By Gideon Njoku
For the former Governor of Imo State and, now, the Senator representing Imo West, it is a breath of fresh air. For a man whose lot has been one trouble after another since the end of his tenure as a governor, it is a rare moment of joy. And it came from unexpected quarters.
The Judiciary on Monday gave him a reason to genuinely be happy since May 29, the day he left the Imo governorship seat.
For Okorocha, it was a rare moment of victory.
The Imo State NASS Election Tribunal, which delivered its judgment on Monday in Abuja, dumped into the dustbin, the petitions filed against his victory at the Senatorial polls, by the candidates of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, and that of the All Progressive Grand Alliance. APGA, Hon. Jones Onyereri, Senator Osita Izunaso, respectively.
It was a double whammy, therefore, for Okorocha, and he celebrated no end. He gushed with joy in a statement released on his behalf by his media aide, Sam Onwuemeodo.
Okorocha:”The Judiciary is the aroma of democracy”.
And that is the irony.
For a man who, for the eight years he was governor, disobeyed all court rulings and orders, to hear him praise the Judiciary in such glowing terms is confounding to many people.
Noted an Imo elder who wants to remain anonymous, “I am shocked that Okorocha would praise an arm of government he derided and rubbished for eight years”.
But this is not the first time, really, that Okorocha would be praising the Judiciary since his governorship of Imo State. When INEC refused to give him the Senate Certificate of Return, on the grounds that he was declared the winner under duress, the court ordered INEC to give it to him. INEC complied, and for doing that, he is at the Senate today.
It is for the same Senate seat that both Izunaso and Onyereri went to the Tribunal to protest Okorocha’s controversial victory.
Noted an APC chieftain who is Okorocha’s ally: “Honest, we didn’t expect this victory. But, there is something called destiny, and, the law, they say, is an ass”.
Perhaps, for, not many Imolites expected this technical knockout against Izunaso and Onyereri.
Their Lordships may have seen what those Imolites didn’t see. Which is why they dismissed the petitions, insisting that the petitioners were unable to prove their cases before the Tribunal.
No wonder Okorocha is celebrating.
His unadulterated joy was expressed in the statement on his behalf by Onwuemeodo. It reads in part:
“Following the ruling of the National Assembly Elections’ Tribunal, upholding his election as the Senator representing Imo West Senatorial District, Owelle Rochas Okorocha has described the Judiciary as the aroma and backbone of the nation’s democracy, and members of the Tribunal as apostles of justice.
” Senator Osita Izunaso, APGA, and Jones Onyeriri, PDP, were not able to prove the allegations of duress and malpractice.
” With this latest ruling by the Tribunal, it is now obvious that Okorocha won his election through the ballot box and the issue of duress was a mere campaign of calumny.”
While Okorocha commended both petitioners, calling them good ambassadors of Orlu, his zone, he asked them to join hands with him to uplift the lot of the zone.
Izunaso was a former ally of Okorocha in the APC. Both of them were originally of the PDP before Okorocha jumped ship to APGA, and, later to the APC where he met Izunaso who became a top official of the APC after he dumped the PDP.
The next few days will decide whether the two men will appeal Okorocha’s victory at the Court of Appeal or not.
As for now, Okorocha is savouring this unexpected victory.
