October 07, (THEWILL) – The preparation for the Imo State Governorship Election scheduled to take place on November 11, 2023 has reached a feverish point as all stakeholders are doing everything possible to make the exercise a successful one.
The Independent National Electoral Commission, (INEC), security agencies led by the Nigeria Police and the various candidates and political parties participating in the election are making efforts to ensure that it is successful.
According to schedule, INEC is expected to complete the distribution of Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) on October 9, 2023. The commission has said that 241, 715 PVCs are yet to be collected by voters in Kogi, Imo and Bayelsa States, with just two weeks to the October 9, 2023 deadline for the collection of the cards, ahead of the November 11 off-cycle election.
The electoral umpire said about 134,000 PVCs had not been claimed by prospective voters in Imo State. It admonished registered voters to pick up their cards without delay, warning that it will not extend the PVCs collection in the states.
Speaking on the situation in Imo State, the Resident Electoral Commissioner, Professor Sylvia Agu, disclosed that INEC resumed the issuance of PVCs for the election on September 11 and the exercise would continue till October 9.
She revealed that all non-sensitive materials had been received and would be distributed to the various local government areas of the state appropriately..
Although 17 candidates and political parties have been registered for the coming election in Imo State by INEC, political analysts believe the race is between three parties and their candidates.
The main contenders are the incumbent Governor Hope Uzodinma of the All Progressives Congress (APC); Senator Samuel Anyanwu of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Senator Athan Achonu of the Labour Party (LP).
Ahead of the election, Governor Uzodinma and Anyanwu are already battling each other, with the two of them boasting of winning the election.
Uzodinma told the PDP candidate, Samuel Anyanwu to prepare for defeat. The governor said this while reacting to Anyanwu’s comment that the three lawmakers from PDP who defected to APC were irrelevant to the party.
Anyanwu, who is a former national secretary of PDP, countered a recent publication which reported that Uzodinma would emerge victorious, insisting that he would defeat Uzodinma despite the defection of some lawmakers in the state and their supporters to APC.
The people of Imo state expect a keen contest. They are of the opinion that the election will be a litmus test for the administration of Uzodinma.
Some argue that the election is a major battle for survival for the opposition parties, especially the PDP in the state.
Uzodinma (APC)
Governor Hope Uzodinma has been fully in charge in Imo in the last three years.
He is the Chairman of the APC Governors Forum, popularly referred to as the Progressives Governors Forum. So his party, the APC is also the ruling party in the state.
APC became the ruling party during the era of a former governor of the state, Senator Rochas Okorocha, following the merger of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) with other political parties to birth the APC. The latter has continued to wax stronger in the state ever since. More politicians have joined the party, which still has PDP as its major rival at elections.
Uzodinma secured a second term ticket and there has not been any major internal crisis arising from the conduct of the APC governorship primary because he is the only aspirant from the party. He was unanimously adopted as the APC candidate.
In order to secure a second term for the governor, APC set up a 609-member national campaign council described as an assemblage of carefully selected men and women of political pedigrees, party leaders and chieftains, including state governors, ministers, lawmakers, technocrats, field canvassers and coordinators.
The campaign council was recently inaugurated at a ceremony held at the Ndubuisi Kanu Square in Owerri, the state capital.
What makes the APC campaign council formidable and unique is that it also brings together gladiators and political enemies, like former governor Rochas Okorocha, his in-law, Uche Nwosu, among others who were not on the same page with Uzodinma. Of course, their inclusion was certainly strategic and will not only make a bold statement to other contestants but also signpost A possible electoral victory for the ruling party even before the conduct of the election.
The state chapter of the APC and the candidate himself believe his first-term achievements were blissful and intimidating. To them, this will serve as a testimony to voters in the forthcoming election.
Uzodinma himself is confident of victory as he boasted that he would win by a landslide even if the election is adjusted backwards.
He has been expressing his confidence as he said there was no iota of doubt that the Imolites had solidly endorsed his second term mandate.
He said, “My great people of Imo State, just as I have always said, the movement is beyond sectional and party sentiments. It is a consolidation of the gains of my administration in the past years, having restored the state from its deplorable condition.
“I cannot walk through this alone, your mandate I hold for the first four years and your mandate I seek for the next four years. Together, we have recovered our dear state, rehabilitated our institutions and reconstructed our infrastructures.
“It is now time for us to usher in the next level of shared prosperity where the reforms and policies we have instituted shall play a vital role in our economic growth and stability for the benefit of all. We are ready for the election and even if the election is held tomorrow, I will win,” he boasted.
“For those who want to take back Imo, tell them that Hope Uzodinma has already brought our Imo state back. Now it is our time to secure the gains and move ahead.”
APC National Chairman, Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, has equally applauded Governor Uzodinma for his “revolutionary achievements” in Imo State.
ANYANWU (PDP)
Emeka Nnaemeka Anyanwu, former National Secretary of the PDP, is the candidate of the PDP. Born on June 18, 1965, he represented the Imo East Senatorial District in the Eighth Senate. He declared to run for governor in the 2019 elections but lost to Chukwuemeka in the party’s primary election. His pursuit of the proverbial Golden Fleece took him to various institutions of higher learning, including the University of Port-Harcourt, where he obtained a Master’s degree in Political Administration. He is also a graduate of the University of Cambridge, United Kingdom; Judge Business School and Harvard University’s Kennedy School in the United States.
Anyanwu was Chairman of the Ikeduru Local Government Area in Imo State between 2004 and 2007. He was also a member of the Imo State House of Assembly from 2007 to 2015.
In the Senate, he was a member of the committees on Ethics, Privileges and Public Positions and Customs, Exercise and Tariff.
The PDP, on which platform he is contesting, no doubt is one of the strongest parties in the state. The party is deeply rooted in the heart of the people, as it has governed the state for a number of years. It lost power in 2011 when Senator Rochas Okorocha emerged as the governor of Imo through the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA).
The PDP has not been the same since it became an opposition party. It has weathered storm after storm before and even after it lost the presidential election in 2015. The party has not known peace ever since. Both Anyanwu and a former governor of the state, Emeka Ihedioha, have been involved in a struggle for supremacy within the opposition party. The situation persisted until Ihedioha quietly pulled out of the governorship race and Anyanwu was unanimously adopted as the candidate of PDP for the November 11 election in Imo.
Achonu (Labour Party)
Athan Nneji Achonu, a former Senator, had earlier represented Imo North at the Federal House of Representatives. He was born on May 31, 1959 and hails from Okigwe in Imo State. He had his early education at Madonna High School Etiti in Imo State, Government College Umuahia in Abia State and then proceeded to John Cabot University, Rome, Italy.
Achonu is popularly known as the one-armed General. He is a renowned agronomist. The spectacular thing about this courageous man is the fact that he has only one arm. Many would have perceived this as a disability, but he has not allowed that to deter him in his ambition. He is an astute businessman who has over the years recorded giant achievements in the business world.
In 2015, Chief Athan Nneji Achonu contested for the Imo South Senatorial seat and was declared winner on the platform of the People’s Democratic Party.
However, in December 2015, the Appeal Court sitting in Owerri, Imo State capital overturned his election at the instance of the candidate of the Accord Party who argued that Athan’s party’s logo was not included in the ballot papers used for the 2015 National Assembly election.
The candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Benjamin Uwajumogu, was then declared the winner of the polls.
The Labour Party on which platform Achonu is contesting became popular in the state because of the entry of a former governor of Anambra State, Mr. Peter Obi into the February 25 presidential race.
It led to a massive movement of the people into the Obidient Movement. The LP became an instant home for many cutting across party lines and the beautiful bride among power brokers in the state. Curiously, the LP was mired in crisis before the conduct of party primaries. The traces of that internal problem subsisted, leading to the conduct of parallel primaries.
Since the emergence of Achonu as a candidate, the national leadership of the party and Peter Obi has affirmed his candidacy. The 27 LGA party chairmen have also affirmed the candidacy of Achonu, reassuring him of their support as the authentic LP candidate.
