* Rift brews between Ugwuanyi, Gov Mbah, over alleged sharing of N5.1b Special Fund*

Early days disagreements have been reported between the immediate past Governor of Enugu state, Hon. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi and his successor, Governor Peter Mbah.

Ugwuanyi handed over power to Mbah on May 29 but just before then, the state government reportedly collected a Federal Government's special fund of N5.1 billion Naira, meant for Enugu state development.

At the twilight of the Ugwuanyi administration, the fund was allegedly shared between the then Governor Ugwuanyi and the 17 local government chairmen in Enugu state.

The matter caused ripples in some local government council areas where the Chairmen allegedly told the other political appointee holders in the LGs that the Governor took majority of the their shares and asked them to keep the rest for themselves and not for any project.

Some council appointees were said to had grumbled and protested which made the council Chairmen to share parts of the money with some of the LG appointees, excluding some others, such as supervisors and development center administrators. 

It was the exclusion of some politicians in the state that blew the covered fraud, resulting to, for instance, the suspension of a councilor in Isi-Uzo LGA by the council Chairmen, Obiora Obeagu.

Obeagu allegedly transferred N1.1m to the councilor, but some other stakeholders in the LG reportedly got between five to ten million each in the shameful disbursement of the bounty. 

The situation was also linked to the present division of members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the LGA with the state PDP chairman, Augustine Nnamani at the center of the internal crisis.

Governor Mbah was said to be ferious that such amount was callously  missappriopriated, not executing any project and bequeathing his office with inheritance of accumulated debt from the past regime of Ugwuanyi.

Even though the growing animosity between the Mbah and Ugwuanyi is being managed, meetings upon meetings are being held in Enugu to find ways to douse the simmering tension.

Insider source revealed that the rift brought about Mbah's recent order to all the Local Council Chairmen in the state to account for their share of the N5.1 billion special funds received from the Federal Government between April and May 2023.

Mbah gave a marching order to all the 17 LGA chairmen to account for N300 million each of them allegedly transferred out of the special funds to accounts purportedly for the benefit of the former governor and his cronies.

Ugwuanyi, it was reported, had in May, just before his hand over, ordered each of the 17 LGA Chairmen to each return the sum of N300 million out of the N475 million due to each council from the special fund. 

Ugwuanyi, it was learnt, ordered the chairmen to write cheques in the name of the newly established State University of Medical and Applied Sciences (SUMAS), Igbo Eno, in Udenu LGA, and handed the chairmen over to his then Chief of Staff, Dr. Festus Uzoh.

Ugwuanyi had appointed HRM Oba Dr. Francis Olushola Alao as Chancellor of SUMAS, and Msgr. Prof. Obiora Francis Ike as Pro-Chancellor and Chairman, Governing Council of the SUMAS.

Udenu and Ezeagu Local Government Areas were said to have issued the cheques as ordered by the then governor Ugwuanyi, while the rest were reluctant, apparently because of the few days Ugwuanyi had as governor.

"Although Peter Mbah, then Governor-elect, was supposed to get a share of the money, ostensibly to help him prosecute his case at the tribunal, fresh developments suggest that he may have been excluded from this largesse.

"Mbah has mounted intense pressure on the council chairmen to account for the money. This was the reason behind the removal of Hon Solomon Onah (Jack Solo) as the Chairman of ALGON last week," the insider disclosed.

Onah was replaced by Hon Ejike Udeh, the Chairman of Governor Mbah's native Nkanu East Local Government Area.

 It was further learnt that the Chairman of Uzo Uwani Local Government Area, Hon Chukwudi Nnadozie, blew the lid on the deal by reporting Ugwuanyi and his colleague to Governor Mbah, an act that made the governor reward him with the position of Vice Chairman of ALGON, after the ousting of the Onah-led leadership.

To douse the tension, our source revealed that ex-Governor Ugwuanyi has called several meetings with a view to containing the snowballing crises. Most of the meetings, including the most recent one held on July  5, 2023, at the Governor’s residence at the Zoo Estate, Enugu, were attended by Former Chief of Staff, Dr. Uzoh and Most of the LGA Chairmen.

It was reported that former Governor Ugwuanyi was worried about the intransigent stance of Governor Mbah and found it difficult to believe that someone he risked so much to make governor could turn against him so quickly.

Mbah’s unyielding stance, our source further revealed, has given Ugwuanyi sleepless nights and he has been doing his best to ensure that he does not just appear to have fallen out with his successor so soon, but also avert possible situations that would lead to his having to be made to account for squandered LGA funds before the anti-crime agencies.

On their part, many of the council chairmen, especially those who have been nursing ambitions for second terms, are worried that their political journey may likely be eclipsed as a result of the brewing disagreement with Governor Mbah.

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