Why Peter Obi Sacked Dr. Chimaroke Nnamani From Senate

By Charles Igbo

The Peter Obi effect has sacked a former Governor of Enugu State,  Chimaroke Nnamani,  from the Senate. Nnamani, who is the incumbent Senator, Enugu East, by the defeat  has  lost his third term bid to the Senate.

The Medical Doctor- turned politician was defeated  in the election held on 18th March, 2023, by the Candidate of the Labour Party, Sir Kelvin Chukwu.

Chukwu scored a total of 69,136 votes to Nnamani’s 48, 701 votes.

Chukwu’s journey to the Senate is a product of sorrow. He was not a politician. And was not aspiring to be one. But fate threw it at him.

His elder brother, Barrister Oyibo Chukwu was the Senatorial Candidate of the Labour Party. Sadly, two days to the Election scheduled for February 25, 2023, he was killed in a most gruesome manner.

On his way back from a political Campaign he was killed by gunmen, along with six of his supporters. They were all in a Sienna vehicle when gunmen not only shot them, but set fire on their vehicle. Their bodies were burnt.

The LP wrote to the Independent National Electoral Commission to inform the body of the sad situation the party was in and requested for a shift in the date for the Enugu East Senatorial District Election. The request was granted. INEC rescheduled the election to March 18, and the Party replaced the  late Barrister Chukwu with his younger brother, Sir Kelvin Chukwu who, now, is a Senator-elect.

Three things, mainly, cost Nnamani the Senate seat. The first is the Peter Obi-effect which swept through a number of States, especially, in the South-east and became an overnight hit, especially, with Nigerian youths. Nnamani talked down on Obi a couple of times. Many people, especially, the Obidients, did not forgive Nnamani for that.

Secondly, Nnamani’s sudden and inexplicable  open romance with the All Progressives Congress, APC, and its Presidential Candidate, now President-elect, Bola Tinubu, put a number of his supporters off. It was difficult for them to take, just as it was for his own Party, the PDP. In fact, at the time he contested on March  18, he was “partyless” as the PDP had expelled him for anti-party activities. He is challenging the expulsion in Court, and insisting he did no wrong in working for another party at the expense of his own party.

The third is, of course, the gruesome murder of Barrister Chukwu. Not a few people voted for his brother, his replacement, out of sympathy.

So, is this the end of Nnamani and his Ebeano political structure?, many people are asking. The structure has suffered a number of political losses recently. Even the State Governor, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, lost his Senatorial bid to Labour Party.

At the time of filing this story, the result of the Governornorship election in the State was still being expected. The PDP Candidate, the urbane Peter Mba, is an Ebeano product, and was Senator Nnamani’s Chief of Staff when he was Enugu State Governor. And so was Frank Nweke, the brilliant Governorship Candidate of the All Progressive Grand Alliance, APGA.

If both Mba and Nweke lose, it really will be bad news for Dr. Nnamani, politically. But perhaps, Tinubu, who he fondly calls “the City Boy” will accommodate him – somewhere.