By Destiny Day
Governor Rochas Okorocha of Imo State is one chieftain of the ruling All Progressive Congress who has been badly affected by the decision of the party’s National Executive Council (NEC) to have the tenure of the state executives extended together with that of the National Chairman, John Odigie-Oyegun.
The APC NEC decided last week that Oyegun’s National Working Committee (NWC) and the state executives should continue to function in their capacity till next year.
TheNiche has it on good authority over the weekend that Okorocha has been seriously unsettled by the NEC decision which has completely altered his political calculation as it concerns Imo State ahead of 2019.
Last week, the APC NEC reached a decision to have all the executives of the party in the 36 states and Abuja (Federal Capital Territory) to continue in office till next year against the wishes of most of the governors who wanted to shove them aside and bring in their cronies ahead of the 2019 election.
A source close to Okorocha who is in a position to know told this newspaper that “the governor has been unsettled now following the decision of the NEC to still leave power in the hands of the party executives till next year.”
According to our source, before that NEC position, Okorocha’s plan was to shove aside all Imo APC executive members who are opposed to his game plan to hand pick cronies to run for different electoral positions without following the normal party channel.
The governor was said to have concluded plans to remove the incumbent Imo State APC Chairman, Dr. Hilary Eke and replace him with those who are members of his son in-law’s Ugwumba Political Movement, who, he planned to use to eventually rubber stamp all the persons Okorocha would nominate as his preferred candidate for the different electoral contests.
Recently, Okorocha endorsed his son in law, Uche Nwosu who happens to be his chief of staff. Okorocha has also publicly said he would be going to the senate to represent Orlu senatorial zone while one of his stooges who serves as the commissioner for information, Nnamdi Obiaraeri will represent Okigwe zone after he publicly said that the man who is there currently, Ben Uwajimogu, former Imo State speaker of the House of Assembly, will not be returning to the senate to represent the zone.
Okorocha had also recently said that his trusted deputy, Eze Madumere whom he has betrayed should be given the ticket to represent APC in the senate for Owerri senatorial zone.
Madumere did not waste time to reject the Greek offer, even before the APC NEC took its position, insisting that due process ought to be followed, and that it does not lie in that hands of Okorocha to be allocating electoral positions to people.
In all the decisions Okorocha took regarding who will go where, the Imo State APC executive was not aware as the governor considered them inconsequential to be consulted, according to one of them who spoke to TheNiche.
Our source said that before now, all the chieftains of the APC in Imo State, including the National Organising Secreatry, Osita Izunaso and senator Ifeanyi Araraume were being treated with levity because of Okorocha’s desperation to nominate his son in-law and other stooges for elective positions.
Recently, the Catholic Archbishop of Owerri, Anthony Obinna was reported to have said that Nwosu should not be imposed on Imo people.
Many Imo indigenes have also come to appreciate the fact that allowing Okorocha’s son in-law to succeed him would amount to granting the governor a third term.
Okorocha has also boasted that his son in-law would succeed him, a boast Imo people are not taking lightly.
