Despite majority of the party members heading to Abuja for the all important National Congress to elect national officers of the party, all is not well in the Imo state chapter of the party.
Except there are last minute face mending changes, the Imo state arm of the party will likely witness mass decampment to rival parties because of the lists of delegates from the various LGAs to the national convention which were said to have been doctored and manipulated to favour some interests in the government.
Another disturbing story is the seeming rivalry between the governor and a national officer of the party Senator Osita Izunaso concerning delegate lists of people to represent Orlu zone interest in the Abuja convention.
Our reporter who monitored the development reported that the party office where delegates were handed items including wrappers for the exercise, almost turned to a warfront when supposed national delegates who were elected during the last LGA congress were short-changed and fresh persons handpicked by key government officials.
Worse hit is Oguta LGA where majority of the stakeholders have concluded arrangements to dump APC for PDP following the concentration of national delegate list in one particular community after the same community benefited from several LGA offices in the last exercise.
Trumpeta observed that majority of Oguta APC members are on their way out of the party to PDP following the alleged hijacking of the prominent offices by the secretary to the state government, Prof Anthony Anwukah. It was observed that apart from gaining the ticket to be one of the national officers, Prof Anwukah who is from Egbuoma was accused of also being behind the names of Denton Ogbuchi and Ada Okorie both from Egbuoma as the occupants of the remaining two slots for national delegate positions.
Oguta APC members spotted at the party office were threatening fire and brimstone over the skewing of APC party offices to the country home of the SSG adding that the name of one Mrs Nnenna Okafor was allegedly substituted with that of another woman from Egbuoma community.
The aggrieved who are forwarding a petition to the state and national officers over the alleged manipulation said that they have concluded arrangements to abandon APC in Oguta for Prof Anwukah and join PDP.
“Our APC party should not be a one man show in Oguta. How come Egbuoma in Egwe/Egbuoma ward has the state woman leader in the person of Ohanuba Theresa and the party secretary in the LGA, Linus Anunuba? Now they have pocketed the three national delegates for the entire Oguta APC.
During the LGA congress we agreed on harmonization and names adopted, but another woman has been chosen and given the necessary items because she is from Egbuoma, the community of the SSG” said a source.
Neighbouring Oru West LGA is also in turmoil following the changes observed in the final list of delegates made available to the party in the state from APC national office.
Trumpeta observed that the Deputy Speaker, Hon Donatus Ozoemena lost out in the game as most of his associates could not make the final list. A disturbed Ozoemena purported to the eyeing federal house was said to have given way to be interest of the national organizing secretary, Sen Izunaso.
The action is said to have pitched Izunaso against Okoroch.
It would be recalled that during the state harmonization exercise, Izunaso walked out. But the former national Assembly member said to be eyeing the Senate again in 2015 was suspected to have strengthened the lists at the national office before returning it to the state.
