The
persistent claim by governor of Imo State, Rochas Okorocha that the
ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) will lose elections in the state
and also lose over 5 million votes in the South East because of the
failure of the party to give the gubernatorial ticket to his son – in –
law, Uche Nwosu, has been dismissed as an empty boast and the wishful
thinking of a man who underestimated his unpopularity.
A
statement in Owerri by the director of Media and Special Duties to the
APC governorship candidate in Imo State, Sen. Hope Uzodimma, Declan
Emelumba said the only reason APC is back on track in Imo and set to
sweep all the elections in 2019 is because of the emergence of Uzodimma
as the governorship candidate of the party in the state.
The
statement said that “Governor Okorocha’s membership of the party was a
big minus and that contrary to the empty claim by him, if his son-in-law
had won the APC gubernatorial ticket in Imo, it would have been the
surest ticket to the total defeat of APC in the state.”
Emelumba
said Okorocha was deluding himself of an imaginary popularity in Imo
State when in reality he is very unpopular with the populace; the
Christians churches, traders, artisans, civil servants and professionals
in the state, noting that he has not actually won an election in the
state, and that Uzodimma on the other hand has defeated Okorocha in all
the elections he contested in Imo West (Orlu) Senatorial District, where
both of them came from.
“Okorocha
has run for many elections, including the governorship of Imo State,
before 2011, and even the presidency, and lost all. But in 2011 in
particular, Imo people voted more against former Governor Ikedi Ohakim
than for Okorocha, so he merely benefitted from the anger of the people
against Ohakim. Even at that, the election went into a by-election where
Ohakim was finally manipulated out of the race and Okorocha became
governor. Also in 2015, Okorocha as incumbent governor could not win
outright on first ballot. The election was concluded on a second ballot
where some aggrieved PDP members helped again to manipulate him into the
governorship”, the statement said.
According
to the APC governorship spokesman, Okorocha cannot really say he won
these elections on merit, adding that if he (Okorocha) was really
popular as he imagines, he should have won outright on merit in these
two elections.
The
statement noted that Uzodimma defeated Okorocha’s political party in Imo
west senatorial district in both 2011 and 2015 elections, even as
governorship candidate and incumbent governor respectively.
“I
think this is more than enough evidence that in terms of popularity,
Sen. Uzodimma is far more popular than Gov. Okorocha in Imo west (the
biggest senatorial district in Nigeria) where both come from,” he added.
Emelumba
said, “The truth of the matter is that all strata of Imo society are
celebrating Uzodimma’s victory as the APC gubernatorial candidate and
this has brought them back on track to vote massively for APC in 2019.
Uzodimma’s popularity in Imo State is infectious and it will not only
guarantee victory for APC in Imo State but will rake in far more than 5
million votes for the APC from the South East in 2019.
So let no one be deceived by Okorocha’s boast because he is the problem of APC in Imo State and the South East”.
Credits: Agency Reports