By Daniel Kanu
The crisis that has engulfed the Imo State chapter of the All Progressives Congress ( APC ) this political season, took an ugly dimension on Thursday when the party expelled its own governorship candidate, Senator Hope Uzodinma, over alleged anti-party activities.
The state chairman of the party, Hon Daniel Nwafor, who announced the expulsion during a media briefing at the party’s secretariat in Owerri, said that the action became necessary to save the party from disintegration.
According to him, it had been established that the APC governorship candidate was sponsoring opposition candidates against the party’s candidates in the state, adding that such action was capable of ruining the chances of the APC in the elections.
“Senator Hope has been sponsoring the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) senatorial candidate, Senator Osita Izunaso, as against the APC senatorial candidate in Imo West, Governor Rochas Okorocha. He has also been running parallel Exco in his Omuma Ward and issuing party cards without recourse to party Exco”, Nwafor alleges.
Uzodinma has been having a running battle with the state governor, Rochas Okorocha, since he emerged the governorship candidate of the party.
Okorocha preferred his son-in-law, Uche Nwosu, to fly the party’s flag in the March 2 governorship poll but Uzodinma with the help of some Abuja politicians including the party’s national Chairman, Adams Oshiomhole, snatched the ticket from him.
Nwosu has since defected to Action Alliance (AA) to realise his ambition. Though Okorocha is contesting for a senatorial seat on the platform of the APC, he is still supporting his son-in-law against his party’s candidate, Uzodinma.