No one is in any doubt whatsoever about the fact that Peter Obi has some reservations about the candidacy of Chijioke Edeoga. He seems to hold Edeoga with some supercilious disregard and had always distanced himself from Chijioke, even as Chijioke ostensibly throws himself at Obi any time he is lucky to meet him.
We are all privy to Edeoga's show of shame at the 70th birthday anniversary of his godfather, Chief Nnia Nwodo, held recently in Enugu. Edeoga was captured on camera fawning around Obi, jostling to take pictures with him, shouting "Candidates! Candidates!". He practically behaved like a child tugging at the apron of its mother. A song has since been made out of that silly outing. While Edeoga jostled to take pictures with Obi, Obi looked the other way. And this is a governorship candidate of Obi's party. What could have made Peter hold Edeoga with such magnitude of disdain? The answer is not farfetched. Edeoga does not measure up to the standard Obi desires. As a matter of fact, Chijioke Edeoga is not a governorship material. Ugwuanyi knew it and despite the fact that he and Chijioke are cousins, Ugwuanyi preferred Peter Mbah to Chijioke.Peter Obi is a very humble and unassuming person but he has an eye for competence which Edeoga completely lacks. Obi would not want to be associated with such ineptitude as Edeoga timidly exudes from head to toe.
Evidence of Obi's disdain for Edeoga abounds. The person for whom the smelly fart is released and who would not perceive it, would they have to fart out the bone of the anus? A video clip being circulated on social media showed yet again Obi's disregard for Edeoga. Edeoga had come to receive Obi as the vehicle conveying him pulled over. Obi opened the door and ignored Edeoga's stretched out hand for a handshake, and began to talk to someone at a distance from him, while Edeoga sheepishly walked away in utter embarrassment. Why? Because Obi does not want to be associated with incompetence. Edeoga is apparently to Obi a heavily load he is not ready to carry.
At another scene, maybe scene three or four, Obi had been received at Agbani Nkanu on his way to Amuri to commiserate with the family of Oyibo Chukwu. Edeoga's deteriorated and confused media handlers had thought to twist Obi's visit to read Edeoga's endorsement. They sent out messages that Obi was in Enugu to campaign for and endorse Chijioke Edeoga. Obi snubbed Edeoga when he stood beside him for pictures, and beckoned at someone else to stand between him and Edeoga. Contrary to the claims of Edeoga's neophytic handlers, Obi stated it clearly that he did not come to campaign nor endorse anybody but had come to commiserate with Oyibo Chukw's family. He rather urged the Obidients to vote competence. That happened on 10th March, 2023.
In fact, Obi had stopped over at the Chukwus on his way to Abia State to campaign for and endorse Alex Oti, the governorship candidate of Labour Party in Abia State. At Umuahia, Obi in clear terms campaigned for Oti. He raised up his hand and presented him to Abia Obidients. This is something he did not do for Edeoga. He rather would avoid Edeoga as one would a leper. What stopped Obi from setting out a day to campaign and endorse Edeoga as he did for Alex Oti? Edeoga's timidity, cluelessness and clear ineptitude did.
The fact is that Obi knows capacity when he sees it even from afar. Obi himself has managed businesses. He is a captain of the industry, and sits on the board of many conglomerates like Peter Mnah. Obi is adept at managing men, money and material. Alex Oti himself rose to the crest of his career in banking and retired as the managing director of a bank. He knows business as he knows his name. Edeoga has never managed any business. He had been a journalist which he even played at a low ebb before joining politics. He knows next to nothing about governance and economy. This is evident in his electioneering pattern. Edeoga was live on Twitter VuwulenceSpace yesterday, and had a disastrous outing. The anchor persons were ill at ease with his having no manifesto; whereas, Alex Oti has a 42-page manifesto that can be accessed online. This is more like Peter Mbah, himself a sound captain of the industry, an oil magnate, who unveiled his manifesto six months to the governorship election, and has gone round the 68 development centres in Enugu State to explain it to the people. Edeoga seems to be groping in the dark, and has no idea what governance entails. His outing on Twitter was a disaster. The analysts scored him 3/10 which is an F. These are reasons why Obi distances himself from Edeoga.
The fact is that the Obidient Movement is not a party thing. It is a disinterested endeavour to appropriate the best that is known and available in Nigeria. It is not about tribe either. When Bishop Olisa Chukwuma, the Archbishop of Enugu Ecclesiastical Province of the Anglican Communion, said that for us in Enugu, our own Obidient is Peter Mbah, he spoke the incontrovertible truth as revealed to him by the Spirit. Peter Obi knows that Peter Mbah has the needed character, competence and capacity to wrought transformational leadership in Enugu State, something that eludes Chijioke Edeoga as would his shadow. The people of Enugu State should take a cue from Obi's body language and shun incompetence which Edeoga represents on all fours.
