Give it to Uzodimma and Okorocha! They have much in common but with different dispositions. Both are from Orlu (Imo West) Senatorial district. They are power brokers. And even power mongers of sorts! They had been senators and governors at different times. That is perhaps, where the comparison ends. Their temperaments and attitudes to power differ. Okorocha (Owelle), is expressive, flamboyant and often tilts to the gallery. Uzodimma (Onwa Imo), on the other hand, is a bit taciturn, not given to many words but exceedingly measured, with eyes on targets.
By Emeka Alex Duru
The move by Imo state governor Hope Uzodimma, to the Appeal Court to challenge the Federal High Court judgment which nullified his nomination and declared former governor Rochas Okorocha as the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate for Imo West Senatorial District in the January 16, 2027 election, is hardly surprising to keen followers of the uncertain political developments in the state. The impasse is deep rooted and not likely to end in a hurry. It borders on personal interest, political relevance and the struggle for the soul of Imo. If you call it a clash of the titans, you may not be wrong. But is one that is bound to be energy sapping and may portend dire consequences for the APC in the senatorial district, if not the state at large.
Genesis of the confusion
The battle began to take shape in the run-up to the 2023 governorship election, when Okorocha who was serving out his term, appeared bent on installing his son in-law, Uche Nwosu as his successor. In the ensuing election, Nwosu lost to Emeka Ihedioha who ran on the ticket of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Nwosu polled a total of 190,364 votes as against a total of 273,404 votes by Ihedioha who was declared the Governor-elect by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). Ifeanyi Araraume of All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), came third and Uzodimma of the APC, a distant fourth. But following court actions and consequent judgement that many in and outside the state considered bizarre, Uzodimma was declared governor, on 14 January 2020, by the Supreme Court of Nigeria. Uzodimma and Okorocha have ever since been on war paths, with each throwing in everything within his reach.
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Between Uzodimma and Okorocha
Give it to Uzodimma and Okorocha! They have much in common but with different dispositions. Both are from Orlu (Imo West) Senatorial district. They are power brokers. And even power mongers of sorts! They had been senators and governors at different times. That is perhaps, where the comparison ends. Their temperaments and attitudes to power differ. Okorocha (Owelle), is expressive, flamboyant and often tilts to the gallery. Uzodimma (Onwa Imo), on the other hand, is a bit taciturn, not given to many words but exceedingly measured, with eyes on targets. The two are bringing their different approaches and tactics to the encounter.
External forces in the mix?
There seem to be ominous hands of external forces in the battle. Suspicions are that Uzodimma’s agenda for going to the Senate, is to contest for the Senate Presidency, a matter that is causing the present occupant of the position, Godswill Akpabio, huge stress. The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister, Nyesom Wike, is equally uncomfortable to see Uzodimma in Abuja, apparently to rub shoulders with him in the event of President Bola Tinubu getting reelected and reappointing him. Insinuations are thus, high that Okorocha could be drawing strength from Akpabio and Wike in the feud with Uzodimma. The game plan is to block Uzodimma from getting the senatorial ticket, let alone running and thinking of coming to Abuja to cause trouble. Incidentally, the Imo governor is being advertised as having the blessing of Tinubu in his aspiration. That leaves the dimensions of the encounter, unpredictable.
Imo APC backs Uzodimma
At home, expectedly though, Onwa is drawing institutional support from the APC. The other day, Imo state Publicity Secretary of the APC, Onwuasoanya FCC Jones, issued a statement that affirmed him as its candidate. “The Party wishes to state without any confusion that His Excellency Distinguished Senator Hope Uzodimma, CON, remains the candidate of our Party for Imo West Senatorial District, having won the primaries of our great Party with the overwhelming support of the majority of our Party members,” Jones declared.
No matter the weight of their endorsement, Jones and the state wing of the party, are not in the position to make the final pronouncement on the matter, since it has gone to the Appeal Court and may possibly get to the Supreme Court. That is the point at which the Real Politick of the case would matter. If Uzodimma is eventually pronounced the rightful candidate, Okorocha may not cause much upset, having frittered the initial goodwill that accompanied him in coming to office as governor in 2011. It is not even likely that his Ogboko community of Ideato South Local Government Area, would put up a protest for him, given how he mismanaged that state during his time in office.
Replay of the 2007 Obasanjo/Araraume scenario in Orlu?
If on the other hand, Okorocha is declared the winner of the primaries, there would of course, not be genuine tears for Uzodimma from the Imo West electorate who count him among the rough hands that have prevented the state from actualising its potential. The bigger fear, however is that if the governor’s camp chooses to play nasty, the Senatorial district may swing to another political party, most likely, the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), which ordinarily, in a free and fair contest, is more popular among the people. Doing so by the governor and/or his supporters, would mark a replay of the situation in Imo in the 2007 governorship poll.
The then President, Olusegun Obasanjo had favoured the erstwhile Minister of Commerce and Industry, Charles Ugwu, as the PDP candidate in the state. But the courts pronounced Araraume as the winner of the primary. In anger and prodded by Obasanjo, the PDP in the state declared that it had no candidate for the election. Tradeoffs and other under-the-table deals, led to the emergence of less-fancied Ikedi Ohakim of Progressive Peoples Alliance (PPA) as the governor. Ohakim later defected to the PDP. But his juvenile disposition to governance, made it easy for Okorocha to run over him during his reelection bid in 2011. There are whispers of such scenario playing out in Orlu (Imo West) and other parts of the state on the January 16 presidential/national assembly elections. To the average Orlu voter, that would be a welcome development.
Orlu and pains of neglect
Orlu is a paradox, even an irony. It is one zone that parades big names in Imo politics with little to show for it. The district has produced three governors of the state in the present dispensation – Achike Udenwa (1999 -2007), Rochas Okorocha (2011 -2019) and currently, Hope Uzodimma. If Uzodimma completes his second term, the zone would have been in control of Imo politics for 24 years. But aside few infrastructure development initiatives in road rehabilitation by the Uzodimma administration, Orlu has remained a glorified village.
Few government departments and offices largely manned by marginal officers confer it with township status. Aside these, the residents and indigenes are largely petty traders, artisans and subsistence farmers, who depend on their daily efforts for living. Anything that would change the template of leadership in the zone from the current characters holding it down, would be to the interest of the people.
