By Chidiebere Nduka
Chief Victor Umeh is a shining star East of the Niger. A political colossus, his sagacity and tenacity of purpose have endeared in him to millions of Nigerians. Born on July 19, 1962, to the late Sir Innocent Ofojekwu Umeh (KSM) and Lady Elizabeth Umeh (LSM) of Ifite village, Aguluezigbo, Aniocha Local Government Area of Anambra State, Umeh excelled in his studies at St. Bridget’s Primary School, Aguluezigbo, Bubendorff Memorial Grammar School, Adazi-Nnukwu, Anambra State, and the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Enugu State, where he read Estate Management and graduated in June 1984.
A man of destiny, Umeh is the principal consultant, V.C. Umeh & Co., a firm of estate surveyors and valuers. He is a fellow of the Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers, a senior certified valuer of the International Real Estate Institute, Scottsdale, Arizona, USA, as well as an associate of the Rating and Valuation Association of Great Britain. He has held several business and political positions and received numerous awards and chieftaincy titles, including Ohamadike of Agulu, bestowed by his Royal Highness, Igwe Innocent Obodoako and the entire Agulu community on December 30, 2006. He is the Ikemba of Aguluezigbo, Ibobo of Aguleri, and more than 30 other chieftaincy titles.
With a burning desire to improve the lives of fellow Nigerians, Umeh went into politics in 1998 when he became a founding member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and was elected state treasurer of the party in Anambra State in 1999. He withdrew his membership of the party in 2001 and joined other progressives to form the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), which was registered by the Independent National Electoral Commission on June 22, 2002. Umeh became the first National Vice Chairman, South East, of the party and was elected National Treasurer on January 10, 2003, at the party’s first national convention at the Old Parade Ground, Abuja. On December 15, 2004, he was appointed the Acting National Chairman by the party’s National Working Committee (NWC), which was ratified by the National Executive Committee (NEC) on January 11, 2005, in its meeting in Abuja.
He was elected National Chairman at the party’s second national convention in Enugu in December 2006. Umeh’s tenure as APGA boss was the golden era of the party as he led the mass movement from victory to victory in various national, state and local government elections. APGA became the beautiful bride of Nigerian politics and the third leg in the nation’s political tripod after the then ruling PDP and the All Progressives Congress (APC), which won the 2015 presidential election.
The victory of Mr. Peter Obi at the Anambra State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal in August 2005 and at the Court of Appeal Tribunal in Enugu on March 15, 2006, was the tonic that energised APGA in its electoral conquest in the South East and beyond. Umeh was the pillar of that struggle! It was a triumph of courage. Ndigbo adopted it as their own party while progressives in other parts of the country identified with it. With the late Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu’s support of Umeh’s leadership, prominent Nigerians trooped into APGA. Umeh provided the necessary leadership and rebranded the party. APGA became a key player in national politics despite distractions from party dissidents and opposition PDP in Anambra.
Shortly after Obi assumed duty as the governor of Anambra State on the APGA platform, he was illegally impeached on November 2, 2006, by the PDP-dominated House of Assembly. It was challenged in court and Obi won a resounding victory at the Court of Appeal, Enugu Division, on February 9, 2007, which stabilised his government and deepened APGA in the hearts of Ndi Anambra. Umeh again spearheaded Obi’s reinstatement.
To ensure Governor Obi completed his four-year tenure, which PDP’s Dr. Chris Ngige illegally occupied from May 29, 2003, to March 16, 2006, when INEC gave Obi his certificate of return, Umeh flew the kite of APGA’s intention to seek judicial interpretation of Section 180(2) of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, which states: “Subject to the provisions of sub-section (1) of this section, the governor shall vacate his office at the expiration of a period of four years commencing from the date – (a) in the case of a person first elected as Governor under the constitution, he took the oath of allegiance and oath of office.”
In an interview he granted Stan Okeke published in the Daily Sun newspaper of Thursday, August 10, 2006, entitled, “Obi’s four-year tenure not negotiable – Umeh”, Umeh stated that: “Section 180(2) of the Nigerian Constitution is written in simple English and it’s not something that should evoke academic debate or interpretation. That section says that any person who is first elected to the office of governor of a state shall hold that office for the period of four years, commencing from the date the person takes oath of office and oath of allegiance. Is there any ambiguity in this provision? It’s simple and straightforward.
“Mr. Peter Obi took his oath of office as governor of Anambra State on March 17, 2006, and, based on Section 180(2), his tenure, which is guaranteed by the same Constitution to be four years, started running from that date. People have chosen to reduce it to academic and political debate. We are certain that he has four years to run the affairs of Anambra State. Those who are saying that it shouldn’t be are yet to show why he should not be there.
“On June 14, 2007, the Supreme Court, in a judgment delivered by Justice Katsina Alu, ruled that Obi’s tenure continued till March 16, 2010, which terminated the government of Dr. Andy Ubah of PDP, who was sworn in on May 29, 2007. Obi’s victory led to staggered governorship elections in Nigeria, which strengthened our frail democracy and enriched the nation’s jurisprudence.”
Under Umeh’s watch, Obi was re-elected governor of Anambra State in 2010, while Owelle Rochas Okorocha, who contested in the Imo State governorship election in 2015 on APGA’s platform, defeated incumbent PDP Governor, Ikedi Ohakim. Governor Theodore Orji of Abia State, who contested under Progressive Peoples Alliance (PPA), also joined APGA with the PPA’s federal and state legislators. Orji and Okorocha later defected to PDP and APC, respectively.
A political juggernaut, Umeh‘s administration improved APGA’s electoral fortunes in the 2011 general election. The party had two governors in Anambra and Imo, 36 state House of Assembly members, including two Speakers (Anambra and Imo states), several local government chairmen and councillors.
In the 2015 general election, APGA won five House of Representatives seats and 41 House of Assembly seats in Anambra, Abia, Bayelsa and Taraba states. Dr. Willie Obiano was earlier elected the second governor on APGA platform in Anambra State in November 2013. The party also swept the local government elections in the state, among other council seats across the country. Umeh is a firm believer in the rule of law, a quintessential democrat and master of the political universe. He participated in the 2014 national conference. Impressed by the exceptional patriotism, former President Goodluck Jonathan conferred on him the Officer of the Order of the Federal Republic (OFR).
Governor Obiano of Anambra State praised Umeh, saying: “The National Award (OFR) conferred on you represents a public recognition of all the hard work that you have put into the growth of the party (APGA) and the nation at large. The government of Anambra State is extremely proud of your accomplishments. Kudos!!!”
In a rare tribute on Obi’s re-election in February and swearing-in on March 17, 2010, the late Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu applauded Umeh’s political savvy and visionary leadership stating: “The might of a warrior is tested only in battle … I salute your tenacity, your courage and resilience, APGA has always known what has now become widely acknowledged…Ohamadike … Kudos.” Indeed, Umeh has won many battles and has been in courts over the Anambra Central Senatorial seat he contested on March 28, 2015. His opponents have laid legal mines to further slow the wheel of justice and frustrate his emergence as a senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria despite his winning all the constitutional legal battles known to law! Will he prevail? Time will tell.
• Nduka, a public affairs analyst, sent this piece from Enugu.