Owerri Senatorial Zone: Hope For Onyewuchi As Ihedioha Praises Him

By Gideon Njoku

The embattled Senator representing Imo East (Owerri Zone) at the Senate, Ezenwa Onyewuchi, had a reason to smile on Thursday, January 27, 2022, when the Leader of the Party in the State, Rt. Hon. Emeka Ihedioha, gave him a pat on the back.

Ihedioha, a former Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, a former Governor of the State, commended Onyewuchi for being a worthy representative of the people of the Zone.

Ihedioha is from Owerri Zone.

He spoke at a Stakeholders briefing of the people of the Zone by Senator Onyewuchi held  at his Abuja residence. During the briefing,  Onyewuchi presented to them, his two years report card as their Senator.

Senator Onyewuchi suddenly found his wish to go back to the Senate, for a second term, on slippery ground. The problem, instructively, is not coming from an aspirant of the ruling party in the State, the All Progressives Congress, APC, but from within his own Party, the People’s Democratic Party.

The solid ground on which he stood shifted when the Secretary to the Imo State Government under the Ihedioha administration, the fiery Barrister Uche Onyeagucha, suddenly declared an interest in the seat.

Onyeagucha’s declaration has divided the party in the state, thus putting Ihedioha on the spot as the two men are his core loyalists.

The strong feeling has been that Ihedioha was behind Onyeagucha’s interest in the  seat. But The Source findings show otherwise.

Our investigation showed that Ihedioha was not behind Onyeagucha’s declaration. A source told us that Onyeagucha may not have consulted Ihedioha before going public with his aspiration, otherwise, he might have advised him to tarry awhile.

Said the source who pleaded anonymity because  he was not authorized to speak: “Onyeagucha is putting Ihedioha on the spot and, thus, a wrong impression is being created. He did not consult Ihedioha before he went public with his aspiration. The impression people, now, have, erroneously, is that Ihedioha does not want anybody to do a second term at the Senate. Not true.

“Recall that Senator Samuel Anyanwu, now the National Secretary of the Party, did only one term, and was succeeded by Onyewuchi. It was blamed on Ihedioha. Now, the same impression is being created. It is not Ihedioha. He has nothing against Senator Onyewuchi who he is working very well with. Onyeagucha should have tarried awhile.”

Many are of the opinion that aside from being from the Zone, Ihedioha attended Senator Onyewuchi’s Stakeholders’ briefing to make that point clear.

Speaking at the well-attended event,  Ihedioha said Onyewuchi has done very well and  shown commitment in his representation  of the  Zone at the Senate.

He  thanked him the Senator and urged him to continue giving Owerri Zone that quality representation.

He, also, described Senator Onyewuchi as a wise and vocal voice from the East at the Senate.

Another strong stakeholder, Ambassador Dr.(Mrs) Kema Chikwe, shared the same sentiment. She said that Owerri Zone feels the presence of Onyewuchi’s people oriented representation. She brought to the fore how Senator Ezenwa Onyewuchi brought representation to the feet of the people through his numerous projects, empowerment programs and Medical Outreach.

Chikwe declared her continued and unalloyed support to the Senator.

It is believed, in many quarters, that the Onyeagucha threat will, eventually, be sorted out before the Senatorial Primary.