By Enyinnaya Ubochi, Owerri
But for his determination to sweep back to power in 2028, former Imo State Governor, Rt Hon. Emeka Ihedioha would have effortlessly berthed in the All Progressives Congress, APC after his exit from the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, the party on which platform he became the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives and later went ahead to win, according to the declaration of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, the 2019 Imo gubernatorial election.
His stay in office, however, came to an abrupt end on January 14, 2020, following the Supreme Court’s declaration of Senator Hope Uzodinma as the rightful winner of the election.
Impeccable party sources told this Magazine that when some State and National Leaders of the APC realised Ihedioha’s utter disillusionment with the PDP, they started putting intense pressure on him to defect to the ruling party.
However, several factors militated against any such consideration by the former Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Firstly, Governor Uzodinma has at several fora indicated his intention not only to work towards producing a successor from Owerri zone( Imo East Senatorial) but also specifically from any of the three Owerri Local Government areas that make up the Imo State capital.
The implication here is that though his Mbaise nation which comprises three Local Government Areas is part of the Imo East Senatorial District just as the three Owerri Council Areas, Ihedioha will be micro-zoned out by the Imo APC for the 2028 gubernatorial ticket of the party in favour of an Owerri aspirant should he defect to the party.
Realising this clog in the wheel of his come-back bid, Ihedioha, who spent only seven months in office before being swept out of power by the Supreme stoutly spurned entreaties by the APC leaders to join the party.
Though the next gubernatorial election in the state is four years away when the second and final term in office of the incumbent, Governor Uzodinma will elapse, Ihedioha’s exit from the PDP and the subsequent massive haemorrhage it caused in the party has triggered subtle campaigns for the exalted office.
The depletion of Imo PDP following Ihedioha’s resignation from the party, this Magazine has been told, rankled and confounded both the APC and the rump of PDP in the state. Several chieftains of both parties in the State confided their anxieties in The Source.
Said a PDP chieftain: “Truth be told, His Excellency, Rt Hon.Ihedioha’s resignation from our party and the sheer number of party faithful that left with him has greatly depleted Imo PDP and I doubt if we can ever recover from this massive haemorrhage.
“Unless magic happens, 2028 will be scary for the PDP because any party His Excellency and his supporters eventually pitch their tent with will surely be a potent force to contend with”
A former APC House of Assembly aspirant who craved anonymity described Iheodioha as “a hurricane threatening to severely disable APC and PDP in Imo”.
Lamenting his party’s inability to successfully woo the former Governor to its fold and the possible consequences of that, the former aspirant said: “I have it on good authority that the movement Ihedioha is building is a hybrid political structure comprising thousands of APC and PDP foot soldiers and leaders.
“I’m aware that in the coming days, and particularly by 2027, several APC and PDP leaders will join Ihedioha in this movement to return him to office in 2028.
His Excellency, Rt. Hon. Emeka Ihedioha is an asset, he commands tremendous goodwill in Imo and this is why I’m surprised that the state and national leadership of APC did not go the extra mile to bring him into our fold, including conceding the party’s 2028 Imo guber ticket to him”.
Meanwhile, though the former Governor is yet to make a formal pronouncement as to his next destination, the Labour Party is widely speculated as the party he is headed to.
