Hope Rises For Enugu PDP As Justice C.C Nweze Attends Deputy Guber Candidate’s Father’s Funeral.

Justice CC Nweze & Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi.

There is palpable excitement in the ranks of the Peoples Democratic Party in Enugu State following the presence of a judge of the Supreme Court, Justice C.C. Nweze, at the burial of the father of the Deputy Governorship candidate of the party in the state, Barr Ifeanyi Ossai.

According to information from the burial and at gatherings of party faithfuls in the state, the celebration follows what is said to be the promise of the revered judge to assist the party in favourably managing the series of court cases that appear to jeopardise the fate of the party in the February and March 2023 general elections in the country.

Many PDP faithfuls were heard boasting that Justice Nweze would help the party in upturning any unfavourable judgements of the lower courts against the party, ostensibly to pave way for victory at the polls.

Recall that a recent judgement of the Court of Appeal had put paid to the ambitions of the Everest Nnaji, popularly known as Odengene and rumoured to be a mole of the PDP, by asserting that he was not a candidate in the labour Party primaries that produced Barr Chijioke Edeoga as the governorship flagbearer of Labour Party in the state.

Odengene, who is alleged to have received an astounding amount of money from Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi to play a spoiler in Labour Party in order to ensure a PDP victory, is rumoured to be preparing to take the matter to the Supreme Court, where the influential Justice Nweze sits.

PDP stalwarts were also overheard discussing the alleged possibility of intervention in another case brought against the party by the senatorial candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) in the state, Comrade Chika Idoko.

Comrade Idoko, in his suit, is seeking the disqualification of all PDP candidates in the 2023 elections in Enugu State, for breaching provisions of the Electoral Act in the conduct of the primaries from which the candidates emerged.

If the case is successfully prosecuted, PDP will not be eligible to field any candidates in the forthcoming polls.

Another matter facing the PDP is the qualification, or otherwise, of the party’s Governorship candidate, Barr Peter Mbah, and the senatorial candidate of the party for Enugu West senatorial district, Dr Chimaroke Nnamani, whose eligibility on the grounds of being convicted of corruption charges is being questioned by a group of lawyers. 

The lawyers are basing their action on the plea bargain that was used to settle the corruption charges brought against Mbah and Nnamani by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, arguing that a plea bargain constitutes an admission of guilt on the corruption charges, as well as a conviction. 

Justice Nweze had been a long-standing friend of Governor Ugwuanyi, a relationship that was said to have blossomed during the protracted battle between him and Senator Ayogu Eze after the 2015 elections that saw Ugwuanyi defeat the senator in the primaries.

Ayogu had fought for the ticket to the Supreme Court, where he lost, even after winning at the Court of Appeal. It was rumoured that the influence of Justice Nweze was what helped Ugwuanyi to win.

Justice Nweze has also benefitted immensely from Ugwuanyi as Governor. His wife, Ugonne Nweze, was appointed a judge of the Enugu State High Court by the governor, while another relative is the current Head of Logistics at the Government House. Apart from these, there are a number of other relatives of the judge that were appointed into the state Ministry of Justice and seconded to the Government House where they are personally being taken care of by the governor.

These factors are the reasons the hierarchy of the PDP in Enugu has been jubilant, especially after sighting Justice Nweze at the burial. For them, the presence of the judge reinforces the assurances Governor Ugwuanyi had allegedly given them of possible favourable outcomes, once the rather difficult cases get to the Supreme Court.