Enugu women condemn sponsored social media attacks on Ugwuanyi’s govt

By Chimezie Nruh

A group of Enugu women under the auspices of Enugu Women For Positive Change (AWPC) has condemned the ongoing sponsored social media attacks on the government of Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State by some disgruntled politicians in the state.

Speaking to journalists in Enugu, the chairperson of the group, Dr. Mrs. Chidera Nwangwu, said that from their painstaking and thorough investigations, they have discovered that the coordinated, spurious and continuous social media attacks on the personality of Ugwuanyi and his government’s policies and programmes are covertly sponsored by some politicians in the state, who are interested in 2023 governorship seat and are not happy with the outcome of the concluded local government party primaries and for not being appointed into the state government.

According to Nwangwu, “we are amazed and shocked with our discovery that some politicians in and outside the state have hired some uninformed youths to be consistently criticising and insulting Ugwuanyi and his government on different social media platforms, especially on Facebook and Twitter.

“Example of such sponsored negative publication against Ugwuanyi’s government was the recent fake news peddled on social media platforms that Enugu State Government is building an Islamic Centre in Uwani, Enugu.

“We had evidence that this embarrassing fake news was fabricated and planted on social media news platforms by a former commissioner in the state, who have been desperate of getting appointment into Ugwuanyi’s government.

“This ex-commissioner is not the only person culpable of this act, there are so many others like him, who believe and see being in every government in power as their birth right. We know them and will not hesitate to name and shame them if they fail to desist from such desperate and despicable act.”

She said that everybody in Enugu knows where Governor Ugwuanyi met the state in 2015 with obvious daunting challenges, especially as it has to do with fund.

She said: “The sudden crash in the price of crude oil in 2015 affected government revenues at all levels. It took Ugwuanyi’s administrative prudence and fiscal discipline to ensure that the state did not collapse then. His government stabilised the economy of the state with the prompt payment of worker’s salary, embark on construction of infrastructural projects, especially in the rural areas and others. We are also aware that with the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)’s loss of power at the centre, pressure from the party faithful in the state is on the governor who has meagre resources to operate with.”

The chairperson advised both serving and non-serving politicians in the state to always plan for a fallback, by having a first address outside holding political office, emphasising that everybody will not be in political position at the same time and all the time.

“Politicians should always have means of survival and livelihood outside government job and political office. Doing so will reduce desperation and frustration in the politics and governance.”

On youths that are being hired by some politicians in the state to be discrediting and castigating Ugwuanyi’s government on social media platforms ignorantly, Dr. Nwangwu admonished them to change their ways and engage themselves in meaningful ventures that will put food on their tables, instead of wasting their precious times on social media platforms peddling lies against the government and people.

She reminded them that those who are hiring them to do hatchet job on social media against Ugwuanyi’s government do not mean well for them and the state.

“The unfortunate thing is that we know that these politicians who hire these youths to do this dirt job on social media for them have unhindered access to Ugwuanyi, but they have not and will not utilise such opportunity for the benefits and wellbeing of others, because of their selfishness. We know them and their antecedents. They are not in anyway better than those they are critical of,” she said.

For those who are angling to be governor of the state in 2023, Nwangwu reminded them that political power belongs to God and that it is too early for one to disturb the peaceful atmosphere in the state with 2023 politics.
She said: “Our candid advice to those who are already campaiging and scheming for 2023 governorship seat in the state is for them to do so within the ambit of the law. They should know that the general interest and wellbeing of the people of the state supersede every other individual interest.

“They don’t need to be sponsoring social media attacks against the present government in the state for them to realise their governorship ambitions. It is far from it. When 2023 comes, Ndi Enugu will elect their right and preferred governor the way they elected and reelected Ugwuanyi and have remained supportive of his government, because of his good governance and people-oriented policies and programmes.”