By Ebere Levi
The Source has learnt that Governor Emeka Ihedioha’s opponents in the March 9, 2019, Imo gubernatorial election are mulling a gang up to wrestle the governorship from him in the event that the Supreme court annulls his election and orders a re-run.
But observer say manna no longer falls from heaven. They say the governor’s guber opponents do not have a water-tight case that could sway the Supreme Court justices to order a re-run of the Imo guber contest.
“They are frantically hoping on the Supreme court for a miracle in the mould of ordering a re-run. Should this happen, they will team up and stand behind a single candidate.But I can assure you that their case is watery.The apex court will affirm the Tribunal and Appeal Court rulings”, a source privy to the gang up plan confided in The Source.
Recall that Ihedioha defeated three front runners in the governorship race-Uche Nwosu of Action Alliance, AA, Senator Hope Uzodinma (APC) and Senator Ifeanyi Araraume (APGA)-to emerge governor.
The defeated governorship hopefuls subsequently lodged petitions at Imo state governorship Election Petition Tribunal but lost.
The Appeal Court also recently dismissed their appeals and upheld Ihedioha’s victory.
Immediate past governor of the state, and now a serving Senator, Rochas Okorocha, and father inlaw to Nwosu is allegedly the promoter of the gang up. Ironically, the former governor battled the duo of Uzodinma and Araraume for the soul of Imo APC leading to factionalization of the party in the state.
This magazine cannot, however, confirm the veracity or otherwise of Okorocha’s alleged involvement in the alliance plot.
A source close to him dismissed his alleged link to the gang-up moves as hogwash.
“Senator Okorocha is too busy with his lawmaking business in Abuja to dabble into an infantile talk such as a gang-up or alliance for a phantom rerun”, the source told this magazine
The trio – Okorocha, Uzodinma and Araraume- wanted the 2019 governorship Imo ticket of the party. While Okorocha wanted the ticket for his son in-law, Senators Uzodinma and Ararume wanted it for themselves.
Araraume was to leave the party and effortlessly grabbed the APGA ticket leaving the fight for the APC ticket to Nwosu/Okorocha and Uzodinma. Uzodinma triumphed after disputed primaries, forcing Nwosu to defect to the AA.
He came second in the guber election, Araraume third and Uzodinma a distant fourth.
The realignment of forces may, however, see Araraume supported by the other candidates to run in the event that the Supreme court does the unthinkable.
Okorocha is said to have zeroed in on Araraume rather than his son in-law or Uzodinma for a number of reasons. Firstly, there is the legal encumbrance on Nwosu’s eligibility to contest the March 9, 2019 gubernatorial election.
Apart from losing the governorship appeal, a High court and the appellate court had previously ruled that the AA candidate was ineligible to contest the election having allegedly accepted the nominations of two parties and contested on their platforms contrary to the electoral act.
Secondly, a broad spectrum of Imolites insist Nwosu’s governorship will be an extension of Okorocha, the same sentiment that worked against him in the March election. The same factor, it is feared, will still work against him in any rematch with Ihedioha.
Thirdly, the former governor’s loyalist, the magazine gathered, views Uzodinma as a paper weight politician who after all the hype came a distant fourth in the last election. It is, therefore, reasoned that Ihedioha will easily trash him again if the governorship legal tussle ends in a rerun. They believe that in the present circumstance, Araraume is the only one, with statewide clout that can wrestle power from Ihedioha.
The arrangement, an impeccable source reveal, was to support the APGA candidate to win after which, in his words “a coalition government embracing all the interests in the alliance will be formed”
Meanwhile, a loyalist of Senator Uzodinma has told The Source that his principal is not aware of, nor part of any gang up or alliance for the purpose of a rerun.
“Onwa(Senator Uzodinma’s traditional title) is pursuing his case up to the Supreme court. He is not asking for a rerun but to be declared the duly elected governor of Imo state because he indeed won the election.
Remember a minority Court of Appeal judgement declared him winner of the election, so he is heading to the Supreme Court to get the minority judgement confirmed.
He is neither aware of any alliance, or gang up, nor part of such arrangement”
