Anger Rises In Imo Over Okorocha; Imolites Warn Uzodinma: Keep Him Off!

By Gideon Njoku

On Wednesday, January, the 15th,  when Senator Hope Uzodinma was sworn-in as the new governor of Imo State, the Sam Mbakwe International Cargo Airport was, expectably, busier than before.

Of course, the airport has, in the past couple of months, been very busy following the closure of the Enugu International Airport by the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, thus forcing passengers who usually took that route to now take Owerri, the increase in the number of Airlines which now fly the Owerri route – six in all – has helped. This increase is one of the achievements of the immediate past government of the Rt. Hon. Emeka Ihedioha.

But the airport particularly gets annoyingly busier on  days when the judgement of election petitions are delivered in Abuja.

The winner usually comes back through Owerri airport. At such times, the airport, especially, the Protocol Lounge and its environs is, not just with passengers, but with politicians of all shades and their “attachees” – thugs, drummers, dancers, women, men, and youths wearing all kinds of uniforms.

On such days, the government in those states literary shuts down.

Abia State is the worst culprit. This reporter had witnessed, twice, the complete over-running of the Imo airport, for hours, because Governor Okezie Ikpeazu won his cases at the Supreme Court. Accessing the airport was a problem. It was even more of a problem for those entitled to the Protocol Lounge to have access the Lounge

Buses took over  every space. Security was compromised. But this is Nigeria out dear country. Anything goes.

So, you can imagine how it was this Wednesday when Uzodinma arrived Owerri, through the Imo airport, for his swearing-in ceremony, after a largely unexpected  declaration as the winner of the 2019 governorship election Tuesday, January the 15th, by the Supreme Court.

Words had filtered in that the Swearing-in ceremony would take place by 1.00pm.

But, as early as 7.00am, a large crowd, mostly party members, friends and associates of the new governor, had already stormed the airport, singing, drumming, and away.

When the first chartered private jet arrived the airport in the morning, the crowd went into a frenzy. But they were disappointed. And even though it with the Deputy Governor (Designate, then), Prof. Placid Njoku, his wife, and a couple of APC Chieftains, on board, the crowd was disappointed.

They were waiting for the big fish. And they so waited till almost 5.00pm.

Governor Uzodinma arrived in style. Five Privates jets landed in quick succession.

The star of the moment came in one. Three flew in with excited top party officials. There was Adams Oshiomhole, the embattled APC National Chairman.

From day one, Oshiomhole has been a strong supporter of Uzodinma. The Imo governorship seat, now occupied by Uzodinma, has, inadvertently, given him a life line. To keep his seat, which is threatened by pushes from here and there, it is one more support.

But aside from Uzodinma and Oshiomhole, the other person that caught the attention of the gathered crowd, and posed what some people described as a first credibility problem for  the new governor, was former governor of the State, Owelle Rochas Okorocha,  now a Senator.

Okorocha, for months, has been a personna non grata in the State. It is not that he was officially banished as such.

The immediate past government of Imo State, citing the brutalization of its officials who had gone on a court-backed recovery mission of alleged looted state properties, has put him on notice that ge risked an arrest if such repeated itself in the state.

He, of course, has his own followers who reacted and stood by him. But, the anger over his arrival at airport for the inauguration of Uzodinma, stemmed from the fact that not many Imo people want to see him after what they insist is his disastrous tenure as governor. His supporters disagree. But not a few Imolites hold him responsible for the terrible state of the state – Collapsed education system. Collapsed traditional institution. Collapsed judiciary (where Judges of the Imo State Judiciary use second hand cars as their official cars, and are mocked by their colleagues at official outings). Collapsed civil service. Scandalous state of  infrastructure, especially roads. Land grabbing, alleged looting, and much more.

Seeing him, arrive the airport, at the same time, almost, with Uzodinma took the crowd aback. It was like: what’s he here for? A bad omen. They became restless. But, smart man, he quickly stepped back into his jet, and waited some more minutes for Uzodinma who landed, and came down to a thunderous ovation.

Not a few Imolites are angry. They are angry that Okorocha’s presence, and his congratulatory message to Governor Uzodinma give the impression that he would be in government with Uzodinma; that he would be part of the government.

His congratulatory message they point out, said he would work with Uzodinma. They say it gives an impression like: “This is our Government”.

So they sound a note of warning to the governor: We know you both are in the same party, but we don’t want to go back to our vomit. They want him to steer clear, very clear of Okorocha.

Said one top APC chieftain who pleaded anonymity because of his position in the party: “The governor will lose the goodwill he enjoys among party faithfuls in the state, even at the national level, if he allows Okorocha near.”

Another said he was so angry when he saw Okorocha, running round in circles before Uzodinma, that he had a sleepless night. “I thought we had gotten out of the Okorocha nightmare since May 29  2019.  I am happy that my party has reclaimed the state from the PDP, but seeing Okorocha, parading majestically as if he had come back to power, killed my joy”.

“Why did Uzodinma come back with him?”, another querried.

He continued bitterly: “Politicians, I don’t understand them. This is the same Okorocha who called Uzodinma hopeless, called him an interloper, and said all sorts of unprintable things about him. Now, he is trying very hard to be seen with him. This is shameless. Please, somebody needs to tell the Governor that we don’t want to see anything connected with Okorocha and Ararume around him”

But another, as if talking to himself,  provided the answer. ” The only reasons Okorocha is accompanying Uzodinma, and working hard to be seen are simple.

“He wants the probing of his administration to stop. There are judicial commissions of inquiry set up in the state over government lands grabbed by him and his acolytes and, over contracts he awarded. He wants the new governor to overlook all the allegations against him. But that will be a big mistake. It will present the Governor in bad light. Imo people expect a clean break from Okorocha and and his son-in-law. As for Ararume, he wants to go back to the Senate. With Senator Ben Uwajimogu dead, Ararume is desperate to go back to the Senate. I am from his zone, if the Governor supports him, he will lose our support”.

The anger against Okorocha is palpable in the state. It is so bad that one high profile civil servant told this magazine: “We are prepared to ground the state if we see his finger print in anything here”.

However, a source close to the new governor said: Seeing Okorocha, Ararume and Uche Nwosu around Governor Uzodinma means nothing. He is in the same party with Okorocha and Uche. Ararume is still one of them.

“As  stakeholders in the state, they are welcome. But it does not stop anything. The governor’s focus is on Imo people and what can be made to move our state forward.

“He reached no agreement with Okorocha and Uche as is being bandied about. It is a lie. This government is his. It is his face. It is not anybody’s face. The glory is God’s. Nobody else’s. It is destiny.

“Governor Uzodinma’s first pronouncements ought to have shown Imo people that he is here to clean the augean stable. And, he will.

“One of his cardinal points is recovery. Okorocha’s years in office was not exempted from it. He said 2010-2019.

Okorocha’s years in office form the main bulk of the probe target areas.

“So Imolites should just watch him and see.”

It will be recalled that Okorocha fought, very bitterly, Uzodinma, as the candidate of the APC. He fought to the very end. He fought as if his life depended on it because he wanted Uche Nwosu, his son-in-law, to succeed him in office. When he saw that Nwosu had lost the ticket to Uzodinma, he pushed Nwosu to  another party, which he was funding, the Action Alliance, AA.

But for the tenacity and ruggedness of the National Chairman of the APC, Adams Oshiomhole,  Uzodinma, the late Senator  Uwajimogu, former Deputy Governor, Prince Eze Madumere, TOE Ekechi, Sir Nnamdi Anyaehie, Senators Osita Izunaso and Ararume, Okorocha might have succeeded in imposing Nwosu on Imo. Uzodinma was the John the Baptist who cleared the way for a new lmo which ushered in former Governor Ihedioha, and now, Uzodinma himself