By Ebere Levi
Imo’s political firmament is witnessing reconfiguration, albeit surreptitiously.
Political gladiators on both sides of the divide- The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP and the All Progressives Congress, APC, who were rankled by what they describe as “the default” emergence of Senator Hope Uzodinma as governor, have now come to terms with the fact that he will be on the driver’s seat of the state for the next four years.
This magazine has it on good authority that as it is now, what exists in Imo is a feeble opposition as elements of political factions are more after what patronage they can grab from the Uzodinma administration than dissipating energy on opposition politics.
“What are you opposing when you know that in the next four years, the man will remain governor. Is it not better to support his government and get something than dissipate energy on intra-party animosity and remain politically irrelevant for four years?, asked a member of Okorocha’s APC faction who confessed he was angling for an appointment in the Uzodinma administration.
Individual members of the APC factions who hitherto aligned variously with former governor Rochas Okorocha, Senator Ifeanyi Araraume, Uche Nwosu ( Okorocha’s son- inlaw who competed for the Imo APC guber ticket with Uzodinma) among others against Uzodinma, The Source was told, are now side-tracking their principals to chart a different political course for themselves.
This, even, as governor Uzodinma has also side-tracked the APC chieftains in running his government.
“The governor has the entire APC structure in Imo in his kitty, and is, therefore, in firm control of both the party and the state”, a member of Uzodinma’s faction told the Magazine in Owerri, the Imo state capital, adding, “this explains why Okorocha and Araraume’s loyalists are frantically making personal representations to Onwa to be remembered in the next phase of political appointments, His Excellency, having elected to ignore camps of the APC bigwigs in his recent appointments”
Uzodinma’s Supreme court victory in January presented a semblance of amity among the APC hawks as many of them swarmed round the then newly proclaimed governor, leaving pundits to conclude that the governor’s cabinet would be an amalgam of competing interests.
However, very credible sources close to Uzodinma told this magazine that the governor had long made up his mind to break from the past, and be his own man, especially, as the story had, falsely, spread like wild fire that former Governor Rochas Okorocha was instrumental to Uzodinma’s victory, and that the Governor would dance to Okorocha’s tunes.
That expectation has, however, turned out wrong. Said a source close to him:
“Onwa (Uzodinma’s chieftaincy title), even as the candidate of the APC in the 2019 election, made it clear that if he won, he will run Imo for Ndi Imo, and would not be beholden to some interest or service such interests in terms of political patronage.
“So, Onwa had resolved long before now to have a clean break from a tainted past of Imo politics”.
Another source succinctly told the magazine thus: “His Excellency is too politically sophisticated to turn round and pander to the whims and caprices of the same old order he fought to liberate Imo from. It cannot happen”.
“Onwa”, Governor Uzodinma’s title means moon in the Igbo language and his camp is upbeat that he would shine brightly and overwhelm anyone standing between him and installing a replacement for the late Senator Ben Uwajimogu who represented Imo North( Okigwe zone) senatorial district.Uwajimogu, an APC Senator, died suddenly last December.
While Araraume who represented the Senatorial district in the Senate between 1999 and 2007 on the platform of the PDP is angling for a comeback on the banner of the APC, having collapsed his APGA structure under which he contested the 2019 election into the the party( APC), Okorocha’s camp is keeping its candidate close to its chest though it is being speculated that Uwajimogu’s widow is its preferred choice.
However, a source close to governor Uzodinma told this Magazine that when the chips are down, “boys will be separated from men as far as Okigwe senatorial by- election is concerned because Onwa will shine so brightly and overwhelm them. One thing is clear: Okigwe zone will not be allowed to fall into the hands of wolfs”
An Uzodinma supporter from the zone, who pleaded anonymity, was more blunt: “Senator Araraume will not be allowed to replace Uwajimogu and Okorocha will be stopped on his track”
Former governor Emeka Ihedioha whose governorship was abruptly abbreviated on January 14th 2020 by a surprise Supreme court pronouncement may have been politically orphaned by the apex court.
Even though he is still hugely popular with the masses, The Source gathered that apart from some members of his own faction of the PDP, the rest of the members are clandestinely hobnobbing with Governor Uzodinma.
It was learnt that majority of PDP bigwigs in Imo regard the governor as PDP in soul and spirit, but APC in body, and they are always quick to point out that Uzodinma was the most resourceful PDP member, Senator, and financier in the state before he lost the party’s structure following the ouster of the Ali Modu Sheriff’s faction by the Supreme court.
During the long-drawn PDP leadership tussle in the court between Sheriff, a former Borno governor and Ahmed Markafi, a former Kaduna state governor, Uzodinma, then a PDP Senator, queued behind the Borno former governor.
“PDP in Imo is not in opposition to Uzodinma and will not be.The spasmodic outbursts you see atimes are just empty noise, what you are seeing is half hearted opposition”, a party insider told the magazine.
He continued: “We have no quarrel with governor Uzodinma; he is still one of us and I can tell you that he is PDP at heart and in soul. And who even told you that the APC and PDP will remain in their original form before 2023? There is the likelihood of a huge alteration and configuration in the two parties giving rise to a cross- breed political realignment, so why oppose Uzodinma? Its unnecessary”
The magazine gathered that even though, naturally, PDP members loyal to Ihedioha are hurting, but most of those opposed to Uzodinma are Okorocha’s faction of the APC.
In the coming Imo North senatorial bye election, the magazine learnt that while the Ihedioha camp is throwing its weight behind Senator Athan Achonu who was displaced by the late Uwajimogu, a sizeable number of PDP stakeholders in the state are rooting for any candidate presented by Governor Uzodinma.
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
Share your story or advertise with us: WhatsApp: +2348174884527, Email: [email protected]
