By thompson agu, Abuja/ peter Uzoma
The dust raised by the recent Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), sensitization rally which was attended by the party’s chieftains and President Goodluck Jonathan is yet to settle as the leading party in the state especially the state Governor, Owelle Rochas Okorocha is yet to overcome the nightmare resulting from the unprecedented crowd and mass defection from the APC, APGA to PDP, as he has come under the hammer of the party chieftains for inability to hold forte in the state.
Despite his acclaimed popularity in Imo State and the signal sent to the national body of APC that the party is on ground and platform to beat in the state come 2015, Trumpeta learnt that Okorocha is at the receiving end of tantrums from APC national leaders who expressed reservations over the unexpected exit of one of the foremost ex-leaders of the party and former governor of the state, Chief Achike Udenwa with a reasonable number of his followers serving in the Okorocha government.
The ill feelings of the APC leaders came to the fore last weekend in Oyo state where the APC held a rally. At the said meeting, the leadership of the party was reported to have taken a swipe at the governor for not only allowing Udenwa who was a foundation member of the party to go but also never adopted measures to stem the tide of APC leaders leaving in droves to other parties especially the PDP. It was further gathered that what however irked the APC leadership was that a notable APC chieftain and interim secretary of the party, Col Lambert Ihenacho Rtd joined Udenwa to PDP which reduced the APC ranking in Imo as mere paper tigers existing only on newspaper pages and TV screens propagated by the Okorocha government.
To worsen Okorocha’s dilemma in the hands of the APC leaders, the issue of non APC compliant lawmakers of the Imo State House of Assembly was also raised where the party chieftains reportedly showed disgust that the Imo state governor may be unpopular in his home state for failing to influence majority of the lawmakers to join APC as it was experienced in other states like Kano, Sokoto, Adamawa and Kwara where the influence of the sitting governors shifted support to APC.
There were insinuations in APC quarters at the national level that the lack of team work and one-man style of running APC like Chris Ngige party affairs on the part of the governor may have sent away Udenwa and supporters to PDP.
Trumpeta who has been monitoring developments in Imo APC camp lately observed that poor state of the party in South East buoyed by ite utter rejection in Anambra state where it lost the governorship despite parading a good candidate and recent PDP crowd in Imo and the return of virtually all political gladiators to PDP have raised tension in Imo APC.
The new turn of events it was gathered is changing the cards for 2015 election with Okorocha’s chances of running for the Presidency or Vice slimmer as the outcome of the Oyo rally of the party was the unconfirmed agreement that the North will get the Presidential Slot while VP goes to South West where a state governor and Christian believed to be loyal to the National leader of the party Asiwaju Ahmed Tinunbu, Kayode Fayemi is tipped, leaving the South East with party Chairman, believed to be for defunct ANPP Chairman, and Ebonyi-born Ogbonnaya Onu.
According to Government House sources in Owerri, the development has sent shivers down the spines of Okorocha’s followers who may have been thrown into limbo by the signal coming from the APC national leaders. The ominous signs have resulted to uneasy calm and uncertainty which pervades the governor’s political family at the moment.
Trumpeta was reliably informed that majority of the appointees are considering abandoning Owelle Okorocha and his APC for PDP re-union any moment since the APC permutation for Presidency and VP slots will not reach Ndigbo especially Okorocha who may have joined APC for the purposes of taking Igbo chances to the centre the centre with any of the positions. What may have informed the appointees to consider deserting Okorocha is the fact with the Oyo permutations, APC will be a hard sell in Imo state and Igboland.
