A member of the House of Representatives (names withheld) in Imo State elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP is under pressure from a notable governorship aspirant to drop his governorship ambition in 2019.
The Reps member from Owerri zone has been widely speculated to be nursing a governorship ambition in 2019 on the basis that he is the only untainted political figure within the fold of the PDP in the zone.
This newspaper was informed at the weekend that loyalists of a former governorship candidate of the party in the state is piling pressure on the Reps member to shun his 2019 guber bid and rather vie for Owerri zone senatorial seat. The governorship candidate is said to be interested in returning to the guber contest in 2019 having already erected a formidable political structure to oil his ambition and has the backing of key leaders of the party.
The former guber candidate is also said to be uncomfortable with the activities of the serving senator alleging that he is very close to the Senate President who is an APC member thus could possibly defect to the APC if the legal fireworks at the Supreme Court fails to favour the Ahmed Makarfi faction.
It was unknown as at press time if the Reps member who chairs a strategic committee of the House of Reps has agreed to the persuasions of his ally but a source said “ nothing is confirmed until the Supreme Court decide the fate of the two contending factions in the PDP at the national level”
The Reps member, according to sources, has become a rallying point for some PDP stakeholders and leaders who see him as a formidable force with the pedigree to take on the APC in his constituency and beyond.
He was said to have played the role of a stabilizing factor in the party both at the national and state levels which earned him a pat on the back from some top members of the PDP especially within the Makarfi group. Several disillusioned and disenchanted PDP members have come to see him as their comforter in the face of the current travails plaguing the party.
It remains uncertain if he will consent to forgo his widely speculated governorship ambition and aspire for the senatorial seat where he is likey to face stiff opposition considering the effective representation and human face the incumbent senator representing Owerri zone has shown since he was elected.
A source said “ A lot is ongoing within the party but everything is in the cooler. We do not know what the decision of the Supreme Court will be in the Makarfi/Sherrif matter. Therefore, it is early to make these speculations because nothing is clear for now”