time to work. My reward for good work is more work. I cannot thank them enough but I will pay them back with quality representation. They will not regret electing me,” he enthused.
Nnamchi had during the June 25 civic reception for him as a federal lawmaker asserted his determination to serve his people.
He had declared: “The time to do the right thing is now. This particular constituency was known as where one gets his privilege only by being from one particular place or because of one’s genealogy or because one was born by this or that, but I’m standing here before you as the symbol that all of us can be anything we want to be, that everything is possible, if you believe and God sanctions it.
“It is also possible that the son of nobody can be the son of somebody; it is also possible to say that he who does not know anybody can be somebody. It is also possible that your own son, if you claim it, can be a member of the House of Representatives, can be a Senator, a Governor and can be a President from Enugu State, even without a name.
“We have started training of our children and youths. Before, they distributed Keke to people but it will be difficult to train one’s children in the University by operating Keke. So, we are committed to giving people access to education by catching them young.
“We don’t have roads, but what I will say on this is that I will do my best. You have sent me to Abuja to represent you, and I will do just that.
“The House of Representatives is the House of the people and because of that, we are meant to represent people. In the House, I have certain things I’ve mapped out to do; one is that I will be an open-door member of the House of Representatives; my people will see me whenever they want.”
Speakers at the event poured encomiums on Nnamchi whom they said has made appreciable impact in less than six months in the federal legislature.
The member representing Enugu East Rural State Constituency, Raymond Ugwu described Nnamchi as a blessing to people of Enugu State especially those within their Federal Constituency as his philanthropic gestures were boundless.
“You can see the excitement in everybody’s face. You can see the reaction from the airport to this place. Imagine an election that was conducted and he won his opponent in a landslide and the tribunal did something that nobody ever imagined. But we thank God today for using the Appeal Court to reverse the abomination and calamity that the tribunal committed here in Enugu.
“This means a lot for this constituency. It means development, it means peace, it means a new era of development in Enugu East and Isi-Uzo local government areas. We’ve never had it so good. We have someone who is barely two months in office and today I can boast that over 200 students are in universities on scholarship. Other people have been there for years but never did anything close to this. It means a lot to our people, that’s why we are celebrating like this,” the state lawmaker stated.
His counterpart of Enugu East Urban State Constituency, Osita Oko, could not agree less. He said that Nnamchi’s victory was victory for democracy.
An LP chieftain, Samuel Ugwuede, said that Nnamchi’s reinstatement by the appellate court has ended era of political oligarchy in the constituency.