As Imo Gov’s Gets Party’s Dep National Chair Position Presidential Ambition Shaky.
The soul of the Imo State Chapter of All Progressive Congress (APC) appears to have fallen in the firm grip of Imo State Governor, Owelle Rochas Okorocha, thus strangulating the intention of Ex Governor Achike Udenwa to spearhead the yet to be registered party in the state.
While Okorocha’s camp is basking on the euphoria that it has succeeded in getting his political ally, Senator Annie Okonkwo to clinch the Deputy National Chairman (South-East) position in the APC, Udenwa’s camp is sulking over it’s inability to get the nod of ACN bigwigs to be the interim national chairman of the APC.
Trumpeta had learnt Udenwa allegedly made underground moves to be the interim APC national chair in the newly constituted interim national leadership until he lost out to Bisi Akande who eventually got the nod of ACN bigwigs such as Bola Tinubu to lead the party.
With Okorocha enjoying the upper hand as it affects Imo APC and in the South-East, there are also feelers that Udenwa will loose out in the political alchemy of Imo APC if reports that state Governors in APC controlled states will take 50% slots of the State Party Executives.
The development has further strained the relationship between the two seasoned politicians who reportedly experienced cold war during the birth of the party as their henchmen went different ways during the formative stages of APC.
However, it is not yet uhuru for Okorocha whose presidential ambition in the APC remains shaky and uncertain.
His flaming passion to become President of Nigeria on the party’s platform might have hit the rocks if the recent sharing of party offices in the yet to be registered All Progressive Congress (APC) will serve as a determinant factor in shaping or influencing who emerges the presidential candidate of the party.
Trumpeta learnt that Okorocha’s APGA had anticipated juicy positions in the Interim National Management Committee of the APC as a basis to strengthen his ambition for the presidential race in 2015.
While major opposition political parties that make up the APC, such as the ACN, ANPP and CPC secured choicest positions such as the National Chairman, National Secretary and National Treasurer, Okorocha’s APGA were rewarded with obscure posts such as Deputy Financial Secretary, Deputy National Woman Leader, one vice-Chairman slot and one ex-Officio member’s position.
The only significant post it got is Deputy National Chairman (South-East). Pundits therefore interpret the allocation of meaningless slots to APGA in the merger to Okorocha’s poor political bargaining skill in addition to the fact that he ran into the merger just to seek for political refuge, and not to run for the presidency in the first place as he widely trumpets.
Informed sources also revealed to Trumpeta that Okorocha’s slot in the APC interim leadership was predicated on the basis that his party, APGA did not fully take part in the merger since APGA as a political party did not surrender its certificate of registration to INEC unlike the ANPP, ACN and CPC which held national conventions and surrendered their respective political parties certificates as a basis and condition for registration.
Based on these permutations, it is unlikely how the Imo Governor will clinch the APC’s presidential ticket which may likely go to the CPC considering the fact that the ACN and ANPP have secured the most powerful positions in the party such as the National Chairman and National Secretary slots. The APC is likely no to zone its presidential ticket to the North.
However, the allocation of party positions in the party is temporary as such positions would be re-jigged to reflect and accommodate ethnic & religious diversity of the nation when the APC holds its national convention to elect its executives latest in December this year.
