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By Declan Emelumba
Living in denial, refusing to face reality or even clinging to faded past glory best describes the debilitating and chronic disease that has afflicted the Imo State chapter of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP). And, because this disease is terminal, members of PDP or what remains of it are still deceiving themselves, refusing to acknowledge and submit to the well-oiled machinery of the All Progressives Congress (APC), led by the indomitable and visionary GOVERNOR of Imo State, Senator Hope Uzodimma. Time after time, PDP suffers one crushing defeat in the hands of APC, yet the party does not want to acknowledge the supremacy of its more experienced and pragmatic rival. It probably prefers to be dragged out of the ring either dead or in a coma.
Because of this stubborn refusal, which now borders on class suicide, Imo PDP has continued to rely on opaque and vicious propaganda with the intent to deceive members of the public, especially their paymasters outside the state. The leadership of the party in Imo State has continued to delude itself on a phantom reinvention, conveniently oblivious of the presence of APC, which is circling as a ferocious wind and an undertaker to finally squeeze the umbrella and bury it for good.
What is a political party without a strong leadership? What is a political party without a committed followership? And what is a political party without winning elections? Since the emergence of Uzodimma as the governor of Imo State onthe platform of the APC, the PDP in the state has been melting away like ice cream left in the scorching sun. It was not magic, just the reality of life. Uzodimma and the majority of those now in APC were the pillars that held PDP in the state. With their exodus to APC, PDP naturally began its descent to disintegration. The current status of PDP in the state as the whipping boy of APC was expected.
But what was not expected was this macabre dance, which PDP seems to display whenever they lose an election in the state. The howling, blackmail and vituperations exhibited by the PDP when they lose an election confirm that members of the party are yet to know when the rain started beating them. Since Uzodimma came in as governor, three by-elections have now been held in the state. Remarkably, the candidates of APC won all the three contests, beginning with the Okigwe North Federal Constituency, the Okigwe Senatorial seat and the Ngor Okpala State Constituency. Typically, PDP has not done any introspection to know why it lost all those elections. Hopefully, free tutorial as the one enumerated hereunder can help juggle their memories.
First, Uzodimma became the new face of APC by running a transparent, accountable and inclusive government, which was an obvious departure from the exclusionist and nepotistic one before him. He took governance seriously and acknowledged that he needed the collective involvement of Imo people to help him crystallize his vision for the state. The quarterly stakeholders’ forum, which he instituted, offers Imo people the opportunity to contribute, participate and make direct inputs into governance. Because the people no longer feel left out, they have wholeheartedly embraced the administration and, by extension, the APC.
Secondly, Uzodimma’s road revolution, which cuts across the 27 local government areas of the state, has caught the attention of the people of the state. Apart the from road infrastructure, Uzodimma has done exceedingly well in all sectors of the economy. The revitalization of moribund industries, including Adapalm Nigeria Limited, the Acharaubo Emekuku Integrated Farm Estate, the Otamiri Waterworks and others have resonated with the people. The rural folks who receive free medical care through the mobile clinics want to identify with the party of Hope Uzodimma. The over 10,000 youths who have been trained and empowered by the administration of Uzodimma are prepared to die with his political party. Across the state, people now increasingly believe in APC because of the success recorded by Uzodimma in governance. Is it not instructive that even some pillars of PDP in the state, like Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, are openly identifying with the Uzodimma-led APC government?
Come to think of it, the who is who in Imo State have since joined APC because of Uzodimma. This includes almost all former governors and deputy governors of the state, who have now proudly identified with the APC. The same applies to serving and former members of the National Assembly.
The gravitation towards APC has been growing since Uzodimma signed up for APC and showed in practical terms the benefits of being in the national grid of politics, instead of being at the fringes in the name of opposition.
Conversely, who do we have as the face of PDP, which has been experiencing a rapid devaluation since it lost power in the state in 2020? People that really matter in the politics of Imo State have since deserted PDP and found accommodation in APC. Apart from a handful of the original founders, most of those in Imo PDP now are soldiers of fortune who are hustling from the crumbs from the master’s table. In other words, they lack electoral value and cannot deliver their units, much less their wards, in any election.
To make matters worse, the remnants of goodwill, which PDP had, was squandered during the seven months of illegal occupation of Government House by Rt. Hon. Emeka Ihedioha. A man known in local parlance as a fox, Ihedioha was more concerned with personal aggrandizement than selfless and patriotic service to the people, unlike Uzodimma. That was why he spent close to N200 million acquiring one official vehicle for himself. That was why he could not complete one project in seven months. That was also why he was busy expanding and consolidating his personal estates, while using the rains as a cheap excuse for doing nothing about the horrible state of roads in the state. That was why the white elephant stadia projects he awarded in the 27 local government areas of the state never took off. And that was why he was paying a consultant N500m monthly to prepare workers’ payroll, a job civil servants are meant to do.
Because Imo people are not suffering amnesia, they remember that PDP is synonymous with ‘share-the-money.’ They also remember that PDP never consulted them in taking decisions on issues that affect their welfare. They also remember that PDP never resuscitated any of the legacy projects of former Governor Sam Mbakwe the way Uzodinma’s APC has done.
They also remember that the dualization of the Okigwe-Owerri road and the Owerri – Orlu road being done by Uzodinma ought to have been executed by PDP for the almost 17 years it held sway. So, what has the party got to offer Imo people when they have seen the light as against the darkness of the past?
If you describe the current chairman of PDP in Imo State, Chief Charles Ugwu, as a failed politician you may be guilty of being generously charitable. It is difficult to identify and point at a single project that he attracted to Imo State when he served as a Minister for two years. His acrimonious and vindictive style of politics is also a baggage for PDP in the state. After he lost the ANPP governorship primaries in 2002 and congratulated the winner, Chief Emeka Nwajiuba, he turned around to deny the exercise because of considerations that were not pure. He did the same thing against Ifeanyi Araraume in 2007. Remarkably, all those he stabbed at the back were his brothers from Okigwe zone. Is that the man that can remotely lead a party to victory? Certainly not, when you are up against a formidable opponent like the APC in Imo State.
If he cannot do it, is it the serial electoral manipulator and clannish politician called Emeka Ihedioha that can do it? The people of Ngor Okpala recently told him in unmistakable terms that he can no longer manipulate and cheat them, hence the rejection of the PDP candidate during the recently concluded bye-election in the area. Emeka Ihedioha had reached an agreement with Ngor – Okpala to allow him for a single term of four years in the House of Representatives, but he purloined the turn of Ngor Okpala and spent 12 years in the House. Yet Ngor Okpala had no single project to show for the period they had to endure his selfish interest of monopolization of the seat. Who treats others with such impunity? His name is Emeka Ihedioha. If in doubt, ask Senator Sam Anyanwu what the same man did to him during the governorship primaries of PDP before the 2019 elections. He rigged Sam Daddy out and in the process chased away many dedicated PDP members. It is the same abracadabra that he brought to the main election, hoping to be GOVERNOR from votes from only three local government areas! That is where the illusion of PDP winning the Imo governorship started. The truth is that both Sam Daddy and his followers will never trust Ihedioha . Not again. Once bitten, twice shy. And if the two cannot work together, who is left in PDP?
This factual analysis has become germane ahead of the 2024 governorship election in the state amid the phantom claim by the PDP that Imo State is its stronghold. PDP did not win the 2019 election in the state, so the claim of having been robbed does not arise. The so – called popularity of PDP in Imo State is just the imagination of the purveyors of that tale! The three bye – elections held in the state since the assumption of Hope Uzodinma as governor have more than settled the supremacy battle between APC and PDP. The outcomes of these elections are better reflections of the true state of affairs in the state than whatever claims made by these self-serving politicians in PDP. That explains why PDP had to resort to importing people like Nyesom Wike of Rivers State to come to Owerri to campaign for them during elections. It is an acknowledgement that APC has overwhelmed them and that they lack the capacity to turn the table around. Let them just admit defeat and stop living in denial. Imo is an APC state and so it shall remain in 2024 and beyond.
• Emelumba is the Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Imo State
