Indications have emerged that there are underground moves by a group of politicians in Imo state in connivance with their Abuja connections to put clogs on the path of APGA guber hopeful, Capt. Emmanuel Ihenacho not to contest the February 28th governorship election in the state.
A reliable source privy to the high wire scheming who pleaded not to be named told HOMELAND NEWS that the PDP is not comfortable with the growing popularity of Capt. Ihenacho in the state. He said that apart from Gov. Okorocha whom the party had already mapped out strategies on how to defeat him, it has become almost impossible to do so as regards the APGA hopeful who defected from PDP.
According to the source, the PDP believes that with Gov. Okorocha hoping to hold on to his Orlu zone to win the election, if Capt. Ihenacho is allowed to contest, he will sweep Owerri zone which will make it impossible for PDP to win the polls even if they clear the remaining zone of Okigwe which is the smallest of the 3 senatorial zones in the state.
“If you look at what is happening now, Owerri zone which is angling for their son to take a shot at the Douglas house sees the captain as the man that will do them proud and they are totaling rooting for him as against Gov. Okorocha whom they accused of betrayal immediately he assumed office in 2011.
On the other hand, the PDP was hoping to field the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Emeka Ihedioha who is also from Owerri zone as Capt. Ihenacho. The Captain is believed by many in the zone to have done well during his short stint as the Minister of Interior. If both emerge as candidates, Capt. Iheanacho’s goodwill and popularity is likely to dwarf whatever the deputy speaker represents in terms of votes. This, the PDP is fully aware of. The source said that the 3 major parties will cancel out each other in the Okigwe.
“My brother you can see that this has opened the doors for okorocha again” he said.
The source however hinted that the top hierarchy of the PDP, has already started mounting immense pressure on the national leadership of APGA to deny Ihenacho the party’s ticket to clear the way for the PDP’s candidate at least in Owerri zone. He went further to point out that APGA’s existence lies solely in the hands of PDP who are not ready to allot another state to them having turned a blind eye to the Anambra election which is the traditional home state of APGA stressing that the leadership of the party is aware and will be ready to sacrifice Capt. Ihenacho so as to remain in the good books of the presidency and its political ally, PDP.
Although APGA has always claimed that the party is one united family going into the 2015 polls, this revelation coupled with some internal squabbles rearing its head recently as it concerns who picks the party’s ticket between Emmanuel ihenacho and Okey Ezeh, one cannot but only wait to see what happens on the 8th of December when APGA must have concluded its primaries whether the plot will scale through or it will be abandoned by the proponents.
