BY EVELYN IKE
The All Progressive Congress, APC, may lose Imo State to the opposition, if the national leadership of the party, fails to resolve the feud between Governor Hope Uzodimma and his predecessor, Senator Rochas Okorocha.
A chieftain of the party in the State, Hon Ogbonna Akujor, told INNONEWS that the feud between Governor Uzodimma and Senator Okorocha has degenerated and could prove costly for the APC in the State during the 2023 general elections.
He said the “APC leadership in Abuja cannot pretend that all is well in the party in Imo State when two leaders of the party- Governor Uzodimma and Senator Rochas Okorocha- are fighting dirty and washing their linens in public
“The opposition in the State is enjoying the feud because it is a political capital they will hope to reap as long as the face off between Uzodimma and Okorocha continues in the APC” he said
Akujor said a divided APC in Imo State will not coast to victory in the forthcoming elections in the state, recalling that a similar rift between Okorocha, when he was governor and Uzodimma, then governorship candidate of the APC in 2019, made it possible for Hon Emeka Ihedioha of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, to win the governorship election.
He stated “The 2019 political scenario in Imo State is playing out again in 2023 and if Uzodimma and Okorocha continue to fight, the opposition will emerge victorious in the 2023/24 guber polls. This will be a major blow to our party.
“Governor Uzodimma should stop wallowing in the belief that he can single-handedly retain power for APC in Imo State. He cannot wish other stakeholders of the party away, and this is why I call on the national leadership of the party led Governor Mai Mala Buni of Yobe State to wade in and unite our party leaders in Imo State as quickly as possible” Akujor said
Governor Uzodimma and Okorocha, have been at logger heads since January 2020 Uzodimma was declared governor of Imo State by the Supreme Court.
While Okorocha was present at Uzodimma’s inauguration as governor, things fell apart between the duo afterwards.
Uzodimma claimed that Okorocha had requested the disbandment of several Panels of Inquiry instituted by the administration of Emeka Ihedioha, a request he (Uzodimma) said he turned down.
The relationship between the duo has gone from bad to worse, with Okorocha accusing Uzodimma of masterminding the arrest by the Police of his son in- law and 2019 governorship candidate of the Action Alliance, AA, Uche Nwosu.
Nwosu was arrested by the Police at St Andrews Anglican Church, Eziama Obire in Nkwerre Local government area of Imo State during an outing service for his late mother on December 26.
He was unconditionally released by the Police