BY GOC NWADIKE
Campaigning to stop the Governorship candidate of the Potholes Distracting Progress (PDP) in Imo, Sen. Samuel Anyanwu (Samdaddy) to me is a moral one.
This is because, having served in the Peoples Democratic Party in Imo as the State Youth Leader, I have learned the simple desire of Imo youths for a genuine leadership.
I have also learned, through my direct involvements and participations, that this "genuine leadership " being yearned by Imo youths can never come from the current candidate of the PDP, Samdaddy who can do all things, including lying to his children, to have his selfish goals achieved.
Therefore, I will be informing Imo Youths and Imolites the many sinful lies of Samdaddy as my moral obligation to dissuade them from the danger that awaits them should a character like Samdaddy emerges in their dreams as their governor.
I was first appointed, in Acting Capacity, the State Youth Leader of the Imo PDP on 22nd of June, 2020. By August 6th, I was formally returned as the elected State Youth Leader of the party to serve for a tenure of four (4) years which would have elapsed on August next year (2024).
We, (including 13 other SWC members and 28 other Assistants who were elected same day,) swung into action, to revamp a party which was almost dead following the sack by the Supreme Court of its leader, Governor Emeka Ihedioha early that year. We worked from our hearts without a dime set aside for us as salaries.
Samdaddy became so powerful, and dangerously obsessed with sacking us from office immediately we heeded to former Gov. Emeka Ihedioha's pleas to accept his imposition on us by former Gov. Nyesom Wike as the National Secretary of the PDP.
With so much cash available to him from Wike, "Sam" as he was fondly called by Ihedioha started having meetings with the LGA party Chairmen and instigating them on needs to raise petitions against the SWC and submit to his office in Abuja for our sack. This was after dragging the party all through from a Vacation court in Port Harcourt to the Supreme Court in Abuja, in his desperate attempts to sack the entire party leaderships at all levels, but failed woefully.
Some of the LGA Chairmen later fell for his trap after allegedly picking up some hard currencies from him to write to Abuja (his office). He lied and deceived them into believing that the Engr. Charles Ugwu's led SWC had been receiving Billions of Naira from the National office where he serves, and not giving them their shares. With this lie, majority of the Chairmen believed him, and from that day, the war which has today finished that party started with the Chairmen insisting that the SWC must go.
Sen. Samdaddy also started poaching the youth wing under my control. When this became too much, we scheduled to formally meet with him as a mark of honour and respect to a National Secretary from our state. After all, I had considered that a fair step towards building a permanent peace in the party.
On a scheduled date after the proposed meeting had been postponed for about two times from my side, the youths gathered at Samdaddy's Works Layout residence. Being conscious of the many lies from that quarter against people that had visited him in the past, I had prepared a written speech which I read from my handset to avoid a possible mispresentation from his trained lying media aide.
While responding as his address to the 27 LGA Youth Leaders and 3 Zonal Youth Leaders that I brought to his house, Samdaddy threw the first shocking lie; "How much does the Ugwu-led SWC pay you monthly as allowance?"
The question received a thunderous "Nothing oooo!" as answers from the surprised, but delighted LGA Youth Leaders.
Samdaddy went on to further tell them that the National Headquarters where he serves as National Secretary had been releasing monthly subventions to the Youth Leaders through the SWC, and that they should hold the State Youth Leader responsible for their monies not being released to them.
He also told them that they had the power to petition his office and request that the State Youth Leader be removed. He turned around to me and said, "Greg, you know you are my friend, but if these your youths writes to my office tomorrow calling for your removal, I'll have no option than to do so".
Then, he told them never to worry, that going forward, he would be sending them their payments directly into their accounts. He asked them to drop their details.
Samdaddy knew that no dime was coming from the National Head office to the Youth Leaders through the office of the State Youth Leader. Samdaddy also knew that under the constitution of the PDP, the LGA Youth Leaders cannot just write a petition to the National Headquarters to remove the State Youth Leader, but Samdaddy deliberately told these lies to plant the seed of discord among the Youths. And he succeeded, because from that very day; right from his residences, protest commenced with the Youth Leaders insisting that their money must be released to them. They all drove to the State Secretariat in protest to the office of the state chairman on a day that a National delegation was brought to the State Secretariat by Samdaddy. He stage managed my fellow youths to embarrass the SWC with their protest against the Ugwu-led SWC. But this was averted as the security guards did not allow them entrance to the meeting hall. This, though, did not go without smashing of doors' glasses and blood flows from my fellow youthd and rhe security youths on duties that day.
The combined crises from Samdaddy's lies to the LGA party Chairmen and Youth Leaders continued. The party was being dragged and summoned almost on a weekly bases to the National Headquarters through Samdaddy's arrangements. There was a time almost 300 elders and stakeholders were dragged to Abuja just because Samdaddy lied to them against the leadership, and crises and internal nettles as a result of these many lies became the order of the months within the party, and never ended until he emerged as the candidate of the party.
Wicked intrigues, lies and blackmails on the emergence of Samdaddy as the candidate of the Imo PDP would be a discuss for another part.
But shortly after his emergence, Samdaddy embarked on a reconciliatory visit to the State Working Committee led by Engr. Charles Ugwu. In the meeting, he appealed to us to support him since he had emerged as the candidate of the party. Ordinarily, he needed not to beg the SWC for support.
While in the meeting, I congratulated him, but requested him to get back to the Youth Leaders and tell them the truth about money being sent to them from Abuja. He granted that I should invite them over to his home in two days time. And I did.
At the meeting at his home, Samdaddy confessed to the LGA Youth Leaders that he lied to them. He told them that he deliberately instigated them against the State Youth Leader because he suspected that the State Youth Leader was not going to support his guber ambition.
In his very words, "I deliberately put confusion among you so that I can break his kingdom. What I simply used was a survival strategy. I noticed that the State Youth Leader and most of them at the SWC were not supporting me, so I had to ignite the fire to divide his kingdom", Samdaddy boasted.
He then urged them to go and start working with the State Youth Leader again, as the war, according to him, was over. From his house, the Youth Leaders then proceeded to the State Secretariat where we held what seemed to be the first reconciliatory meeting in many months. Apologies were made, shocks and disappointments from few Youth Leaders were also expressed.
It's on records that I raised the alerm and survived three attacks from some youths who were threatening and insisting that I should release their monies. I appeared before two major frats as summons to defend myself that I did not eat any money belonging to any LGA Youth Leader. I could have been killed within that period following that lie by Samdaddy.
Put in the exact words of one of those Youth Leaders, " how could I have imagined or believed that our own guber candidate; our National Secretary who is the Administrative Officer of our party at the National headquarters could have lied to us his youths. What if anything had happened to you?", he queried in disappointment.
This was one of the stories of my reasons to insist that a character of this nature must not be allowed to lead Imo. A man who can go to any extent to get his selfish ambition is a danger to all, and the one who can add lies, mischiefs, slander, blackmail and propaganda is more dangerous for all and humanity. Youths must note this, and never be deceived.
Even his recent attempts to shut us up by submitting our names for possible assassination would never work because those he is sending after us are Umu Chukwu who operate on justice and fear of Chukwuokike Abiama. They understand the entire Intrigues, and can never be used by people for selfish interests.
Imo shall prevail.
GOC NWADIKE is a former State Youth Leader of the Imo PDP, and writes from the office of the Special Adviser to the Governor of Imo state on Media Engagements
