In a quiet hall in Abuja on Friday, the politics of Orumba North and South took center stage. Labour Party (LP) candidate, Prince Chibuike Echem, known traditionally as Okenwa Ogbunka, unveiled his campaign structure and sold a vision he calls the “Orumba Rebirth Project.” With seasoned grassroots mobilizer Hon. Ikenna Nwankwor named Director General (DG), Echem is betting on experience, inclusiveness and accountability to win a federal seat he first chased in 2023. The message was clear: this is not business as usual writes Ekuson Nw’Ogbunka, Our Managing Editor on Saturday.
The appointment event drew political figures across party lines. Echem formally named Hon. Ikenna Nwankwor as DG of the Okenwa Ogbunka Campaign Organization, charging him to immediately constitute a campaign council drawn from both Orumba North and Orumba South.
“We are bringing to Ndi Orumba the Orumba Rebirth Project,” Echem told journalists. “The Rebirth Project cuts across the two local governments. We are bringing proper representation, accountability.”
For Echem, the rebirth idea is a promise of returns. He argued that federal representation should translate into tangible projects, jobs and visibility for the constituency, not just presence in Abuja.
He framed the DG’s appointment as the first concrete step. “The DG will effectively, immediately, begin to constitute the campaign council,” he said. The council, he added, must be made up of “seasoned, experienced, notable people who are on ground.”
Nwankwor’s CV was central to the pitch. Echem described him as a one-time councilor, one-time local government secretary, and currently President General of Orumba North and South communities in Abuja. “He has been there, done that in politics,” Echem said.
The candidate also leaned on his own political history. He recalled contesting for National Youth Council President in Gombe, later serving eight years as Vice President of the National Council of Nigeria Southeast.
That tenure, he said, delivered the first Southeast secretariat for the Youth Council in New Haven, Enugu, a base where commissioners and youth leaders met. “My emergence gave youth council a befitting office,” he noted.
Echem also referenced his 2023 bid for Anambra State House of Assembly. Though it “went the way it went,” he said, the experience sharpened his resolve to contribute at the federal level.
On inclusiveness, his advice to the DG was direct: be open-minded. “This is public service, for the interest of Ndi Orumba. Every man and woman that is meritorious has to be selected, not based on who the person knows.”
He pledged to step back from micromanaging appointments. “I am not going to play much role in that because mine is to have appointed a very efficient and competent DG. I will trust him to do justice to Ndi Orumba.”
Cross-party support surfaced at the event. Hon. Frank Chike Okoli, a member of the Nigerian Democratic Congress, attended and declared support for Echem, citing the LP candidate’s loyalty and closeness to the people.
Okoli criticized his own party’s candidate for alleged double registration with APGA and NDC. “That is why, as a member of NDC, I am supporting Dr. Chibuike. He is rooted in Orumba North and South politics.”
For his part, DG Nwankwor said he is ready. Citing his roles as PG of Orumba Town People Union Abuja, former LG secretary, former councilor and former chairman of Ufuma Union Abuja, he said: “I possess the requisite quality to manage the campaign and to deliver Okenwa Ogbunka.”
His advice to Echem mirrored the candidate’s: listen to the grassroots. “Don’t differentiate between the rich and the poor. Know what people want. Know the environment very well so you can negotiate for them at the federal level.”
On LP’s chances, Nwankwor was optimistic. Citing the party’s 2023 performance, he said: “LP will make a difference this time. My Orumba people are dismayed by the performance of others. They are going to give LP a try.”
With a campaign council about to be formed and a “Rebirth” agenda on the table, Okenwa Ogbunka’s team is signaling a grassroots-driven, accountability-focused run. Whether that translates into votes in Orumba North and South will depend on how well the promise of representation meets the reality on ground.
