By Chidiebere Onyemaizu
Why Okorocha is Procuring Fake Guber Aspirants to Contest APC Ticket With Son Inlaw
The desperation of the out going governor of Imo state, Rochas Okorocha to foist his son in law, Uche Nwosu on the state as his successor has taken a bizarre twist.Buffeted at all corners by criticisms and allegation of trying to turn the state into a fiefdom by imposing Nwosu who is married to his first daughter in utter disregard for democratic tenets, Okorocha is set to organise a sham gubernatorial primaries later this month in which Uche will contest against handpicked opponents who the outgoing governor has given money to procure the APC governorship nomination forms.
The Source has been informed that in the coming days, more handpicked governorship aspirants, mostly from Owerri zone which has been clamouring for the Imo state number seat to rotate to them( after Okigwe zone’s four years stint: Ikedi Ohakim-2007-2011 and Orlu zone’s 16 years on the saddle: Achike Udenwa, 1999-2007 and Rochas Okorocha, 2011-2019) will be given money to buy the form. So far, the Secretary to Imo State Government, George Eche from Owerri zone and Okorocha’s brother in law, Chucks Ololo who is married to the governor’s younger sister and Commissioner for Happiness and Purpose Fulfillment, Ogechi Ololo, are some of the handpicked aspirants who have been given money to pick the forms.
Another fake guber aspirant from Okigwe zone has also been mobilized financially to buy the form.
Competent sources close to the governor reveal that the guber primaries is to give Nwosu’s eventual emergence as gubernatorial candidate a semblance of competitiveness which will help dispel the insinuation that the governor has spurned Owerri zone’s clamour for the governorship position but instead trying to impose his son inlaw who also hails from Orlu zone as governor.This magazine has learnt that the new narrative after Nwosu’s primaries victory will be that free democratic choice played out as he beat Owerri sons in a free and fair contest to pick the APC guber ticket.
With Okorocha’s faction of the All Progressives Congress, APC, now calling the shots in the state, The Source gathered that the governorship primaries will be programmed to produce Nwosu with overwhelming votes haul while his handpicked opponents will be awarded insignificant votes.
And to further give the primaries the colouration of free and fair exercise, Nwosu’s fellow ‘contestants’ for the guber ticket will immediately accept defeat, congratulate the “winner” (Nwosu) and pledge to work for him to win the gubernatorial election.
Before he consented to be used as cannon folder to confer a veneer of legitimacy to Nwosu’s imposition, Eche was gunning for the APC ticket to contest the Aboh Mbaise/ Ngor Okpala Federal Constituency election having been given the green light to do so by Okorocha.It is not clear what becomes of his political future after the kangaroo primaries or how the governor intend to reward him.
