US embassy cable - 03ABUJA2154

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ABUJA 002154 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/12/2013 
TAGS: PGOV, PREL, KDEM, NI 
SUBJECT: SWING THROUGH THE EAST 
 
REF: ABUJA 2080 
 
CLASSIFIED BY COUNSELOR JAMES MAXSTADT FOR REASON 1.5 D. 
 
1. (U) SUMMARY:  Poloff took quick three-day swing through 
eastern Nigeria\'s Delta, Anambra and Enugu States December 
4-6 to attend the funeral of Embassy contact and ANPP Vice 
Presidential candidate Chuba Okadigbo.  Throughout the area 
there was a massive security presence, which contrasted 
sharply with the lack of infrastructure.  The mood was black, 
and not only at the funeral.  End Summary. 
 
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DELTA STATE 
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2. (U) Roaming the streets of Asaba, capital of Delta state, 
most people were happy to see an outside visitor.  Claiming 
that Asaba was safe, \"not like Warri,\" they still said that 
people avoided evening activities due to \"security problems.\" 
 No one on the street claimed to have voted for Governor 
Ibori, and most laughed when asked about his performance to 
date.  On his \"peace program\" for the Delta, most residents 
of his capital scoffed.  The common response was that Ibori 
was only interested in his \"oil money\" and would continue to 
do little for the state.  Poloff stayed in a newly opened 
hotel in Asaba.  The manager, a former resident of Houston, 
Texas, said that the hotel was a \"family business\" owned by 
one of Ibori,s state commissioners. 
 
3. (C) AD gubernatorial candidate Great Ogboro expressed 
great concern about conditions in Nigeria, but was hopeful 
that his case at the election tribunal would provide a 
platform for the \"principled opposition\" to begin taking back 
the country from what he termed \"Obasanjo,s lackeys.\" 
Ogboro said that security outside of Asaba in Delta State 
remained poor and that it is only a matter of time before 
violence turned the \"low-intensity\" skirmishes going on now 
into widespread fighting throughout the southern part of the 
state.  Another AD supporter told Poloff that his party 
remained strong in the state and that the prospects of Ogboro 
returning to the tribunal were \"keeping a lid\" on the 
violence.  He claimed that a state-wide AD planning session 
held December 4 in Ishaka drew \"hundreds\" of activists from 
around the state.  \"We are ready to fight the government, but 
will wait for the legal avenues\" to be exhausted, he said. 
Defections from PDP to AD continue in Delta State, and many 
people support APGA presidential candidate Ojukwu. 
 
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ANAMBRA STATE 
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4. (U) Visiting Anambra state, Poloff observed even more 
deterioration in the already rare infrastructure.  Anambra, 
created from the old Anambra state (which included Bayelsa, 
Enugu and Anambra) was forced to develop a new capital and 
inherited little infrastructure from the old state. 
 
5. (U) Okadigbo was buried in Ogunkide village in Anambra, 
just off the main east-west highway.  The town, marked by 
dusty roads, was interspersed with deteriorating schools and 
large houses belonging to successful local businessmen.  The 
ceremony for Okadigbo was attended by massive numbers of 
security personnel, perhaps up to five hundred scattered 
about the village.  At least twenty National Assembly members 
attended the Friday session of the multi-day ceremony, 
showing solidarity with Okadigbo in death even as many of 
them had abandoned him in political life.  Local residents 
were still angry about his death.  Many complained about 
President Obasanjo and Senate President Wabara (\"he doesn,t 
listen to us\"), and there was no love for Governor Ngige or 
political kingpin Ubah either. 
 
6. (C) PDP members told Poloff that unknown assailants 
continue to disrupt political meetings from the competing 
factions of PDP, but virtually all residents expressed 
respect and support for APGA presidential candidate (and 
former Biafran leader) Ojukwu. 
 
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ENUGU STATE 
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7. (C) Contacts in Enugu said Governor Nnamani was busy on 
the lecture circuit (in support of his VP hopes?) and almost 
never in the state.  A curfew is still partially enforced and 
Enugu swarms with security.  Business is down and many 
residents were angry about the arrest of Dr. Okwesilieze 
Nwodo, the younger brother of John Nwodo another Igbo 
presidential aspirant for 2007, in the recent ID card project 
scandal (reftel).  Many claimed he had been held for days 
without access to attorney or family and had refused food 
from his jailers for fear of being poisoned.  \"Why arrest him 
when Obasanjo,s daughter owns the company running the ID 
program,\" was a common refrain. 
8. (C) Despair about the economy and lack of infrastructure 
were as common in Enugu as in Anambra and Delta States. 
Support for Ojukwu was also common among people Poloff talked 
to from all parties -- an enduring legacy of Biafra. 
MEECE