A Constituent and Community leader, Prince Maxwell Ozoemena Nnamami, has written to the Senator representing Enugu East Senatorial Constituency, Kelvin Chukwu, urging him to jettison any idea of dumping the Labour Party (LP) for any other political party.
Nnamani made his feelings known in an open letter he sent to the senator, in which he also accused him of not providing the people of Enugu East with adequate representation.
It could be recalled that Chukwu was drafted into the race after his brother, Barr Oyibo Chukwu, who was favoured to win the senatorial race, was killed a few days before the election. He went on to win the senatorial election by a landslide.
Responding to strong rumours that the senator is about to defect to the All Progressives Congress (APC), Nnamani asked him to reconsider the idea and improve his performance.
He told Chukwu, “You were not voted into office because you were the most popular or most influential candidate.
“You were voted for out of sympathy, following the tragic death of your brother, Barr. Oyibo Chukwu, who was brutally murdered just weeks before the election.
“The people chose you, not because you were the strongest politician, but because they believed continuing with your brother’s legacy was the most humane and honourable path. That vote was a vote of grace, not entitlement.
“If Enugu East had truly wanted APC back then, they would have voted for the then APC candidate, a woman and Princess of Nkanu land whose family name carries weight and love across communities. But we chose you, and we gave you a chance to prove yourself.”
Nnamami regretted that “instead of honouring that grace, instead of using that sympathy and love for the good of the people, you have chosen to use it against the people.
“Instead of showing gratitude through action, you’ve shown it through silence and party jumping.”
He added, “From Labour Party to APC? Is this how you repay the people who handed you the seat you never earned through sweat or grassroots struggle?
“You have forgotten the grace that brought you in. You have forgotten the love that sustained your campaign. You have forgotten the voices that fought for you even when you had no political structure.”
He said all the constituents had gotten was “no proper representation in the Senate, no visible bills sponsored in your name, no employment for our youths, no poverty alleviation programmes, and the worst insult of all, even the road leading to your own house is a disgrace to your name and the Senate office you hold.
“What message are you sending, Senator Kelvin? Does that mean that even your own community does not deserve development, that we were just political pawns in your ambition?
“Let me remind you again: If Enugu East had wanted APC, we would have voted for our Sister and Princess under APC, a woman of greater popularity and deeper roots. But we gave that ticket to you, trusting that maybe, just maybe, you’d rise to the occasion.
“But what did you do? You wore the Labour Party like a borrowed cloth, used it to win, and now you toss it aside like it means nothing. That is betrayal not just to a party, but to the people who believed in you.
“Senator Kelvin Chukwu, the silence is over. We will no longer pretend that this disappointment is acceptable. You were sent to Abuja to represent us, not to become a tourist in the corridors of power. Representation without action is deception.
“As son of the soil, I speak for those who don’t have access to the internet, who don’t know how to write open letters, but who wake up every day in poverty, walking on bad roads, looking for jobs that never come while their Senator plays political hide and seek.
“If you truly respect the people who gave you that seat, return to the mandate. Build, empower, represent, speak, act, deliver.
“Because if you don’t, then come 2027, we will not need to shout.
We will simply be silent. And that silence will be louder than any campaign slogan.”
Meanwhile, Chukwu had denied dumping the LP. He spoke through his Chief of Staff, Victor Chigozie, that the letter being circulated was a “deliberate act of misinformation aimed at misleading the public and causing unnecessary confusion.” Pic: Senator Chukwu
