By Nwobodo Onyekwere
I had known Sam Amadi since he was pupil lawyer in Chief Gani Fawehinmi’s Chambers after law school in 1993, and never reckoned with him as genuinely cut out for human rights or public policy activism .
He was, for the most part, seemingly lethargic,clearly anonymous, and never led or distinguished himself in any noticeable manner, in any legal or public policy contest in court or any public space, at the time!
Being a young wig couldn’t have been an excuse, because most of the other young lawyers of that era, in that famous Gani Fawehinmi ‘production room’ were clearly visible and regularly triumphant, in courtroom duels, leveraging from the privilege of honing their skills under the grand master that Gani was.
Not much changed with Sam’s profile in the public policy advocacy space thereafter, until he wangled his way and began his stint in public service, lately, ending up at the National Electricity Regulatory Agency as head.
He made a remarkably feeble attempt at the Imo state Governorship in 2023,under the Labour Party, ostensibly in a desperate attempt to continue to remain in the mix in contemporary political discussions, but made no impact and dropped out of the race on the day of the party primaries, making unsubstantiated claims of vote buying and monitization of the electoral process, without providing evidence or details.
Instead of keeping the faith with his Imo folks and staying active and vigilant, possibly leading something like a ‘shadow government’ to check the Imo administration to ensure accountability and good governance , Sam Amadi has instead, fallen silent like a loaded dane gun immersed in deep water, since that half-hearted political frolic!
It was clear he was just content that he. “…also ran!”, as it were, never really set out to go far or make any meaningful impact!
But a few days ago, he dusted himself up again, and instead of making another bid at the Imo guber office, or joining forces with likeminds,if he has any, to point the new direction for his Imo folks,he made to use Enugu and the Government of Governor Peter Mbah,to relaunch himself into regional relevance!
He must have evaluated Governor Mbah as a soft target,because in his own birth state of Imo, he dared not speak in the same ill-manner to the authority in place!
Sam Amadi misguided himself into a shameful diatribe against an administration that is widely acknowledged to be first among equals, on measurable, imperishable metrics!
His unsolicited, unhelpful so-called ‘score card’ on the Governor Mbah administration, is at best , a mishmash of hate and bile, and at worst, a composition of odious, vengeful spite!
Sam Amadi claimed he had ‘endorsed’ Governor Mbah,against the wish of his co-travellers in LP, after meeting him shortly after assumption of office! What does such endorsement add to the profile of a governor that had won his election, free and square?. Nothing…just self-serving!
He shamelessly aprobated and reprobated: “I think he has done well in many ways…increasing the IGR, built some good infrastructure and improving Enugu landscape, but Mbah has not been politically responsive…Mbah has failed to respond to Ndi Enugu on security threats, you said Mr Amadi?
What a bally nuisance!
Mr Amadi, which other state in the South East, even the entire Nigeria, is as secure as Enugu, much less more secure? Enugu state infrastructure on security is the international standard, not known or seen elsewhere in Africa, recommended to other states by acclaimed industry leaders and experts!
Sam Amadi had apparently set out to mischievously twist and misrepresent facts in the public domain, by insinuating that the quantum leap in Enugu IGR came from over-taxation; what a fallacy!
As a lawyer, how many tax sub- heads can a component state of the federation possibly legislate on, increase or decrease? Taxes are largely on exclusive legislative list and cannot be doubly regulated by a state government! States are left to regulate rates and service charges, and with this, how much do you reckon that Enugu small businesses could’ve pay to push the state IGR from from somewhere around N24b in 2023 to nearly N400b in 2026?
Mr Amadi, you hold yourself out as an academic, but ignore or neglect the hallmarks of that territory which are evidence and empiricism! Substantiate your assertions with facts! You seek no information to arm yourself better as a social critic, have no facts and provide no proof for all the salacious, fallacious assertions you made to denigrate the Mbah administration and diminish his milestone developmental strides, for political gains for your pay masters!
If you are humble enough to go over all your presumptuous assertions once again, you’d be shocked how cheaply you have presented yourself even before an audience that hitherto trusted your judgement!
Governor Mbah has committed his administration to grow the Enugu state economy ‘exponentially’ from $4 b to $30b in 8 years, and the projection is based on realistic, measurable indices! Get the proper Enugu IGR rating from the National Bureau of Statistics…and development index from Phillips Consulting 2026 assessment.
The Enugu state gangatuaun revenue improvement is based on effective tracking, prudent management, digitalisation of payment, accountability of proceeds, elimination of middlemen and cash transactions , eradication of corruption in the tax/rate collection chain,etc …No magic; just pure, intelligent, committed administrative wizardery!
You acknowledged you saw Presidential Hotel, Enugu, and the ICC ; do you know how much those investments bring in monthly in revenue? Have you asked? They are not ornaments, are they?
Enugu Air, NigerGas, Nike Lake, Sunrise Floor mill,the farm estates across Enugu, and all the other revitalised companies in Enugu are set up and run as businesses, to bring returns on investment for Ndi Enugu.
They are not for show-biz or grandstanding! They were intentionally positioned to work for Ndi Enugu, and the early returns more than match original projections!
Mbah had promised Ndi Enugu a disruptive model of governance, which go against all unhelpful, pre-existing practices and stereotypes, on assumption of office; he has delivered on that pledge and Enugu is better for it!
You claimed you came to Enugu to train CSOs , it is a lie: you came to Enugu to recruit for NDC but found nobody of reasonable political value, available!.In your frustration, you framed the theory of political suppression to rationalize the apparent failed mission. You haven’t seen anything!
Admit it or not, Enugu is a political stronghold of a government that has delivered on its electoral promises; a government that kept the faith with its citizens and delivered visible, undeniable dividends of democracy! What else can your NDC offer them?
A lawyer of your so-called standing, who should know the gravity and implications of making and publishing unsubstantiated claims, but went on to make a vicious,malicious, criminal assertion on record, to the effect that in Enugu, it is one week one death; where lies your reputation; where lies the basis for your public policy record grandstanding? You must have sold your conscience for a pittance! Provide the record of those deaths or hide your face in shame,Sam!
Sweeping generalisation is a mortal sin for a lawyer particularly for one who doubly parades himself as an academic! That makes particulars of claim conditional for its success!
Ndi Enugu have since got accustomed to Igbo elements without weight or worth in their homesteads, but who, as political mercantilists, take the liberty to come around to pontificate to them on how to behave or choose their governments!
They say or do nothing to change the lot of their folks in their states of origin, justifying their meddlesomeness in Enugu with idiotic retorts like ” Enugu being the heart of Igboland and home of every Igboman”!
That may well be the case, but is it not said that charity begins at home?
Gone are the days when political jobbers and hawks, patronised by clueless leaders in power, ,fed fat on our scarce resources, to help validate and perpetuate the stranglehold on a beleaguered population!
Enugu is no more anybody’s trading floor or fishing pond; an accountable administration is in place: Governor Mbah deploys the resources of Enugu people to guarantee them good life and secure future.
At the end of the day, Ndi Enugu will evaluate Governor Mbah’s manifesto performance record, and roadmap for the future; put that side-by-side with options to be presented by the opposition, and reward each camp, accordingly!
Sam Amadi’s jaundiced opinion will hardly matter…
*Onyekwere is Spokesperson to the Enugu State government
