NDC CRISIS: OKAFOR ACCUSES ENEH OF ELECTORAL USURPATION, QUESTIONS HIS DEMOCRATIC CREDENTIALS

…Says Political Grandstanding Cannot Turn Undemocratic Selection into Democratic Election

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The State Secretary of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Enugu State Chapter, Dr. Sebastine Chukwuebuka Okafor, has challenged the democratic credentials and political judgment of Uche Kingsley Eneh, the party’s erstwhile candidate for Enugu West Senatorial District, following his reaction to a Federal High Court judgment delivered in Enugu on Wednesday.

Dr. Okafor questioned the propriety of Mr. Eneh assuming the moral high ground on democratic principles, describing him as a beneficiary of what he termed an undemocratic political arrangement, whose emergence, according to him, was not founded on a legitimate primary election.

Reacting to the statement attributed to Eneh after the court ruling, the NDC chieftain called for introspection and reconciliation among party stakeholders ahead of the 2031 general elections. He lamented that administrative lapses, internal political manoeuvring and alleged violations of democratic procedures during the party’s primary election process had substantially weakened the NDC’s electoral prospects in Enugu State ahead of the 2027 elections.

He warned that the party could suffer further electoral setbacks if its leadership failed to address the underlying structural and procedural deficiencies threatening its internal cohesion and institutional credibility.

Okafor also advised Eneh against pursuing an appeal, describing such a move as an exercise in futility, particularly in view of what he characterised as fundamental legal questions surrounding the legitimacy of his purported electoral mandate.

In a particularly caustic remark, he suggested that Eneh would be better served redirecting resources earmarked for further litigation towards personal image rehabilitation, including a wardrobe overhaul, rather than embarking on what he described as an unwinnable legal battle.

The NDC State Secretary further argued that political rhetoric, grandstanding and elaborate attempts at self-legitimation could not retrospectively confer democratic validity on an emergence that, in his estimation, lacked the essential ingredients of a credible electoral process.

He cautioned against what he described as the selective appropriation of democratic principles by political beneficiaries who invoke the language of fairness and due process only when judicial pronouncements expose inconsistencies in their political claims.

Dr. Okafor, however, commended Barr. Ugochi Ohajekwe for her courage, perseverance and commitment to the pursuit of justice, irrespective of whose interests might be affected. He maintained that her determination had earned her a significant place in the democratic history of Enugu State.

According to him, democracy must transcend political rhetoric and convenient declarations of principle, finding practical expression in transparent electoral procedures, strict adherence to party regulations and an unequivocal commitment to the rule of law.

He urged the party’s leadership and stakeholders to draw instructive lessons from its present predicament, stressing that personal ambitions, political opportunism and internal divisions must not be allowed to undermine the party’s future or erode public confidence in its institutional integrity.