PORT HARCOURT/Nigeria: Erstwhile National Publicity Secretary of the defunct New People’s Democratic Party (nPDP) and chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief Eze Chukwuemeka Eze, has taken a swipe at former Minister of State for Environment, Mr. Udi Odum, over his decision to align with the camp of the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, accusing him of advancing a brand of political hooliganism that undermines democratic standards in Nigeria.
Chief Eze recalled that in 2022, when Wike was still governor of Rivers State, he had publicly ridiculed Udi Odum while inaugurating commissioner-nominees, calling him “a mere illiterate” and describing his ministerial appointment as an aberration and embarrassment to the people of Rivers.
Before his appointment as minister, Udi had served three times as Caretaker Committee Chairman and was twice elected Chairman of Abua/Odual Local Government Area under the administration of Rt. Hon. Chibuike Amaechi. His performance, Eze noted, earned Amaechi’s trust, leading to his nomination as Minister of State for Environment after Amaechi resigned from President Muhammadu Buhari’s cabinet to contest for the APC presidential ticket.
Eze expressed dismay that the same Udi, once fiercely defended by Amaechi against Wike’s attacks, has now joined forces with his staunchest political adversary. “Wike would never have allowed Udi to become a commissioner, but Amaechi made him a minister. Now he has joined Wike, one wonders the logic behind this betrayal,” Eze stated.
Describing Udi as a “coward who kowtowed to his oppressor,” Eze warned that the former minister’s alliance with Wike would yield no real political benefit, as he remains considered in Wike’s camp as uneducated and incompetent. “He will be used, dumped, and mocked,” Eze added.
The APC chieftain lamented what he called the moral decadence in Nigeria’s political space, citing examples of politicians emerging as candidates of the APC despite contesting primaries under the PDP — a practice he described as “zero integrity” and contrary to global political norms.
Eze further cautioned Wike that his strategy of luring Amaechi’s protégés would neither diminish Amaechi’s political relevance nor rescue his own “nosediving” political fortunes. He stressed that respected leaders like Dr. Dakuku Peterside, Senator Andrew Uchendu, and Ambassador Oji N. Ngofa would never be enticed into joining a camp “known for negativity.”
According to Eze, Udi Odum’s defection to Wike’s camp has already sealed his political fate, digging “his political grave” before his very eyes.
