Can Labour Upstage APC in Imo Gubernatorial Race?

Amby Uneze examines the political undercurrents in Imo state as primaries of the parties to elect their governorship candidates gather momentum ahead of the November 11, 2023 gubernatorial poll in the state.

t is no longer news that the 2023 general elections for the presidential, governorship, national assembly and States house of assembly ended with the supplementary election held last weekend. The rest of the battle has been shifted to the judiciary for possible adjudication of grey issues.

However, about three states where the governorship election was not held on March 18, 2023 would have their  own gubernatorial poll on November 11, 2023. The states are Bayelsa, Kogi and Imo.

In Imo State, the contention seems to be more serious considering the level of political awareness among the citizens. Again, the state appears to be the cynosure of all eyes in the country because indications are rife that it would follow the trend of the neighbouring State, Abia, in going the way of the Labour Party.

Quite frankly, if going by the way Imo people voted for the Labour party during the presidential and national assembly elections, it would be a work over for the party in the November, 2023 governorship poll.

But going by the events of March 18, State house of assembly election where the State government was accused of conniving with INEC officials and the security agents, to deny the electorate their choice of electing their preferred candidates, extra vigilance has to be placed on the State by the monitoring authorities.

Gladly, the three political parties, All Progressives Congress (APC), Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Labour Party (LP) have just concluded their respective governorship primaries.

While the APC and PDP returned the incumbent governor Hope Uzodimma and Senator Samuel Anyanwu (Samdaddy) unopposed, the Labour Party had to slug it out with over 15 aspirants.

Uzodimma did not have anybody to contend with in his party, not because he is exceptionally wonderful in governance but because his style of politics has made it impossible for him to tolerate opposition.

In PDP, the choice of Samuel Anyanwu was somehow accidental in the sense that his closest rival, Hon EmekaIhedioha, decided to bow out from the race. Prior to Ihedioha’s exit from the governorship race, he remained the nightmare for both Uzodimma and Anyanwu.

The Labour Party has been a formidable platform to wrestle power from the incumbent governor. Unfortunately, the party is currently experiencing some form of internal crises in the State. With too many aspirants, the party has been engulfed with divisions which had snowballed into court actions by different interests.

Curiously, the governorship primaries held last Saturday, April 15, witnessed pararel camps each holding her own primary. On one hand, the camp supervised by the Caretaker committee led FBI Onyekwulisi returned Sir Basil Maduka as the governorship candidate while another camp led by Prof. UkachukwuAwuzie returned Senator AthanAchonu as her own candidate.

According to FBI Onyekwulisi’s counsel, Greg Anyanwu, the National Working Committee of the party on March 6, 2023 dissolved the former State Working Committee (SWC) led by Ambrose Onyekwere having completed her required tenure and appointed another SWC led by Onyekwulisi for initial three months in the first instance with the mandate to conduct the Imo State LP Governorship Primary election, to elect a Governorship Candidate for the November 11th 2023  Governorship poll

Anyanwu said, “among the mandate given to the Onyekwulisi’s committee were: to carry out  the revalidation of members of LP;  to conduct the Adhoc Delegates election to elect the Delegates for the Governorship Primary Election; to conduct the Imo State LP Governorship Primary election; to elect a Governorship Candidate for the November 11, 2023  Governorship Election; and to organise and conduct Ward, LGA and State Congresses to elect Party Officers from Ward to State.

“On  March 7, 2023 the newly inaugurated  State Working Committee arrived Imo State and went straight to the State Party Secretariat to take over and on March 8, the Ambrose Onyekwere-led State Working  Committee that was dissolved handed over the properties of Labour Party in their possession to the FBI Onyekwulisi-led State Working Committee.

“Surprisingly, on March 10, 2023, two persons who are not  members of the dissolved executive of LP filed a suit in an Owerri High Court, followed same with an ex-parte application seeking for a restraining Order,  but in a twist and contrary to their  permutations the Court in its wisdom ordered for the maintenance of ‘status quo’.

“It is pertinent to go a little bit further, without sounding immodest, there are two known types of ‘Status quo’ in the legal parlance first, ‘Status quo ante bellum’ which means the state of things before the outbreak of the hostility that gave rise to litigation, and second ‘Status quo” which means the state of things before embarking on the litigation,” he stated.

Anyanwu went further to state that in the instant case “even a layman knows that the state of things before the Suit was filed in Court is that the FBI Onyekwulisi-led State Working Committee of Labour Party appointed on March 6, 2023 and inaugurated same day, took over on March 7, 2023 and was handed over on March 8, 2023, that  is the ‘,Status quo’ before the litigation started on the March 10, 2023.

Therefore the State Working Committee in Imo State is known to Law which every reasonable person will be safely  protected before the Law, is the current State Working Committee led by Comrade F.B.I Onyekwulisi. Any act or omission done by it is lawful, legitimate and a good act or omission.

“This goes to the Primary election of March 15, 2023 to elect Labour Party Governorship Candidate, one conducted by the State Working Committee in exercise of the powers and assignments given to its members and clearly spelt out which powers and assignments they were sent to execute were not withdrawn wherein Basil Maduka emerged as winner scoring 198 votes and the one conducted by a Steering Committee led by Awuzieproduced  SenatorAttanAchonu emerging after scoring 135 votes, which of the two Candidates can be said to be legal in the present circumstance?”

Governor Hope Uzodimma, who last Friday polled 63, 618 votes from 64,667 accredited delegates drawn from 305 Electoral Wards and 27 Local Government Areas in Imo State to sweep the All Progressives Congress direct primaries held in Owerri that produced him as the Party’s candidate for the November 11, 2023 governorship election, dedicated his victory to God Almighty for making the day possible and for touching the hearts of APC leaders and its members to unanimously choose him as their Governorship candidate for  second tenure.

He thanked the delegates from the 305 wards in the State and the 27 LGAs and all Party members who came out to vote and for following the laid down regulations.    

Governor Uzodimma who was excited over the victory and trust by his party promised not to betray the confidence reposed in him.

He expressed gratitude to the party members and reminded all to see Imo State as their own, noting that “we have no other State we can call our own.”

He told his party faithful that “democracy is the best form of government and we cherish democracy because it is the only Government that is for the people that we can call our own.”

Uzodimma recalled how he prayed to God before coming to contest and emerging as Governor of Imo State, saying “from that date till now, God has never disappointed me.”

He expressed confidence in what God can do, noting that “on assumption of office I met some challenges but God in his infinite mercy handled the challenges in his own way.”

Recall that in 2015, the trio of Hope Uzodimma (Imo West), Samuel Anyanwu (Imo East) and AthanAchonu (Imo North) were elected to represent the State in the Senate, but Achonu could not serve his tenure to the end as court removed him.

In the present circumstances, Imo State Labour Party is likely to settle their matter in court.

Until then, the coast is clear for Uzodimma and Anyanwu, that is the APC and PDP.