Imo’s political permutations and 2015 governance reordering

Imo is an interesting state in political posturing. Each election year, the Eastern Heartland state always projects certain critical characteristics that throw up uncommon displays by politicians and reactions by political institutions. For instance, it was only in Imo that the electoral umpire, INEC, conducted Supplementary Governorship Election, on 6 May 2011, a yet unknown term in the Electoral Act of 2010. INEC had declared the earlier election as marginally inconclusive in four to six local government areas. Earlier in 2007, it was only in Imo that a ruling party (the PDP) declared it did not have a governorship flagbearer, simply because the person who allegedly emerged as governorship candidate, Ifeanyi Godwin Araraume, was not favoured by the then president on seat, and the party’s National Working Committee (NWC). It is in Imo that voters are so enlightened that they safely vote according to their convictions, despite much financial inducements. And they go to lengths to defend their votes, no matter the intimidation.

This year is arguably no exception, as the state’s politicians’ display of gerrymandering is eliciting the people’s informed reactions. An intricate web of political posturing is already afoot in the state. The three major political parties: APC, PDP and APGA, with their governorship candidates are beginning to project a dramatically confusing picture. And this would likely force the people to react accordingly. First, the ruling APC failed to hold its governorship primary on 4 December, 2014 (as held in other states), only to later organise an exercise, to ‘elect’ Governor Rochas Okorocha, the same evening he returned from his unfulfilled presidential aspiration in Lagos. The party had given the ticket to Uche Nwosu. He is the latter’s commissioner for Lands, Housing and Urban Development. Before kick-off of the gubernatorial primary, which held inside the imposing newly-built Imo International Convention Centre (IICC), Nwosu resigned his candidature, paving way for Okorocha to be ‘elected’ with over 3700 votes by the delegates.

Second, the PDP’s primary is still uncertain, as its governorship candidature is not sacrosanct. There is a tiff between Emeka Ihedioha (Deputy Speaker, House of Representatives) and Ifeanyi Araraume (former senator). Ihedioha (an Mbaise man) comes from the Owerri senatorial zone, while Araraume hails from Mbano in Okigwe zone. At the primary, Hope Uzodinma, a senator from Orlu senatorial zone allegedly swayed Orlu zone delegates’ votes to favour Ikedi Ohadim, (immediate past governor), thereby making him to nearly clinch the poll.

But most PDP stalwarts and political observers in the state believe Araraume is not a salable candidate at the election proper, and therefore would not play the party in good stead. Some others also said Ihedioha is not better either, though he has experience in his advantage; having served 12 years at the House of Representatives. The state party executive led by Nnamdi Anyaehie is said to not considering primary rerun because the aspirants had financially bled so much and cannot afford a fresh primary.

Electoral Chances:

The current fuzzy PDP picture appears to be robbing the party of its credibility in the state. Clearly, for about 4 years, the party has not been in the limelight in the state; serving rather as the main opposition, in a state it lost in 2011 through Ohakim’s mishandling of the power he had.

Now, the Okigwe senatorial zone feels evidently marginalised that they have not been allowed to produce a governorship candidate that would complete their second term. The zone insists that the PDP should allow its zoning formula run its full course in 2015, by allowing the zone complete its second four year tenure. As a result, they are fully prepared not to trade off their chance. They are said to be not willing to step down for anybody, should the occasion arise.

Already, Araraume, having gone to court to secure his primary election victory, has kicked off his governorship campaigns, pending when the court would determine the matter of who really won the primary. According to a reliable source, Araraume felt that, since the matter might be decided in his favour, it was better to begin campaigns in earnest, so as to gain continued visibility on the Imo electorate, who are considered to be highly enlightened. Araraume was said to have informed the INEC, asking it not to conclude yet on Imo governorship candidature, until the court decides the matter.

Our source reliably said that Emeka Ihedioha had a meeting with the President, Goodluck Jonathan few days ago, in which the President was reported to have favoured that justice should be done and be found to be carried out on the matter.  The stand by the President, which indicates that Ihedioha should not yet consider himself the valid PDP candidate for Imo, until the matter is conclusively settled by the Federal High Court, has ruffled a lot of feathers in Ihedioha camp.

“For now, I can say that Ararume is still ‘seriously’ in the race. While it is not yet uhuru for Ihedioha,” said the source.

On the other hand, Owerri senatorial zone is in a terrible dilemma. Apart from Ihedioha, whose PDP governorship candidature is still an issue of litigation, Emmanuel Ihenacho, the APGA flagbearer, who comes from Emekuku, the main Owerri Nchi-ise (the five villages that constitute the Owerri capital town), would likely split the votes expected from the senatorial zone. It is believed by many that typical Owerri voters would prefer an Owerri Nchi-ise candidate than voting for someone further west in Mbaise. More so, considering that it is their turn to produce a governor. Here, both candidates (though from different parties) would share votes, a situation that would hardly play either of them in good stead.

At the Orlu senatorial zone, by far the largest political zone in the state, with 12 local government areas, of Imo’s total 27 LGAs, it appears there would be a massive win for incumbent Governor Okorocha. He is banking on the projects he had executed, mainly roads, schools and free education, to help garner votes for him. But many have been saying Okorocha’s projects are of poor quality, though many in number; far more than any governor had done in the state.

Another minus for him, is the widely held view that he does not allow largesse trickle down to cronies and other hangers-on, which further tightened up the economy. Others also accuse Okorocha of only awarding contracts to persons and companies revolving around his family, the Rochas Group and his kitchen cabinet.

But this, Okorocha vehemently denied on 24 December, 2014, by saying: “I am not tight-fisted. I’m also not a greedy person; otherwise I would not have the mind to operate the Rochas Foundation schools for many years now, where I train for free, children whom I do not even know their parents, nor their places of origin.” He said, he was rather concerned with the plethora of projects to do in the state, which he said he had attacked massively since 2011.

Speaking to media correspondents on Christmas eve, Governor Okorocha fleetingly announced that he would not campaign for votes this 2015 election, as he has a surfeit of projects that speak for him. But he said his intention to seek a second term, is to groom a successor.  “I would groom three persons for the 2019 administration. That is one of my major reasons for coming back,” he stated at a breakfast meeting with media Correspondents at the Government House, Owerri, on 24 December, 2014.

But Ihedioha has played a deft political move that would cut Okorocha’s votes. He (Ihedioha) has picked his running mate (deputy governor) from Orlu zone, in the person of Chuma Nnaji, who holds his own within the Njaba, Isu, Nwangele, and parts of Nkwerre local government areas. Should he (Ihedioha) eventually emerge as PDP candidate, he would pose problems for Okorocha, as Nnaji, a former Deputy Speaker, State House of Assembly (1999 – 2007) and former commissioner for Information (2007 – 2011) would help him (Ihedioha) amass some votes from Orlu zone.

For now, while the political parties and their candidates put up their usual pseudo mouth-watering programmes, the Imo electorate are waiting with their votes in hand, to vote according to their conviction, rather than campaigns.

BEN EGUZOZIE