By Wisdom Nwedene, Abakaliki
Governor David Nweze Umahi of Ebonyi State has lambasted former Chairman of Afikpo North Local Government Area (LGA), Chief Ogbonnia Oko Enyim.
Recall that Enyim on Tuesday resigned his appointment as the Senior Special Assistant to the Governor and accused the governor of interference in his family affairs, especially siding with his step sister and present Chairman of Afikpo North LGA, Barr. Obiageri Oko-Enyim, against him.
In a statement made available to 9News Nigeria by the Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Mr Francis Nwaze, Umahi described Enyim as clueless, a liability and a prodigal son.
Umahi said that, “despite Enyim’s incompetence, he backed him to become the LGA chairman in 2016 and subsequently appointed him SA on School Monitoring, despite his non-performance”.
The statement reads in part: “My attention has been drawn to a juvenile and frivolous letter circulating on the Social media, authored by a former Special Assistant to the Governor on School Monitoring, Afikpo North Local Government Area, Ogbonnia Oko Enyim.
“In the letter, Mr. Oko-Enyim laid incredulous allegations against the person and Government of Governor David Nweze Umahi, ranging from alleged preferential treatment of his sister and internal family disagreement. Ordinarily, I would not have bothered responding to such juvenile conception, but this response has become expedient to separate the wheat from the tar.
“Recall that His Excellency, the Governor in 2016 backed Oko-Enyim to become the Chairman of Afikpo North Local Government Area against all odds. But for his incompetence and non-performance, the people and Stakeholders of the Council passed a vote of no confidence on him and opted for his sister, Honourable Oby Oko-Enyim in 2020.
“Recall also that part of the vexation of the elders and Stakeholders of the Council area that made them ditch Oko-Enyim for his sister in 2020 was the allegation that he used his notorious bad boys to inflict injury and maltreat one Pastor Oko Obeni from Ndukwe in Amasiri, whose only offense was criticising some of his dictatorial policies on his Facebook profile.
“It, therefore, becomes unreasonable how Oko Enyim could turn around and begin to accuse the Governor over a choice that was made by his kinsmen using his conduct, performance and antecedent as a yardstick.
“Oko-Enyim also goofed by alleging that the government denied him the opportunity to organise a befitting burial for his late father. This allegation is as disparaging as it is egregious considering that His Excellency the Governor is not an indigene of Amasiri neither is he of the Oko-Enyim family that he could decide who does what in their father’s burial rite.
“The truth of the matter is that Oko-Enyim is the prodigal son of the Oko-Enyim family, hence the reason their late father opined that he should not partake in his burial when he dies. This perhaps was the reason he stayed aloof during the sick period of their late father. Coincidentally, it is in the public knowledge that Barrister Oby Oko-Enyim was always handy for the father and had taken adequate care of him on his sickbed until he took his last breath.
“Although, after both Ogbonnia Oko Enyim and his sister, Barrister Oby Oko Enyim, had fixed separate dates for the burial of their father, reliable information had it that the elders, after due consultations and considerations, decided not to go with any of their dates. How then would Ogbonnia Oko Enyim turn around and begin to cry wolf?”
He added: “Also, when Ogbonnaya Oko Enyim, had only on 30th March 2021, reported his sister to the Governor over the controversy on the date, the Governor, in his wisdom, decided not to interfere in the family issue, but asked him to go and make peace in his home and as well align with the decision of their village elders. The resultant criticism of the Governor is an indication that he had banked on the Governor to coerce the Oko-Enyim family to give him unhindered and cruise control of the burial arrangement, an expectation that is typical of an irredeemable pauper.
“If not for any other thing, Ogbonnia Oko Enyim failed to understand that his sister, Barrister Oby Oko Enyim, as the Chief Security Officer of the Local Government Area, deserves to be abreast of activities to take place in her locality, hence the reason the Governor, who believes in separation of powers, decided not to interfere. The Governor believes that peace is paramount in their home at this time.
“It is also spurious for Oko-Enyim to allege that he had no place in Governor David Nweze Umahi Administration. On the contrary, Honourable Oko-Enyim was afforded golden and vantage recognition by Governor Umahi, which is evident in the Governor giving him a second chance as the Special Assistant on School Monitoring Afikpo North Local Government Area, an opportunity he misused again and even willingly relinquished due to incompetence and cluelessness.
“His willful resignation, though ill-fated is, therefore, a big relief on the Government of Engineer David Nweze Umahi, who had been enmeshed in deep thoughts on how to excuse his administration off the liability and nuisance value of Ogbonnia Oko-Enyim.
“By the foregoing, it is hard to understand how Ogbonnaya Oko-Enyim, despite all variables, decided to capitalize on the death of his biological father to exhibit his kindergarten politics if not that he is an infamous prodigal son of his father. A man who has no respect for his dead father.
“We, therefore, urge the general public to disregard the noisesome folklores of the irredeemable Lollipop and also see the same as representing his myopic mindset distinguishing him from other thoroughbred siblings of Oko-Enyim.”
