Wike, Umahi and the politics of appointments in “time of injury”

The two governors Ezenwo Nyesom Wike and David Umahi Nweze are products of the political emergence of the fourth republic, particularly the garrison method. Both governors have shown that they have truly honed their political skills in the immediate post-military era.

From the moment they rolled out their plans to contest their parties' presidential tickets, the two continued to deploy the bulldog tactic in their resolve to leave their mark on the respective states. Although their backgrounds exhibit huge contrasts, the similarity in their leadership patterns remains evident. Wike began his political tutelage as Chairman of the Obio-Akpor Local Government Council at the birth of the Fourth Republic in 1999. He was rewarded with a second term in 2003, until 2007 when his relative, Governor Chibuike Amaechi, appointed him chief. staff at Government House, Rivers State. While serving as Chief of Staff, fortune smiled on the restless young man born in Rumuepirikom, as he was appointed Minister of State (Education) by President Goodluck Jonathan. It was from this ministerial appointment that Wike blew politically to achieve his current status as a maverick in Nigerian national politics. For Umahi, his own political windfall came in 2007, when the crisis in the Ebonyi State branch of the People's Democratic Party (PDP) paved the way for his emergence as interim president. Rising from acting president to state chairman under Chief Martins Elechi's administration, the Uburu-born civil engineering contractor became Elechi's deputy in 2011. After four years of understanding the chain and the framing politics and governance, Umahi brought his skills in political pugilism to bear in the contest for the PDP gubernatorial ticket in 2015 against the designs of his director. In the process of his political progressions from party chairman to stewardship as deputy governor, Umahi helped the former governor displace opposition politicians to the PDP who might have been a stumbling block to their control. total party structure. As state party chairman, Umahi experienced first-hand how far the combined effects of incumbent power and money could go in determining election results. Umahi's time as PDP state chairman allowed him to cobble together a network of political contacts within the party. The fact that the two young men are Port Harcourt boys plays in the background in the rough and ready politics that has seen them rise uninterruptedly up the ladder of leadership in the country. Currently, they are challenged by their designs to remain relevant after their last term as governor on May 29, 2023. But, while one hopes to continue the journey as a senator, the other, having missed out on his ambition to progress towards the presidential villa, devotes all his time and energy to implanting his preferred successor. And this is where the two men once again capture national attention in their different styles.

Use of "election contractors" WIKE and Umahi fall back on the proven strategy of deploying election contractors to win elections. Wike was the first to cause a stir with his dying appointment of 28,000 special assistants for political units. In a statement by his special media assistant, Mr. Kelvin Ebiri, Governor Wike reportedly authorized the immediate appointment of the 28,000 officials, just a day after a similar commitment of 14,000 special advisers for political units and 319 police officers. neighborhood liaison and 40 local government sector liaison officers. Speaking at an interfaith church service inside the government house chapel in Abakaliki, Governor Umahi announced plans to recruit 1,300 local government liaison officers at the rate of 100 officials for each of the 13 state council areas. Although the 1,300 is a far cry from Wike's army of 28,000 political recruits, one could recall that Umahi did so earlier in his second term life, especially after his defection from the PDP to the All Progressives. Congress (APC). , mobilized more than 1,000 Technical Assistants and an equal number of Senior Technical Assistants, as well as Technical Agents. Of course, while the revenue-holding and fundraising capabilities of both states are second to none, the purpose and allure of hiring political parasites falls under the same subtitle: League of Political Enforcers During Elections. Unlike in Rivers State, where the gargantuan appointment of lazy politicians has drawn public censure, especially from opposition parties, the Ebonyi seem to welcome the appointment...