Nkanu clan mocks Uche Nnaji, endorses Gov. Peter Mbah in Enugu Mega rally
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More than 11,000 people came together at Okpara Square in Enugu State, yesterday. It was the first of the three planned mega rallies to kick-start electioneering campaign ahead of 2027 gubernatorial election in the state.
Former Senate President, Sen. Ken Nnamani and former governor of Old Anambra State, Sen Jim Nwobodo were among the high-profile dignitaries in attendance. And their words were a take-home – verdict that clearly showed what the next election is going to taste like.
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“Everyone will vote for Peter Mbah – APC, Peoples Democratic Party, Nigeria Democratic Party, Africa Democratic Congress, and the rest – because you (Peter Mbah) have performed wonderfully well,” Jim Nwobodo declared.
Sen Ken Nnamani, echoing Nwobodo’s speech, took it farther. Describing the type of a man Enugu would want to vote as the next governor, he concluded that “we have only one man who is running for governor”. Of course, that man “is Governor Peter Mbah”.
Nnamani lauded Governor Mbah as a man who “is rich in ideas and educational strategy,” then compared him to Chief Uche Nnaji, who will be running for governorship under the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
“But if you are rich in forgery, you can’t make a good leader. Nkanu people don’t associate with such shameful acts, people who procure certificates at Oluwole Street,” the former Senator said.
Although Ken Nnamani didn’t mention Uche Nnaji, everyone at the rally knew he was referring to the former Minister of Science and Technology.
Did Uche Nnaji forged his UNN, NYSC certificates?
Uche Nnaji came under fire following Premium Times news report earlier this year. The newspaper exposed that Nnaji dropped from the University of Nigeria Nsuka (UNN) after failing key courses, including Virology. However, he had made a certificate for himself, all the while parading as a class of 1985 graduate. He equally forged his National Youths Service Corps (NYSC) certificate, the report said.
Three days after it turned to a national scandal, Nnaji resigned as a minister but had continued to insist it was a politically motivated “allegation”.
However, authorities at UNN formally disowned the embattled ex-minister. They went as far as publishing internal letters dated 1986 where Uche Nnaji was pleading to be allowed to re-seat his failed exams. NYSC followed suit, publicly said that the discharge certificate Nnaji had been carrying was a counterfeit.
Then, seven-member federal panel equally reviewed his accademic records, and made the same conclusion: both certificates were fake.
What are Enugu PDP stakeholders saying about Peter Mbah?
Chief Uche Nnaji and Governor Peter Mbah had switched political parties alternately. Mbah left PDP and is now the APC governorship flag-bearer for 2027 election; Nnaji is in the governorship race under PDP, having dumped APC.
However, the chances available for the two Nkanu brothers are visibly not equal at all. With the vast incumbent powers Mbah simply renamed the robust, well-founded PDP structures across the state. He also carefully integrated the pre-existing APC structures, marrying the two to have even far formidable platform under APC nomenclature.
On the other hand, Nnaji has inherited disgruntled PDP elements who were left behind due to their poor political values in a highly charged system that has time only for the best. Those who doesn’t fall into this category are the smart ones who are already working for APC candidates from PDP umbrella.
“Governor Peter Mbah is our son, and he has been doing well,” said Barr Peter Ajah, the acting Enugu State PDP secretary.
With the general elections remaining but months to start, Enugu PDP is already behind schedule and doesn’t stand a chance in the polls. The present PDP structures – from top to bottom – is not reliable, and would, according to analysts, deliver only disappointment at the polls.
Even in 2023, when both Nnaji and Mbah were running on the equal basis of “outsiders”, Mbah was far ahead. Uche Nnaji came a distant third. However, the participation of opposition parties would enliven the season. But that’s all it would be: enliven the season.