A “Fourth Force” is likely to take over the reins of governance of Imo State in 2019. A group, the Imo Awareness Coalition, IAC had early this year made this revelation.
Appraising its position six months after it made that prediction, Co- coordinator of the Coalition, Emmanuel Iwueze told this newspaper that nothing much has changed from its prediction except little political dynamics that will contribute less to the outcome of the 2019 election in Imo State.
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Reminded that political undercurrents in the governing All Progressive Congress, APC may alter its political calculations, Iwueze said the APC have continuously lost its electoral appeal among Imolites because of “crude policies that have not assuaged the feelings and yearnings of the people of the State”
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Iwueze maintained that its prediction was anchored on a survey it had conducted across the 27 local governments in the State which provided “ revealing answers to the huge socio economic burden of the people and the perception of a greater majority of Imolites ahead of the 2019 governorship election”
The report of the group which was made available to this newspaper in January this year had stated :
“A Fourth Force may be embraced by the people in the 2019 elections. The Force will not be a new political party rather it will be one of the already registered political parties that will serve as a platform for the congregation of new set of politicians…..”
The IAC had said then that the three parties- APC, PDP and APGA in Imo state have been taken over by vested political interests that will lead to either implosion, intra party squabbles
“The three major political parties in Imo State are already over charged. There may be a spill over of these unfortunate situation before the election” it stated
“The succession plan of the governor to foist his son in law on the people and the veiled attempt by other political forces such as the Coalition not to allow the Governor to produce a successor are cumulative factors eroding cohesion in the party” it stated apparently referring to the political situation in Imo State APC.
“The PDP is revamped and looks organized. But failure to select a a peoples candidate, a candidate devoid of blemish at its Primaries may erode its chances at the polls.
“APGA has become a political refuge for aggrieved politicians who have left the PDP and the APC. It has become an all comers affair. Both for the serious aspirants and those who want to make the number of governorship aspirants. This makes it a recipe for chaos depending on how it manage its Primaries” he said
The Coalition further predicted that only a fourth force that will serve as a rallying point for the aggrieved will make a difference in the next political dispensation in the state.
“The Fourth force in Imo has nothing to do with the one proposed by former President Olusegun Obasanjo. The Fourth Force may evolve through a process- a process that may metamorphose into a rallying point for the people” the group stated
“ We are not promoting any political party rather we envisage a mass movement of persons into a new party with a great force and led by a strong character, a candidate that will rev up bottled anger of a greater percentage of Imolites, who will capture their anxieties of the moment and assuage their past frustrations” the IAC stated
