A common adage says “a person whose house is on fire does not hunt for rodents” but the opposite was the case yesterday when security challenges marred the Imo guber debate organised by the Justice Development and Peace Commission (JDPC) of the Catholic Archdiocese of Owerri at the Obiri Odenigbo Pavilion, as the Chief Security Officer of the state and a candidate for the debate, Rochas Okorocha, engaged in road show while the security of the state was under threat at the Maria Assumpta Cathedral Owerri.
Imo people were disappointed with the action of the governor for not making any efforts as the Chief Security Officer and a supposed participant at the debate to bring peace and calm at the venue of the programme to ensure that the event was executed as scheduled, having benefited from the same event four years ago to become the state governor. Instead, he and his wife showed no interest and respect or regard for the event and went on road show with school children that are not up to voting age while the Catholic clergy, widows and church properties at the venue were manhandled and destroyed by suspected supporters of his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the moderator marshalled out the rules of the game which they felt was not comfortable to their principal.
Feelers gathered by our reporters disclosed that the road show was in celebration of the botched debate which Governor Okorocha had earlier boasted will not be executed, as he suspected that it will be against his second term interest alleging that the organisers already have a particular candidate and known Catholic in mind.
However, the Chairman of the JDPC, Rev Father Casmir Nzeh, who spoke to media men, submitted that the stakeholders will meet to brainstorm on whether the marred debate will be rescheduled or not.
The Priest asserted that the turn out of events is very fortunate not unfortunate as Imolites can equally and easily draw their conclusion on the candidate and party to vote for, from the incident considering the level of intolerance and desperation exhibited by the candidates and their party supporters.
