Even though the House of Assembly Primaries of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP in Imo state has come and gone, as the winners click glasses of champagne, the losers are counting their loses.
While the primaries went clean and fair in most of the twenty seven LGAs in Imo State, the “rigging” could only be blamed on the Delegate election which produced the voters.
But for the primaries proper it was unlike a PDP affair as the exercise went freely without rancour in all the LGAs, which proved Book Makers wrong, because there were apprehensions that the exercise could not come and go without Guns booming and casualties recorded.
In Ngor Okpala LGA, the exercise could not last more than one hour, as all the Aspirants saw how it went, without a whimper from any of them. Mr Obinna Egu won.
The story was the same in every of the LGAs. However, what was witnessed was upsets in places ordinarily perceived to be political catchment areas of some big politicians in the state.
Another development was from aggrieved Aspirants who lost the election after they allegedly paid huge sums of money to the Delegates.
Trumpeta learnt that from party officials to Delegates, nobody is left out in this business of extorting money from the desperate Aspirants.
This Newspaper learnt that Aspirants who lost the primaries have now formed Pressure Groups in the various LGAs, demanding refunds from Delegates who could not vote for them after collecting sums ranging from one hundred thousand naira (N 100,000).
Trumpeta was told that some of the Delegates have started returning the funds they collected from the Aspirants.
This Newspaper was told that Delegates from Ahiazu and Aboh Mbaise, Ngor Okpala, Obowo, Orlu etc had returned money yesterday to some of the red-eyed Aspirants who are ready to vent their spleens on the “Treacherous Delegates” whom they now see as enemies to their victories.
A particular Delegate who asked that Bible be brought for him to swear that he voted for a particular candidate was shocked when six Aspirants whom he collected money from confronted him at the same time in a hotel room in Owerri on Sunday.
The question was; since you collected money from six Aspirants and one of them pooled zero, which then did you vote for? The Delegate narrowly escaped lynching but promised to return all the monies by 1pm today.
An LGA chairman from one of the LGAs in Owerri zone is said to have gone into hiding since Saturday evening as one of the Aspirants is search for him with armed thugs. The said party Boss has deserted his home at New Owerri as he was alleged to have collected Two Million Naira N2m from one of the Aspirants, promising that he would be “adopted”. Unfortunately, the Aspirant garnered three votes out of ten contestants.
Sources said that with the latest action exhibited by the Assembly Aspirants, the subsequent elections will task the Delegates, as they will be careful in collecting money randomly from Aspirants without voting.
Meanwhile, from the Assembly primary election results, it seems the former governor of Imo State, Chief Ikedi Ohakim is having an upper hand, as his “Boys” coasted home to victory across the three zones of Imo state.
However, the Deputy Speaker, Rt Hon Emeka Ihedioha suffered shock as his “Men” lost in areas perceived to be Ihedioha’s “Territory”.
For instance, one of his Campaign Directors, Mr Kelvin Agbaegbu lost in Ahiazu Mbaise, to Mr Ken Agbim, while in Aboh Mbaise, Ihedioha’s home LGA, Hon Mike Iheanetu, Special Adviser to Prof Viola Onwuliri, Ohakim’s Deputy in the 2011 election, trounced Ihedioha’s “candidate”.
Senator Hope Uzodinma is holding tight to Orlu zone, even though Ohakim’s “Boy” Peter Okorie defeated Chief Elvis Agukwe’s prodege in Olru State constituency
