Despite flagging off campaigns to run for governor of Imo state, the ambition of Mr Okey Eze is witnessing serious obstacles as serious opposition from the camp of the acclaimed ticket holder, Dr Casmir Anyanwu is raising great posers about which platform he will use.
The Committee to elect Casimir Anyanwu (COTECA), a campaign support group for the winner of the Imo State Social Democratic Party (SDP) primary election, has raised a question to Okey Ezeh who is the standard bearer of the party to indicate which party’s ticket that he is flagging off.
COTECA posed the question in a reaction to Ezeh’s flag-off campaign which took place Monday at the Dan Anyiam Stadium.
The group had stated that Ezeh is in court with Araraume and the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) challenging the declaration of Araraume as the APGA’s candidate. Now he ran to the SDP to hijack the mandate given to Anyanwu by Imo people with the connivance of corrupt party officials.
According to COTECA, Okey Ezeh was never a member of the SDP and never ran for the Primary election.
Meanwhile, the former Progress Bank Managing, who is challenging his substitution after winning the party’s guber ticket in the primary election has kicked against the flag off campaign describing it as a violation of the court order, and ‘further insult on my person after Okey Ezeh has been sending several emissaries to me to yield the ticket’’.
‘The party itself has violated a court injunction by sending their Organizing Secretary to kick-off a campaign where there is a court injunction stopping the party and Okey Eze from this rascality’’, he volunteered further.
Trumpeta learnt that while the flag-off campaign was under way another group of Imo SDP party leaders and their supporters in all the local government were holding a meeting at the country home of Dr. Anyanwu during which period they raised a Communiqué retreating their support to Anyanwu and denouncing what one of them described as a charade at the Dan Anyiam Stadium.
It would be recalled that after the Imo SDP primary election which threw up Dr. Casimir Anyanwu, the name of Okey Ezeh was listed by INEC as the party’s candidate following which the former instituted a court action in an Owerri Federal High Court asking the court to stop the Party, INEC and Okey Ezeh from taking away his mandate.
Meanwhile, at the last hearing of the matter, the High Court had fined the Party and Okey Ezeh the sum of N500, 000 each to be paid to Anyanwu for failure to file their statement of defence while the matter was adjourned to 15th January. In addition the Court had ordered that the status quo should be maintained.
At the kick off, on hand to deliver the flag to the gubernatorial candidate Okey Ezeh is the National Organizing Secretary of the Party (NOS). Rt. Hon Emeka Atuma who described the standard bearer as more competent to ride the horse to Douglas House.
Tongues had wagged that the absence of the national chairman, the National Secretary, the National Woman leader, National Youth Leader, Deputy Chairman South, Deputy Chairman North, National Vice Chairman South East, and other national party officials must not be unconnected with the party crisis and the court order affecting the party’s governorship candidature in the state.
State Chairman of the Party, Ogbuefi Valentine Amafili, on the absence of the party bigwigs, explained that they were engaged in other activities. ‘You know we don’t have so much time on our hands’, he said.
When asked if the Court had vacated its order that the status quo should remain following the action instituted by Dr Casimir Anyanwu challenging his substitution by the party he declared that the matter is in the court and would come up on the 15th.
On whether they are supposed to kick-off campaign against the order which indicated that status quo should be maintained he fired back at the reporter asking what the status quo is. ‘If INEC has released the list and published his name as their candidate for SDP, then you go to court, the status quo is it not that he is the candidate’’, he continued.
On whether that is his interpretation of the status quo, he declared again, ‘I am not the Judge, in fact I am not supposed to talk about this, my answer is no comment, you only asked me a question, my answer is no comment, the matter is subjudice”.
