Keen watchers of Enugu 2023 governorship election are wondering if APGA candidate Frank Nweke’s hitherto coordinated push is slowly unraveling.
Sources at the APGA candidate’s campaign organisation told Enugu Metro that the campaign is plagued by in-house bickering among officers.
Two camps subsequently emerged and embarked on open confrontations that distract the candidate and tear the campaign organization apart.
One camp stood behind director-general Dr. Chinwuba Onah, while the other organized as close friends and confidants of the candidate.
We learnt that the group of friends and confidants won the internal battle and successfully forced out Onah, the director-general.
However, Onah’s resignation two days ago was said to have deepened the divisions within the campaign, rather than heal them.
His resignation letter also gave clues to the emerging disfunction in the campaign. Onah spoke of “irreconcilable differences” with the candidate as one of the reasons for quitting.
Another reason discernible from the resignation letter was what he indirectly alluded to as the candidate’s meddlesome friends.
“I am compelled to take this hard and painful step first to free you to deploy ready hands surrounding you more effectively in prosecuting your campaign.”
Onah however directly indicted Nweke, saying he was underutilizing his goodwill and enormous potential to win the election.
Nweke Jr , he said ” didn’t seem to understand the huge political capital and enormous human resource advantage that were available.”
Frank Nweke Jr. is a name brand and a saleable candidate that many hoped will win the election and set Enugu State in the right direction.
Enugu intellectual and business elite classes appear perplexed over the apparent lukewarm attitude he brings to the campaign.
However, sources at the PDP secretariat claim that this is deliberate and the result of how he allegedly emerged as candidate.
“We drafted him (Nweke) to APGA to block the rumoured entry of (Senator Ike) Ekweremadu). His commission was to prevent the Awgu man from buying the ticket,” a PDP party source said.
According to the source, Nweke Jr. is “actually in a fix over whether to push his campaign forward and risk annoying his colleagues.” These colleagues, he said, included his former boss, Gov Chimaroke Nnamani, who is promoting PDP candidate, Mr. Peter Mbah.
“There is also the matter of the prior agreement by Nkanu elites that the ticket should go to Nkanu East,” the source said. Nweke Jr. is from Nkanu West, the same LGA that former Governor Chimaroke Nnamani comes from.
These claims were however not independently verified at the time of this report.
Enugu Metro reached out to the candidate himself but he ignored the request for clarification on aspects of his campaign.
Slug: Is Frank Nweke’s campaign unravelling?
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