7th April, 2015
Cyriacus Izuekwe
After appearing at a campaign rally in Lagos on Tuesday, Nigeria’s president-elect, General Muhammadu Buhari is expected to storm Imo State, southeast Nigeria, to drum support for candidates of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in the 11 April governorship and State House of Assembly elections.
The incumbent governor, Owelle Rochas Okorocha, is seeking a second term under the platform of APC.
At today’s grand event some stalwarts of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in the state are also expected to defect to APC with their teeming supporters.
P.M.NEWS gathered that among those to decamp to APC are the former governor of Imo State, Chief Ikedi Ohakim, as well as governorship aspirants in PDP.
The decampees alleged that they were joining APC because they were badly treated in PDP and they felt their political future lies in APC. The decampees have declared support for Okorocha and advised their members to support him.
Sources also said crisis rocked PDP in the state following the failure of Owerri Zone of the party to produce a consensus candidate formidable enough to wrest power from Okorocha on Saturday.
Reports have it that Chief Ikedi Ohakim, Senator Ifeanyi Araraume, Chief Tony Chukwu and Senator Hope Uzodinma had visited Okorocha at the state Government House pledging to support his second term ambition.
Observers saw the visit as a prelude to their formal defection to the APC. Already, stalwarts of the PDP, particularly the party’s governorship aspirants such as Chief Jerry Chukwueke and Barrister Bethel Nzimako, have defected to the APC.
Other decampees from the PDP to the APC are the leader of Owerri Zone Political Leaders Forum, OZOPOLF, Chief Charles Amadi, his secretary, Barr Kingsley Ononuju. OZOPOLF is a pressure group canvassing for Imo Governor from Owerri zone in 2015.
Also, directors of Senator Hope Uzodinma Campaign Organisation, Barr. Rex Anunobi, Chief Samfo Nwankwo and Patrick Ekeji have reportedly defected from the PDP.