number of ways in the South-East, which is the ancestral base of the
Igbo. Apart from being the acclaimed heartbeat of the people famous
for their industry, hard work, doggedness and perseverance, the state
was the epicenter of the three year civil war that not only ravaged
the five (5) states of the South-East to an incredible degree. It is a
settlement where intensive political engineering and socio-economic
contrivances form the barometer to gauge the pace of survival.
However, in the past few years, the state had gravitated from what it
used to be to a political theatre of configuration where what is
traditionally known as home grown democracy has become the norm rather
than the rule.
The novelty known in local parlance as supplementary governorship
election in the political engineering of the state first occurred four
(4) year ago (2011) when the state governorship election was declared
inconclusive and a supplementary election organized on the 6th of
May to determine the eventual winner of the hotly contested poll
between the then state governor Chief Ikedi Ohakim of the Peoples
Democratic Party (PDP) and the incumbent governor Rochas Okorocha
then All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) governorship candidate.
Curiously, the highly politically conscious state is to be subjected
to another governorship supplementary election on Saturday the 25th of
this month consequent upon the inconclusive governorship election
which had governor Okorocha of the All Progressive Congress (APC) and
his arch rival Rt. Hon. Emeka Ihedioha Deputy Speaker of the House of
Representatives and Candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as
the main gladiators.
The duo had prior to the election, embarked on an aggressive
grassroots election campaign, navigating the 637 autonomous
communities and 305 electoral wards in the state, dangling and
brandishing their manifestoes to the electorate with imposing bill
boards, and posters firmly placed in strategic positions.
With the eventual conduct of the election on Saturday 11th April 2015,
and the pronouncement of inconclusive result by the Returning officer-
Prof. Oluwole Ibidapo Obeh, a new era of a repeat performance of the
2011 electoral saga has again been set on stage.
Professor Ibidapo Obeh while addressing a teaming anxious
journalists, party agents, INEC staff and numerous stakeholders
explained that he was constrained to pronounce the result of the
election inconclusive following incontrovertible electoral
dislocations, frauds and irregularities perpetrated by agents of the
various participating parties.
According to him, while elections did not take place in some polling
units, the results that emanated from some areas were spurious, fake
and fictitious and did not tally with the total number of registered
voters.
Ibidapo Obeh - a former Vice Chancellor of the University of Lagos
explained the total number of registered voters in the state and the
total of the votes cast, in addition to the total was rejected even as
he equally gave the breakdown of the performance of the political
parties that participated in the election.
A bewildered governor Okorocha who had all along maintained a studied
silence was to liberate himself from a self imposed bottled up
emotions when on Tuesday 14th of April he spoke to newsmen and bared
his mind to the people.
"To God be the glory for a day like this. I thank you all for your
show of support and solidarity to me, before during and after the
elections.
"Imo is our state and we have the responsibility to protect it
irrespective of the political party in power and we should all rise
and defend democracy which is "government of the people, by the
people, and for the people."
Assuring that the wish to the people must prevail, the governor
recalled his repeated entreaties for the Igbo to join the All
Progressive Congress (APC) so as to join the nation's political
equation and expressed gratitude to God that the victory of General
Muhammadu Buhari (retd) in the presidential election had vindicated
him. He also thanked the church, and members of the clergy for their
consistent supplications that eventually saved the nation from
plunging into a state of anarchy during the elections.
The governor however frowned at the internecine violence, and
skirmishes that visited the polls in some local government areas of
the state such as Aboh Mbaise Ahiazu Mbaise, Ezinihitte Isu and Njaba
where he said some government officials were beaten up by thugs
engaged by the opposition parties for attempting to defend democracy
and also ensure that the wish of the people prevailed.
Read more at DailyIndependent:
http://dailyindependentnig.com/2015/04/imo-supplementary-poll/
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