A group under the aegis of the Integrity Group Amurri of the larger Amurri community in Nkanu West Local Government Area of Enugu State has said that the recent endorsement of the candidature of Gov Peter Mbah for the 2027 governorship election by the Political Stakeholders in Amurri was not a resolution of the entire community.
Although members of the Integrity Group Amurri said they were impressed with the scorecard of Gov Mbah in the state, they maintained that there was no time they resolved to adopt him as their sole candidate come 2027.
They made their position known in a statement signed by the group’s leader, Comrade Onyendozi Onwe.
Quoting Onwe, “For avoidance of doubt, no such group exists nor was any meeting held. While we may not argue about the performance of Gov Mbah, it is fraudulent to ascribe to him what he has not done in our communities.”
According to the group, Amurri natives “are still lobbying the state government to fix some of the bad roads in our communities. Numerous letters have been written to the state government by different patriots of Amurri.”
Onwe described those behind the endorsement as “pursuing political jamboree solely for their selfish gains”.
According to him, “We are cautioning those behind such publications to be careful and not disrupt the peace of our community by this attempt to politically enslave our citizens—by barbing their hair in their absence.”
He maintained that as democrats, Amurri people believe in multiparty democracy and the right of individuals to support candidates of their choices. The group however expressed their gratitude to Gov Mbah for appointing a native of the area, Prof Umezuluike Mbah, the Chief Medical Director of the State University of Medical and Applied Sciences (SUMAS).
The statement added, “But we equally urge His Excellency to consider our sons and daughters in other key positions of government.” It also sought the intervention of the governor in a nagging land dispute, alleging that a part of their land was taken for a Smart Farm project by Nkanu West LGA when there was an alternative site.
Recall that some political stakeholders in Amurri, last Friday, held a meeting at the Peace Castle, Amurri, and resolved that, “Amurri Political Stakeholders have collectively resolved that Gov Peter Mbah coming to Amurri to campaign for 2027 gubernatorial election will only be for formality purposes because his good governance has already endeared him to us.”
The meeting, it was gathered, was convened by the former Chairman of the All Progressives Congress in Enugu State, Dr Ben Nwoye.
The communiqué of the meeting was signed by the representatives of the four autonomous communities that make up Amurri.
