Anambra Government Sealing of Party Offices

Perception management is important in governance. It is needed when handling a public or governance issue, especially in time of controversy. This informs why the handlers of Anambra state government should be circumspect when taking certain steps. Anybody who wants to speak truth to power knows that Governor Chukwuma Soludo does not enjoy the best of political image presently, despite what he has achieved in office. The circumstances surrounding the forthcoming local government election has added to the unfavorable image the government of the day has cut in some quarters.

The forthcoming September 28, 2028 local government election in Anambra State has come with lots of controversy, no thanks to the two quick successive, seemingly interest driven amendments made to the state electoral law, just few weeks after it was passed by the state House of Assembly and assented to by governor Chukwuma Soludo. The most controversial of the amendments was the one made on candidates nomination procedure by political parties, which was made after ANSIEc had announced date for the election. The opposition parties have latched on the developments to launch a scathing criticism of the state government and its approach to governance. They raised the allegation that the state government led by a faction of APGA is Jittery and has been plotting to emasculate the opposition using the underhand. Call it a normal in politics, the allegation really gained traction.

Now, the state government appears to be playing into the allegations of denying the opposition a level playing field following steps taken by authorities of the government in the past few days. The latest being the sealing of the offices of the Edozie Njoku faction of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), the Labour Party and that of the Senator representing Anambra Central Senatorial District, Victor Umeh —all located inside the Udoka Housing Estate in Awka. Though the Anambra State Housing Development Corporation has advanced that it sealed the offices as part of its enforcement against the misuse of government’s property by allottees, it’s short of a thoughtful action, if anybody cares about the image of the government of the day. According to the corporation, the sealed property were being used for commercial purposes instead of residential for which they were meant. As tenable as the alleged misuse of the properties might be, the timing and the target communicate more of a defeat of ‘good faith’ than public interest. It has smacks of a clampdown on political enemies. There are pointers that the sealing spree wasn’t even. There is always a procedure for Sealing properties that violate certain regulations. Were these procedures followed and were all the properties being used for commercial purposes instead of residential for which they were meant sealed? Our governor is professor Chukwuma Soludo, a man of international repute, who sees himself different from a regular Nigerian politician. Some of us see him as different from the regular politicians, hence expect his government’s approach to governance and issues to be different.

Ebuka Franklin Okonkwo writes from Awka, Anambra State