The race to succeed Governor Sullivan Chime of Enugu State has assumed a new twist in far away Delta State.
An Archbishop of Enugu Ecclesiastical Province of the Anglican Communion, Most Rev. Rev. Emmanuel Chukwuma, who allegedly sponsored a campaign of calumny against Chime and the people of Nsukka, has come under attack.
The cleric was accused by the protesters, who converged in Asaba under the aegis of the Nsukka Platform in Delta State, of dabbling into the politics of the Coal City state on the zoning arrangement of the Peoples Democratic Party.
The zoning arrangement has seen the PDP favouring Enugu North Senatorial District to produce Chime’s successor.
The protesters also condemned the utterances of Chukwuma against Chime, who they claimed recently justified the arrangement.
The protesters, who were led by the Chairman of the group, Dr. Pius C. Ike, wondered why the Archbishop, who hails from Delta State, deviated from his calling to heat up the polity of the state ahead of the 2015 election.
Dr. Ike, in a co-signed statement with his Secretary, Dr. Leo Abonyi, described Chukwuma as one who wanted to destroy the collective destiny of the state.
According to the statement: “We suspect that Archbishop Chukwuma’s latest outburst and condemnation of power shift in Enugu state is laden with some selfish motives, especially when it came shortly after he gave an award to Chief Ike Ekweremadu, the Deputy Senate President, who is from Enugu West Senatorial zone, and is known to be plotting to take over from the incumbent governor.
“We feel that as a priest of God, he should at all times, weigh his actions and utterances, especially on politics of the state, against the background of the fact that his flocks have diverse political interests and views.
“Unfortunately, he failed to realize that the Nsukka people are also part of his flocks in Anglican Communion in Enugu state, who look up to him to preach justice, equity and fairness.”
The group faulted Chukwuma for referring to Chime as “a confused man who would at the end of the day pick someone who has no programme for the state”.
It said this was unfair “to the hardworking Governor”.
While the group urged the man of God to retract his “undemocratic outburst”, it called on the Primate of the Church of Nigeria, Anglican Communion, Most Rev. Nicholas Okoh, to call the Archbishop to order and warn him against “dabbling into political matters of Enugu State”.
It said this is more so that he is not an indigene of Enugu State.