*An Overview Of Candidates Jostling To Be Imo State Governor In 2019*
Imo State has the highest number of governorship candidates in the South East. 60 in all, an unprecedented and frightening number.Not even the least position in a lucrative oil firm in Nigeria has attracted such number of applicants.
As scary as the number of candidates are, it shows the resolve of some concerned Imo sons and daughters to take the State to the next level when any of them is elected as Governor.
However, the quality of candidates jostling to be the State Governor in 2019 remains a big puzzle. Research shows they come from various field of human endeavour, an indication that the State parade galaxy of credible persons who want to preside over the fate of over 5 million people.
They consist of a former Governor, past and present federal legislators, those in the academia, businessmen and women and Professionals who have attained commanding heights in various fields.
At the same time, eyebrows have been raised why the governorship contest has become an all comers affair.There are some candidates that are little known or not known at all by the electorate. They are called “helicopter candidates”, a laughable definition for those who have no structures and followership to preach their selling points to a watchful and observant electorate.
What we have in the contest is a congregation of the good, the bad and the ugly, a mixture of individuals who profess to have the solution to the myriad problems affecting the State.
At the same time, eyebrows have been raised why the governorship contest has become an all comer’s affair.There are some candidates that are little known or not known at all by the electorate. They are called “helicopter candidates”, a laughable definition for those contestants who who have no structures and followership to preach their selling points to a watchful and observant electorate
Majority of them have also come up with ideas on how to”liberate”the State.Some of their plans range from economic liberation and political reawakening of the State. Some of the “plans” are also very unrealistic, a case of building castles in the air. This has created room for mundane issues to thrive rather than ideas driven, issue based campaigns.
The core politicians, the active political players dominate the contest especially those who had bestrode the political turf for more than a decade, a case of recycled politicians whose deep pockets make them huge contenders for the plum job.
In a political system money influence the visibility of the candidates, the not so rich in the contest find it difficult to climb to the front-line of contenders thus limit their chances at the polls.
Debates to asses the capacity of candidates have been lacking in a State 90% of the electorate are literate and politically alert. There is no mechanism to assess their capacity before the elections.
The dynamics leading to the 2019 governorship election in Imo State is offering an interesting scenario. Never in the history of the State has the jostle for the Number one job been so keen.
Awareness and enlightenment by the electorate on the polls is at its peak. Campaigns have been on a low ebb which signpost financial drought on the part of some of candidates to fund effective and aggressive campaigns to win elections.
