Owerri Senatorial Seat: Ihedioha Caught In-between As Two Loyalists Clash

By Charles Igbo

For the Rt. Hon. Emeka Ihedioha, it will be a real headache to make a choice on who to support during the Primary of the Peoples Democratic Party’s ticket for Imo-east which will come up later in the year.

Ihedioha, a former Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, and until the Supreme Court removed  him  after about seven months in office, the Governor of Imo State, will have a hard choice to make.

Either way, whoever loses the ticket is likely to blame him.

Two of his core loyalists are going to slug it out for the ticket in Ihedioha’s Zone, Imo East Senatorial zone.

They are the incumbent Senator, Ezenwa Onyewuchi, and the fiery Barrister Uche Onyeagucha.

For now, Ihedioha controls   the structure of the Imo PDP.  He is the face of the PDP in Imo. The State Working Committee is loyal to him. His words are like law, literally. And he has a cult-like followership amongst the PDP members in the State.

The two men, Onyewuchi and Onyeagucha are close to him, politically.

In 2019, Ihedioha backed Onyewuchi against Senator Samuel Anyanwu (Sam Daddy), for the Imo East Senatorial Seat. But that was after he defeated Anyanwu to pick the Governorship ticket at the Primary.  Anyanwu cried foul. And, to not challenge Ihedioha at the Tribunal and Court, Anyanwu asked that he be rewarded with a second term ticket to the Senate. All good and well.

But there was a hitch.

Ihedioha had already given Onyewuchi, a two-time member of the House of Representatives, his words to back him for the Senate seat. For his credibility, Ihedioha told those who asked him, he could not renege on his promise to Onyewuchi.

Anyanwu pursued his case to disqualify Ihedioha to the Supreme Court. He lost. But here’s the irony: The same Supreme Court removed Ihedioha from office after he won the main election as Governor.

A number of times when, because he is the only PDP Senator in the State, and after Ihedioha was removed as Governor, Onyewuchi had dismissed, as mischief makers, those who referred to him as the leader of the Party in Imo, instead of Ihedioha. He usually emphasised: Ihedioha is the leader. He is my leader.

Ihedioha’s relationship with Onyeagucha is no less compelling. A former member of the House of Representatives, Onyeagucha dumped the All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, for the PDP and pitched tent with Ihedioha. He not only campaigned with him, on the night of the election, he played an unprecedented role. Before the cameras, and suspecting that some results brought in at the INEC Collation Centre were fake, he snatched them and tore them. The Police detained him for that, but released him later.

On being sworn-in as Governor, Ihedioha appointed Onyeagucha as the Secretary to the State Government, an office he held with dignity and competence.

A fiery lawyer, an activist, fearless, Onyeagucha has remained loyal to Ihedioha. He had appeared in a number of Radio and Television interviews, defending Ihedioha, and condemning, in very strong terms, the removal of Ihedioha from office in favour of Senator Hope Uzodinma.

Now, it is these two loyalists of Ihedioha, who are poised to face each other for the Imo-east Senatorial Seat.

The question is: who will Ihedioha back?

Even though Senator Onyewuchi has not declared  his interest in a second term, it is taken for granted.

In recent months, he has upped his philanthropic activities in Owerri Zone. He has also been commissioning one project or the other. He is going to run, flaunting those projects. Recently, he sponsored, and embarked on a medical tour of the Zone.

But critics say he has not done well. They say he is dull. They say his voice was never heard much in the Senate Chambers, and/or on other national issues. They say they want a stronger voice, a stronger representative whose contributions will be heard nationally.

This is where Onyeagucha comes in. He knows. He is a strong voice. He is blunt. And sharp as a razor. He is leveraging on all those.

In a video clip where he declared his interest in the Senatorial Seat, he pounced on those attributes. The Zone needs a strong voice, and so does the South-east, he declared. He said the country is limping. He says the country faces many challenges, including insecurity and a collapsed economy. Strong voices are needed, he said.

According to him, 2023 will be decisive in the history of the Nation. And strong voices and strong representation are needed. He fits, he says.

Onyeagucha: “The year 2023 will be decisive in the history of Nigeria. In recent years, we have been faced with problems of insecurity, failed economy, and secessionist agitation.

“These problems facing Nigeria require representatives of courage and integrity to address.

“I use this medium to announce that I have decided to run for the Imo-east Senatorial District in the year 2023. I am running the race with every sense of accountability to the Zone.”

Already opinions within the  Imo PDP on who to support are divided. While some people say Onyewuchi has done well, and should be allowed to continue, others say he has been a weak Senator, and that an Onyeagucha should be the perfect choice.

But  there are, also,  others who are asking: What if Senator Anyanwu, who is the new National Secretary of the PDP decides to run for the seat in 2023?

Or what if he decides to challenge Ihedioha to the Governorship ticket in 2023.

Whatever, all are agreed that both Anyanwu and Ihedioha would play a crucial role in the choice of who takes the ticket.  Both men are from same Owerri Senatorial Zone. More important, all are also agreed that the PDP needs a strong candidate to face whoever, the APC, which is the ruling party in the State, will present. Speculation is that it could be Alex Mbata, a business mogul, entrepreneur, and philanthropist.

Time will tell.