2023 Curious Political Calculations in Imo

Amby Uneze

captures the mood of some politicians and their parties in Imo state after the primaries where candidates for various positions were elected.

As it is a norm in every preceding year to general elections in Nigeria, political parties and politicians usually juggle for space, recognition and acceptability. That is how they try to convince the electorate to support their party and candidates. During that period, however, a lot of political gimmicks and gerrymandering became the order of the day for those political gladiators.

In Imo State, the scenario is the same especially after the primaries of the various political parties. Expectedly though, there are skirmishes here and there as some politicians who lost primaries of their parties make effort to either remain relevant in that party or find another political party to actualize his or her political intentions. Of course, this leads to acrimony, rebellion, bad blood and crisis rocking the parties.

The two major political parties in the State, the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), no doubt are feeling the heat presently as some of their members that felt aggrieved after the primaries are either fighting back or joining other political parties. In line with a popular Bob Marley song ‘when one door closes, another one opens’ philosophy, the Labour Party (LP) has become the beautiful bride of some of those politicians.

Again, what seems to be slowing down serious political activities in the state at the moment is linked to the fact that the governorship election for Imo has changed from the normal May 29 swearing in of a new governor. This is due to the fact that the Supreme Court ruling of January 14, 2020 that handed the 2019 governorship ticket to Senator Hope Uzodimma who came fourth in that election and sacked Hon. Emeka Ihedioha that legitimately won the election distorted the governorship timetable for the State.

Since the governorship election date is different from that of the State House of Assembly and National Assembly, it then makes it cumbersome for politicians to align and make correct permutations as to where the governorship arrow points to. It looks herculean, though, political pundits also believe that with the high level of insecurity which is allegedly pointed towards the direction of the incumbent governor, Hope Uzodimma, to have poorly managed the situation, the issue of his second term may be an herculean task.

The allure and sentiments usually associated with candidates of political parties have no doubt dimmed as few months to the kick off of the campaigns only a few candidates of the parties can comfortably beat their chests of being 100 percent sure of running the elections. Candidates such as Mr. Alex Mbata of APC (Imo East senatorial zone) and Senator Francis Ezenwa Onyewuchi who lost in PDP primaries for Imo East and now of the Labour Party are not sure of being the flag bearers of their parties.

While Mbata who was allegedly selected by the governor is currently facing an allegation of indictment in a recently released whitepaper over the roles he played in a contract scam while he was the pro-chancellor and chairman of Senate of the Imo State University (IMSU), Owerri; his LP counterpart, Onyewuchi, is also accused of not being qualified to contest for senate seat having participated in the PDP primaries in line with the 2022 amended Electoral Act.

Most of the aggrieved aspirants of the APC for various positions are working round the clock to spill the beans as they accused the party of not conducting free and fair primaries as all the candidates of the party were allegedly selected solely by the governor. This allegation has not been denied by the State government and party officials.

Again, the APC and PDP are currently facing an internal crisis that bothers on several issues. As the APC is facing leadership questions between the camp of the former governor, Senator Rochas Okorocha and incumbent governor, Senator Uzodimma, its main opposition counterpart, the PDP, is also hit by group interests. Hon Ihedioha’s group and Senator Samuel Anyanwu’s group are fighting for supremacy. However, the incumbent leadership of the PDP in the State is loyal to Ihedioha as he is assumed by majority of Imo citizens as the “incoming governor”. People have not forgotten the manner by which he was removed by the Supreme Court and they want to use the 2023 elections to compensate him for suffering such a setback.

In APC, the Supreme Court’s recent judgment declared Daniel Nwafor as the authentic State chairman of the party until July 31, 2022 has been desvribed by Macdonald Ebere’s led state exco as fake. So APC is facing a major leadership challenge in the State.

A major turn-around that may usher in a positive change in the State in 2023 might be the emergence of Mr. Basil Maduka who expressed interest to represent Imo East senatorial district on the platform of PDP. Though he did not get the ticket, being a strong party man who plays politics without bitterness did gather all party leaders and stakeholders in the nine local governments of Owerri zone recently in appreciation for their support to the party so far and dished out mouth-watering packages to them. He did not stop there; he has gone ahead to build support groups through his benevolence and humanitarian services to the people.

For the first time in the history of politics in Nigeria, an aspirant who lost primaries would fete party members and stakeholders to thank them for peaceful primaries. Ordinarily, he would have gone to court to complain of irregularities and rigging, but he decided to make peace for the process to go on. This Maduka’s remarkable action no doubt brings a new narrative to politics without bitterness.

Maduka, a technocrat cum business mogul, with interest in oil and gas used the occasion to reiterate his commitment to give quality serve to the people, by serving God and humanity with all that God has blessed him with. The gentle-speaking politician, doled out N1 million each to support each of the nine PDP House of Assembly candidates in the 2023 general elections. He equally gave out another N9 million to the LGA officers in the zone and statutory officers in the 105 Wards.

Another move that would shape the 2023 general elections in the State is the recent defection of Chief Martin Agbaso to the Labour Party. Agbaso is seen as a veritable political force that has the capacity to shape the election. With the Peter Obi presidential ticket on the platform of the LP as well as the crusade that has garnered a national appeal especially among the youth and celebrities, Agbaso’s image in the party is like a new beginning to reshape the country’s political antecedent.

Agbaso, a one-time governorship candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), remains a force to be reckoned with in Imo politics. He is presently the Chairman of the Unite Nigeria Group (UNG) and he decided to donate his campaign office in Owerri to the party to boost the spread of Peter Obi’s political structure.

Speaking during a highly structured ceremony signifying his entry into the Labour Party and the donation of his campaign office, Agbaso said, “this is for the purpose of executing the upcoming election campaigns. The movement is real. This is an important time in our history. I am very delighted to know that the Distinguished Senator Victor Umeh is now in the Labour Party and supporting the candidacy of His Excellency Mr. Peter Obi for the 2023 Presidential Election.”

On Ihedioha’s chances of getting his party’s ticket for the 2024 governorship in the State, there are strong indications that those opposing his come-back may not succeed afterall. Looking at the games that played out during the primaries of the party, pundits observe that Anyanwu, who incidentally is the National Secretary of the party, is working round the clock to stop Ihedioha becoming the party’s governorship flag bearer. But the strong arsenal of Ihedioha remains unstoppable.

Generally, the Imo political permutation as it regards national assembly and governorship tickets cannot be predicted at the moment. However, as the coast gets clearer in days and weeks to come, one can comfortably state where and what would happen.