Why Francis Waive Should Return Unopposed

By Annabel Ogheneganre

With the superlative performance of the most distinguished cleric and politician, Rt Hon Revd Francis Ejiroghene Waive rocking the nooks and crannies of the Ughelli North, Ughelli South and Udu constituency, the Peoples Democratic Party has for once find it impossible to pick a candidate to stand in the election against the APC incumbent lawmaker. For the first time since 1999, PDP has continued to grapple with the conduct of their primaries for the party ticket which began in May 2022 and the battle does not seem to end soon. As at the time of writing, PDP is still conducting the primary election of the party to pick a candidate to stand against Hon Waive in the February 2023 polls.

Six clear months after Hon Waive emerged as the APC candidate, PDP is yet to get a candidate. The primary election has shifted to the law court and it will definitely terminate in the Supreme Court. The argument over the authentic candidate of the PDP for the poll is now at the Appeal Court level. Perhaps before the end of December, the Court of Appeal will take a stand and thereafter, the battle will shift to the Supreme Court which may be decided in January or so. By the time the Court processes are done with, elections may just be one month away and the aspirant that will eventually lose in the Supreme Court will definitely not support the eventual winner. The implication is that PDP would be contending with a very well fortified APC candidate with superlative performance, hitherto unknown to the constituency with a mortally divided house coupled with an avalanche of household enemies that may lurk in the dark to unleash their venom at the appropriate time.

Head or tail, there is no gain saying the fact that Hon Francis Waive, a man with very visible, convincing, and exceptionally outstanding records of performance in just four years would be elected by the APC and PDP alike for a second term. The most honourable path for the PDP therefore is to simply surrender and stop vying for the crown and allow Hon Waive return to the House of Representatives unopposed. He sure deserves it. No House of Representatives member since 1999 has done a quarter of Waive’s performance. It would be foolhardy for any candidate to stand against Hon Waive in the 2023 general elections. Most PDP members have given up on the seat and have, in their inner recesses, conceded to Hon Waive. The man carries unusual grace that is set to disgrace anybody that may wish to contend with him.
His performance in and outside the green chambers have been excellent. For a man who has been handling the microphone for decades as a pastor, addressing the green chamber was like another opportunity to preach the gospel to the heathen and build the faith of believers. He effortlessly churns out very impressive number of bills which outclass the total bills of all the House members from the constituency since 1999. He is everywhere connecting with the constituents in their social and religious activities. He is responsive and open to all. He has not gone to Abuja to enrich himself but to provide for the teeming fans and supporters who labored to give him the mandate. Revd Waive is an exceptional personality with the drive and doggedness to change the narratives.

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The people of Ughelli/Udu constituency are fortunate to have a man of Revd Waive’s standing as their representative. You do not change a winning team, rather, all you do is to continue to encourage the team to do more. Ughelli South for instance will have no reason whatsoever to exchange Revd Waive with Talib Tebite or Solomon Awhinawhin who are on each other’s neck for the PDP ticket. As the duo continues to fight, Revd Waive is in the field campaigning for votes. He is such an effective communicator and lovable character that he has the Church behind him and he too, is reaching out to PDP elements in the area. He needs everybody and would be representing all. He knows what he needs and is going for it.
Revd Francis Waive has been declared unopposed in the spiritual realm.

Therefore, there shall be no peace for PDP until they see the handwriting and let go. One cynical political bigot once said that the transformers Revd Waive brought to many places were refurbished. The question I asked earlier is that how many of such ‘refurbished transformers’ did our former representatives bring to our people? The man has shown class, concern and has taken practical steps to respond to the needs of the people, not because elections were in sight but from the very first day he stepped into the green chambers. He lit up Agbarha-Otor, DSC Townships, Ovwian and many other places while also facilitating the constructions of blocks of classrooms in many schools, facilitating loans and grants to many of his constituents with many of the beneficiaries getting as much as N500,000.00, N1m, N2million, N5million naira and even more, amongst many other verifiable achievements.
Revd Francis Waive bears the true mark of Christ and an integrity that the people can trust. He will not throw his hard-earned integrity to the mud for any reason. He has done enough to earn him another term. Out of frustration, I hear some people are destroying his billboards. A good product markets itself. Waive does not need billboards to win. He is a phenomenon already etched in the heart of the people. This writer insists that Waive has been returned unopposed. It will be a great disservice to the Ughelli/Udu Federal constituency for anybody to attempt to exchange this gold for clay. The confusion in the PDP is a spiritual ambush on anybody who attempt to work against the Revd Waive’s mandate. This man is simply unstoppable.

Annabel Ogheneganre writes from Garki, Abuja. ([email protected])