By Chidiebere Onyemaizu
With the the immediate past Speaker of the House of Representatives,The Rt. Hon. Emeka Ihedioha maintaining a lead in the Imo governorship election conducted on Saturday, March 9, The Source’s findings in the state indicate that out-going governor, Rochas Okorocha, who is supporting his Son in law, Uche Nwosu, to succeed him has resorted to high stakes political manoeuvre to slow down Ihedioha’s projected victory. The plan is two-pronged: To either orchestrate a rigging spree in local government areas where results have not been announced yet to enable Nwosu jump-frog pass the PDP candidate, or provoke a stalemate that will result in a run-off between the two candidates.
Politcal pundits had projected a straight fight between APC’s Senator Hope Uzodinma and his PDP counterpart, Ihedioha. Nwosu who ditched the APC and pitched tent with the Action Alliance, AA, after losing the APC ticket to Senator Uzodinma, was ruled out of reckoning by watchers of Imo politics. But in a surprise turn of event, he is currently trailing behind Ihedioha.
Insiders are emphatic that Nwosu’s strong showing in the Ideato, Nkwerre, Nwangele and Onuimo axis was a product of massive and brazen electoral heist aided by his father- in law.
This magazine has been informed by reliable sources that goons working for the out-going governor are presently on the prowl in Ohaji, Egbema, Ngor Okpala and Mbaitolu council areas of the state with the express instruction to capture for AA, the areas by all means, including heavy financial inducements to the collation officials.The five council areas have thick voting population and have often decided the outcome of Imo guber elections.
Meanwhile, Uzodinma’s camp is insisting that the Omuma, Oru-East born Senator, is cruising to victory and has, therefore, warned both Okorocha and Ihedioha not to temper with what it called ” a mandate freely given to Onwa( Uzodinma) by Imo people”.
Referring to Okorocha and Ihedioha as “bad dreamers”, an Uzodinma loyalist in Owerri told The Source that the APC campaign organisation in the state was in possession of collated results which, according to him, put his principal in a clear lead.”Let those two dreamers continue to have bad dreams, let them continue to rely on unverified social media reports.They will soon cry because Onwa is the next governor of this state” , he said
On the other hand, multiple sources close to Uzodinma, Ifeanyi Araraume (APGA candidate) and former governor Ikedi Ohakim( Accord Party candidate) have told this magazine that if the election eventually ends in a stalemate necessitating a run off between Ihedioha and Nwosu, the three- Uzodinma, Araraume and Ohakim-will team up to deliver the PDP candidate.
