Impeachment: Panic grips Elechi * Negotiates senatorial ticket for son

Godwin O. Agala wrote:

Impeachment: Panic
grips Elechi
* Negotiates
senatorial ticket for
son
* Agrees to collapse
LP structures for PDP
By Uka Felix,
Correspondent,
Abakaliki
Ebonyi State Governor,
Martin Elechi, appears to
be confused as to
whether he should
openly defect to the
Labor Party (LP) or
continue to be loyal to
the Peoples Democratic
Party (PDP), as the
impeachment process
initiated against him will
continue if he fails to
succumb to PDP’s
terms.
Governor Martins Elechi
of Ebonyi State
A reliable source
revealed that the
governor in exchange
for dumping the LP,
negotiated that his son,
Elechi Elechi, who is LP
senatorial candidate for
Ebonyi Central, be given
the senatorial position
for this month’s
election.
According to the source,
the governor who did
not want to be
disgraced out of office,
agreed to the terms to
save his face, political
career.
The source said: “On
the orders of President
Jonathan, Elechi
negotiated for his son
to go to the Senate in
exchange for collapsing
Labour Party in favour
of Dave Umahi and the
PDP to avoid
impeachment.
“The pressure has been
mounting on Elechi to
either make a clean
break and defect to
Labour Party or be a
good party man and
support PDP candidates
in Ebonyi State with real
and genuine
commitment. That is
the only way he can
truly ensure substantial
victory for Goodluck
Jonathan. Otherwise, he
cannot be saved from
the threat of
impeachment.
“Elechi is said to be
devastated because
the National Chairman
of PDP, the BoT
Chairman, the director
of PDPCO, Sen Ahmadu
Ali, the Vice President,
and most importantly,
the President are fed up
with his antics and have
not shown any
sympathy for him, save
for Chief Tony Anenih,
who tried a bit to help
him. His fellow PDP
governors have also
advised him to embrace
his deputy and make
peace.
“If Elechi abandons Edon
and all the other Labour
Party candidates, in
order to send his son to
the Senate, I don’t
know what it will mean.
They have promised his
men appointments and
also promised to plead
with the House to
relent on impeachment
threat, believing that
these are tremendously
good deals for the
governor.
“The alternative is his
impeachment, arrest
and prosecution by the
Economic and Financial
Crimes Commission
(EFCC) and total
ruination of his legacy.
Elechi is understood to
have held emergency
meeting in Govt House
with his kitchen
cabinet.”
According to the source,
“They have advised him
to resign from PDP and
join Labour Party fully.
But this is unlikely to
save him because the
interim injunction he
secured to prevent the
process of his
impeachment will either
lapse or be vacated
shortly, leaving him
vulnerable for the final
assault by the House.”
However, another bone
of contention, will be
whether the governor’s
supporters will be
willing to adhere strictly
to the agreement
reached by Governor
Elechi in order to save
himself from being
impeached in the weeks
ahead.
President Goodluck
Jonathan had last
Wednesday summoned
Elechi, Secretary to the
Government of the
Federation, Anyim Pius
Anyim and the PDP
governorship candidate
for Ebonyi State, Umahi,
as well as some PDP
leaders to a meeting at
the Presidential Villa,
Abuja, with a view to
addressing the political
situation in the state.
The meeting, which
lasted over five hours,
also had in attendance
Vice President Namadi
Sambo and some PDP
governors led by the
chairman of their forum
and Akwa Ibom State
Governor, Obong
Godswill Akpabio,
Governors Sule Lamido
of Jigawa State and his
Benue counterpart,
Gabriel Suswam.
The state House of
Assembly had on Friday,
last week, served Elechi
an impeachment notice,
following an eight-point
allegation of corruption,
fraud, gross
misconduct, and
executive rascality
among others, against
him.