Imo APC Ward Chairmen Urge Tinubu To Restore Uzodimma As Senatorial Candidate 

The 137 ward chairmen of the All Progressives Congress in Imo West senatorial district have called on President Bola Tinubu and the national working committee of the party to intervene and stop the external forces backing former Governor, Rochas Okorocha and restore Hope Uzodimma as the valid candidate for Imo West senatorial district election.

This is even as they described the judgment of the Federal High Court as a political robbery clothed in legal robes., saying Abuja politicians were trying to take control of southeast politics.

Imo State chairman of the All Progressives Congress, Chief Austin Onyedebelu made the disclosure during a press conference in Owerri on Thursday evening.

He alongside ward chairmen drawn from Imo West senatorial district consisting of Orlu, Orsu, Oru East, Oru West, Ohaji/Egbema, Oguta, Ideato North, Ideato South, Isu, Njaba, Nkwerre and Nwangele local government areas condemned the verdict of Justice Obiora Egwuatu of the Federal High Court in Abuja that pronounced former Governor, Rochas Okorocha as the valid candidate for the Imo West senatorial district election for APC.

The judge had ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC to remove the name of Governor Hope Uzodimma immediately and replace it with Okorocha.

The ward chairmen called on President Tinubu and the APC national leadership to bring their legal and political experiences to bear and ensure the reversal at the court of Appeal.

According to Onyedebelu, the judgment was an attempt by a few persons to take political control of the State hiding behind Okorocha.

They argued that it was impossible for Okorocha who polled only 1,098 votes during the primaries to emerge the candidate ahead of Uzodimma who got 230,464 votes.

Further, Onyedebelu said the purported results brandished by Okorocha was forged adding that INEC had already notified the Police about it, and queried how the court used the same questionable document to name the former Governor the winner.

Onyedebelu said “INEC handed the police a forged result sheet bearing Okorocha’s name, and a court has now handed that same man our ticket. We say without apology that this forgery did not spring from Okorocha’s head alone: it bears the distinct fingerprints of his Abuja patrons, well known to us, who need him on the ballot by hook or crook, not to represent the people of Imo West, but to serve the political and unpatriotic interests of his paymasters”.

According to him, Abuja politicians were trying to take control of the southeast political space during the next political season all in a bid to stop Uzodimma.

“The leadership of the South-East belongs to the people of the Southeast to decide, and the imperial dream of wannabe oligarchs, of appointing governors for Igboland the way a landlord assigns rooms will not be tolerated in Imo State.

“There had been numerous attempts aimed at blighting the light of the Southeast in the coming dispensation. This includes attempts to clandestinely change the Senate rules. Having failed at that, they resorted to a scandalous attempt to deceive and manipulate the holy temples of justice, all in a desperate bid to halt the emergence of His Excellency Distinguished Senator Hope Uzodimma, CON, as a Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. They prefer to install Okorocha, a clown and the one man in Imo West who threatens nobody’s ambition in the Senate”, he said.

They maintained that they never voted Okorocha adding that he doesn’t have political weight even as they described Okorocha as the heartbeat of APC in the southeast.

Onyedebelu said “because there is a consequence for any action, we need to advise that this erroneous judicial decision which might be directly aimed at erasing the influence and strength of the party not just in Imo West but the South East will not be left unchallenged. As we know, His Excellency, Senator Hope Uzodimma, is the heartbeat of APC in Igboland. Those who want to supplant him with a weak candidate don’t mean well for the APC.

“While we hope and pray that this sinister action of enemies of Ndigbo, will be quashed by the Appeal Court, we fear the backlash of this obnoxious attempt to deny the people of the South East their rightful political choices and a strong voice in the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, which we are sure is most exemplified in Senator Hope Uzodimma”.

While they condemned the judgment, they expressed hopes that the court of Appeal will restore Uzodimma as the valid candidate of the party saying “while we hope and pray that this sinister action of enemies of Ndigbo, will be quashed by the Appeal Court, we fear the backlash of this obnoxious attempt to deny the people of the South East their rightful political choices and a strong voice in the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, which we are sure is most exemplified in His Excellency Distinguished Senator Hope Uzodimma, CON.

“We are confident that our great Party, the APC, will not trade its hard-fought in-road and unprecedented potential victory in the Southeast for the unholy ambitions of petty power-hungry triumvirate that are actuated by malice and hatred against our people. Our Party will not deliberately want to lose in the southeast just to massage the ego of over ambitious people seeking to foist an unpopular candidate on the people of Orlu zone. Okorocha’s boastful reference to external higher forces outside the judiciary helping him to secure the controversial court order is not lost on us.This is where we plead with the President and leader of our party to intervene.

“As grassroots mobilizers of the Party, we wish to call on the National Working Committee of our great Party and all critical leaders of our Party not to look the other way, but to bring their legal and political experiences into bear in order to ensure the reversal of this travesty”, the statement read.

The court judgment may have thrown the party into some sort of confusion.

First was notice of a press briefing at the Imo State Government House Owerri by 10am.

By 11:30am after 90 minutes of waiting, Journalists were informed that the venue had been moved to the Government House Annex in Orlu.

Just as Journalists settled into the buses to move, a counter information came. An unnamed boss called someone to direct the trip to be cancelled.

Shortly afterwards, Journalists were informed that the briefing was to be held by 2pm at the APC party secretariat.
By 3:15pm, at the APC State party headquarters along Okigwe Road, Journalists waited for the State Chairman, Chief Austin Onyedebelu to address the media.

The briefing held at about 5pm. However, there was a high influx of party stalwarts at the party secretariat. First to show allegiance to the party hierarchy and probably to register support for Uzodimma following the judgment.