The desire of the Imo State Governor, Owelle Rochas Okorocha to conduct the State Local Government Area, LGA election in June this year, may not be a smooth sail for him.
Reasons are that certain challenging factors may frustrate him from using the said election to shore up the delegate list of those expected to back his anointed successor during the party primaries.
Immediately after the governor’s plot to sack the National, State, LGA and Ward Excos of the party failed during the APC national meeting in Abuja, Okorocha came back to announce the desire to hold LGA elections after seven years in office.
Suspicion was rife in the State that apparently aware he has lost ground with the elected officials of the party in the State, the decision of Okorocha to hold LGA elections was to carefully pick chairmen and councillorship candidates that would emerge victorious in the election to be organized by the Imo State Independent Electoral Commission ISIEC. The expected elected chairmen and councilors would therefore be sympathetic to Okorocha thereby swelling the number of delegates that would cue behind his choice person for governor.
But the suspected game plan of Okorocha to foist his successor on the party may not be successful if reports reaching Trumpeta are anything to be considered. The newspaper was reliably informed that other party big wigs in APC who are of Imo State extraction and do not share same vision of backing his son in-law for governor, are planning to lay ambush for him at the national level.
It was reliably gathered that the arrowhead of the kick against having Okorocha produce his successor is Senator Osita, joined by others like Senators Araraume and Ben Uwajumogu. There is no love lost between the aforementioned APC top shots and the governor in recent times.
Reports available to Trumpeta has it that for each of the names Okorocha would want as chairmen and councillorship candidates, it must get the approval and endorsement of the party at the national level where Izunaso, a national officer and organizing secretary must have an input. Araraume, a chieftain of the party and a serving Senator, alongside Uwajumogu are also said to be interested parties whose contributions must also be considered by the party before list is dished out for the election.
Further revelation has it that the Abuja based politicians will use their own faction of the LGA party chairmen to checkmate anointed candidates of the governor. It was also gathered that the national secretariat of the party has been alerted and will not allow Okorocha dominate process of nomination of the APC chairmen and councillorship candidates.
