Even as President Goodluck Jonathan is billed to visit Owerri, the capital of Imo State on Friday, February 21, his political party, the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP Imo State Chapter is riddled with in-fighting among leaders in party who are enmeshed over who produces the next state chairman of PDP.
Already, Chief Nnamdi Anyaehie, from Nkwerre Local Government area, has been tentatively short-listed to man the office, while the fight to confirm or elect an authentic chairman drags.
On Sunday, a meeting held at the residence of Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu at Orji, Owerri North LGA to settle the issue of the authentic chairman of Imo PDP ended abruptly without the leaders arriving at compromise candidate or candidates.
In attendance include, Senator Hope Uzodimma, Rt Hon Emeka Ihedioha, Dr Ikedi Ohakim, Senator Ifeanyi Araraume, Hon Bethel Amadi, Prof Viola Onwuliri and Dr Mrs Kema Chikwe with others.
Trumpeta learnt that Chief Iwuanyanwu called the meeting, as member of Board of Trustees (BOT) of the PDP, statesman and Elder of the party.
The meeting became necessary, Trumpeta learnt, to resolve the issue of who succeeds Eze Duruiheoma as the next chairman of PDP in Imo State, so that the person could be announced and the presented to President Jonathan at Dan Anyiam stadium, Owerri on Friday, during presidential visit to Imo.
This Newspaper learnt that while Senator Hope Uzodimma roots for Nnamdi Anyaehie, most of the leaders wanted a compromise chairman who will not be wholly produced by any particular person.
Some of the leaders called for neutral candidates, which led to the agreement of Hon Jeff Ojinika, Barr COC Akolisa and Chief Boni Ebili to pick the forms but which Senator Uzodimma rejected pointing out that it was unfortunate that the issue of Anyaehie was raised again after he had been endorsed earlier and only waiting for his name to be submitted to Abuja for approval by the National Working Committee, NWC.
A former senator and a high ranking officer from Imo State were said not to be comfortable with Anyaehie, not him as person, but because of the fellow projecting him, as they fear he may use Anyaehie to grab the PDP Guber ticket in the state. When tempo rose high, Chief Iwuanyan intervened and cooled prayed nerves, and the meeting continued. The majority at the meeting agreed that the issue of Imo PDP Chairmanship must be resolved before the president visits Imo, and that it should be declared vacant, while Anyaehie and others interested in the position are assumed as vying for the position, while the race is declared open.
Senator Hope Uzdinma refused, adding that nature abhors a vacuum, while insisting that Anyaehie should remain the Acting Chairman, while the quest to declare him substantive, or appoint a new authentic Chairman rages.
On this note, the party bigwigs closed the meeting at about 1.30 am yesterday morning.
However, Barr Victor Muruakor, former chairman of Owerri West LGA, and Acting Chairman of Federal Fiscal Commission, Abuja, caused an uproar at the burial ceremony of his late mother Lady Regina Muruako at Ihiagwa Owerri West LGA yesterday when he introduced Chief Nnamdi Anyaehie as the Imo PDP chairman.
Meanwhile, a Group which calls itself Orlu Political Leaders Forum has kicked against the choice of Chief Anyaehie, describing his emergence as an imposition on Imo PDP by a single person, which it said could tear Imo PDP apart before 2015 elections.
A member of the Forum told Trumpeta “The Forum received with utter dismay the news that the name of somebody had been secretly forwarded to the party at the national level as the only candidate for the position in question. This is a legal absurdity and also a political miscalculation. That move, assuming it is true, is in total breach of several provisions of the party’s constitution”.
Meanwhile, the candidature of Anyaehie is seen in many PDP quarters as a step in the right direction, and well accepted, as they believe that submitting the exercise balloting may cause crises in the PDP gears up for the 2015election in the state.
