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Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja
Governor Rochas Okorocha of Imo State has raised the alarm that the All Progressives Congress (APC) might suffer a major setback in 2023 if nothing is done about the leadership style of its National Chairman, Adams Oshiomhole.
Fielding questions from State House Correspondents after a closed door meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari at the Aso Rock Villa, Abuja, yesterday, Okorocha blamed the former Edo State governor for the lacklustre outing of the ruling party in the last elections in several states, particularly in the South East.
The Imo governor, who said he was in the Villa to invite Buhari to commission several federal and state funded projects in Imo State before end of May this year, said Oshiomhole’s style, if not checked, could reduce the APC to a regional party.
Asked why his party was not making any case for him to be given certificate of return, Okorocha said: “I won’t be surprised because, of course, you know the imposition we suffered in the party. When you say the party, you talk about the leadership of that party; it’s not the party. I don’t have problem with the National Working Committee. I only have problem with the chairman of that party, who took it upon himself to do the wrong thing against me for just no cause and to fight a battle that he can never win. He is the one that is behind all these impositions. Can you imagine, as I speak, the APC in Imo State did not win a seat? APC does not have a councilor in Imo State; it does not even have a House member. But the AA (Action Alliance) has eight seats in the Imo State House of Assembly, two Federal Houses and they have one senator about to come to the senate.
“This is why internal democracy must be respected. Let the will of the people prevail rather than this imposition. It is unfortunate what has happened in Imo State. At least, I have been vindicated for the fact that I said the APC candidate they are imposing on Imo people is not popular, he came from the opposition. For the first time, APC doesn’t have a seat in Imo State. When I was the leader of that party, when I was running the affairs of that party, we won 24 seats in the House of Assembly, we had a governor, federal house members but today, APC does not have because of imposition.”
The Imo Governor had endorsed and campaigned for his son-in-law, the governorship candidate of the Action Alliance (AA), Uche Nwosu, who was denied an APC ticket, which further fueled his face-off with Oshiomhole.
Okorocha who claimed that Oshiomhole was fond of imposing his will on the party, noted that the action has led to APC not having any elected political office holder in Imo State after the last recent general elections.
“My fear now is that APC might have a serious setback in 2023 because the Oshiomhole-led executive is actually turning APC into a regional minority party, which shouldn’t be. Right now, in the whole of South East, we don’t have an APC governor. So if there is any discussion in Nigeria now within the APC governors and President Muhammadu Buhari, there would be nobody from the South East. This is what the APC chairman has done in the South East.
But in a swift reaction, Oshiomhole said the claim was an indication that Okorocha was “still suffering from his own Iberiberism after he lost woefully in his effort to force his son in-law on Imo people.”
The national chairman, in a statement by his media aide, went on to accuse Okorocha of colluding with the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
“He should be ashamed that he connived with the PDP to rig the Imo guber election in favour of the PDP just because his son-in-law lost the governorship ticket of the APC. Okorocha’s greed has destroyed his political career and he may not resurrect from it.
“Our candidate in Imo, Senator Hope Uzodinma is very popular and not a political light weight like Okorocha who could not even deliver himself in the senatorial election not to talk of delivering his son-in-law’s governorship ambition. Okorocha used the resources of the state to work against the APC yet he lost woefully.
“Whether Okorocha likes it or not, the APC is in a safe hands under Oshiomhole and Oshiomhole will continue to pursue policies that will unite and strenghten the party which will ensure that the collective decision of the party and not that of Okorocha is supreme.
“APC will continue to soar higher beyond 2023, it is only Okorocha’s political career that will be destroyed before 2023. Okorocha should hide his head in shame.”
Okorocha described as unconstitutional, the decision of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to withhold his certificate of return as an elected senator, as unconstitutional.
On the leadership of the ninth National Assembly, he said: “I have been watching carefully what is happening in the National Assembly. It’s a very interesting drama. But all I ask of them is that they should consider the South East in their calculations. This nation will not be properly balanced if South East is not carried along properly in the affairs of the National Assembly.”
