Dr. Ben Nwoye, former chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Enugu State, has revisited the events surrounding the 1999 senatorial election involving Uche Nnaji, offering what he described as factual clarifications about the long-debated episode.
His statements, made during an interview with Signature TV, aimed to correct what he said were distortions in public understanding of Nnaji’s political history.
According to Nwoye, Uche Nnaji successfully contested and won a senatorial seat in 1999 but did not assume the position.
He said the incident stood out as one of the most unusual moments in Nigeria’s early Fourth Republic politics. “Recall in 1999, this man (Uche Nnaji) ran for senatorial district and he won,” Nwoye stated, noting that what followed was an unexpected development that had no precedent at the time.
The former APC chairman explained that after securing victory, Nnaji made the decision not to proceed with the inauguration. “He became the very first senator-elect who decided not to go to be sworn in,” Nwoye revealed.
He added that Nnaji’s resignation from the position came abruptly and without detailed explanation, describing it as a unique case in the nation’s political record.
Nwoye went further to address what he termed as false narratives that emerged in subsequent years regarding Nnaji’s decision to step down.
He said while some accounts suggested that Nnaji voluntarily relinquished the position for another politician, those claims were not consistent with the actual sequence of events. “Some people said he stepped down for Distinguished Senator Jim Nwobodo, but that is not true,” he emphasized.
Nwoye stated that Nnaji’s action was not a political negotiation or a voluntary concession but a resignation that created a vacancy in the senatorial seat. “He didn’t step down after winning, he resigned,” Nwoye stressed, underscoring that the distinction between both actions was critical to understanding what truly transpired.
Following Nnaji’s resignation, Nwoye said, a fresh election had to be organized to fill the seat.
He explained that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) conducted another round of voting for the Enugu East Senatorial District, which eventually produced Senator Jim Nwobodo as the elected representative.
The former party leader noted that the incident was not only significant for its rarity but also for its implications on political continuity and representation at the time. He said such a situation underscored the importance of accurate documentation in preserving Nigeria’s political history for future reference.
Nwoye encouraged Nigerians, particularly political analysts and historians, to carefully review archival materials and official records to verify the sequence of events. “People have to go back and look at the history trail,” he said, urging citizens to rely on documented facts rather than circulating versions of the story that lack evidence.
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