The last time I checked, endorsement of
aspirants of various political positions by their allies was obviously the
order of the day in not just Imo State, the Eastern Heartland but equally at
the federal level.
Since the commencement of this year, it has
been endorsement galore that many have begun to wonder why such trending would
abruptly dominate the polity even when campaign era was yet to be declared open
by the electoral umpire. Such an intriguing scenario had kept several concerned
Imolites pondering over what the future of the state would entail if her
subjects continue to dwell in such weird political style or culture.
Here
in Imo, it has been taking place exceptionally between the governorship
aspirants in the state, particularly those aspiring under the auspices of the
ruling party – the All Progressives Congress (APC). No week that passed, one
wouldn’t witness a certain group of persons or politicos calling on the state’s
Executive Governor, Chief Rochas Okorocha at the Douglas House just to notify
the number one citizen that they have unanimously endorsed his Chief of Staff,
Chief Uche Nwosu to vie for the state’s number one seat.
It had continued that way unabated to the
extent that the allies of the other aspirants in the APC, such as the state’s
Deputy Governor Prince Eze Madumere among others, thought it wise to borrow a
leaf from the Chief Nwosu’s protégés. In view of this, the endorsement scenario
has eventually been adopted by virtually every political aspirant in the state,
thereby ending up overheating the innocent polity.
As if that of the non-political office
holders was not enough, recently the Imo lawmakers equally publicly declared
that they have thrown their weight behind Chief Nwosu towards ensuring that the
said officer emerged the next governor of the state come 2019. In his speech on
behalf of his colleagues, the Speaker of the Imo House of Assembly, Chief Acho
Ihim unequivocally disclosed that twenty out of the overall twenty-seven
legislators in the assembly were behind the endorsement.
Chief Ihim, who was earlier rumoured to
be an aspirant of the number one post, stated that Chief Nwosu had proven
beyond doubts to be the only suitable individual that could succeed Gov.
Okorocha after expiration of the governor’s tenure. He said, among all the
gubernatorial aspirants in the state, he alongside his likes looked inwards and
understood that no other person could do better than Chief Nwosu if given the
chance to govern the Eastern Heartland in the forthcoming interregnum.
One may wonder why, of all people, our
lawmakers could decide to descend so low. I personally can’t desist from
thinking the reason the individuals that constitute the state’s revered
legislature could consider endorsing a politician for a certain position. Does
it imply that they were left with no other consignment to deliberate on, or
that they no longer considered their legislative business as important?
As far as I’m concerned, it was an
abuse of the legislature for the legislators to even think of endorsing an
aspirant let alone making such intent public. Even if they are really –
individually or collectively – in support of any person’s aspiration, such an
interest never called for public declaration, especially when realized that
they are respectively representing the interest of a certain set of people, and
not their individual selves as they presume.
The
actual point here is that, playing politics in the state’s Hallowed Chambers
was simply an abuse of power, to assert the least; read my lips. Their
respective constituents delegated them to represent their constituencies in the
legislature as regards governance. Their statutory consignments are very
critical and sensitive compared to those of other existing arms of government.
Hence, it’s mind-boggling to observe people whom we look up to when it calls
for moving motions and passing bills indulging in political brouhahas.
It becomes more saddening and baffling when
realized that the ‘aspirant’ in question was, and is still, yet to declare his
interest to vie for the state’s governorship position during the forthcoming
general elections. To the best of my knowledge, Chief Nwosu has never, even in
my dreams, disclosed to the people of his political ward in Nkwerre LGA that he
is interested to contest for the Imo number one seat let alone doing so before
Imolites in their numbers.
Then, one would wonder why some
persons would be endorsing an aspiration that is yet unborn; one may wonder if
there was an aspiration that ever sought for their endorsement in the first
place. This simply signifies that the politicos involved in the lingering
endorsement saga are just building mountains out of nothing. It suffices to
assert that their pronouncements so far had been out of context.
Nevertheless, I enjoin Imolites not to be
carried away by the so-called endorsements. They must remain focused and
acknowledge that power invariably lies in their hands when it calls for
electing anyone that would become the next governor of the state. And, they
must also note that such power cannot be exercised by them if they failed to
possess their Permanent Voter’s Card (PVC).
On the other hand, I urge the
Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) domiciled in the state to use
its immunity to control the political trending occurring herein. They can’t
claim ignorance of the several happenings that are bedevilling the
wholesomeness of the state at large.
Hence, I need not remind the electoral
officials that they are expected to sit up towards doing the needful. And, the
time to act is now. Think about it!
Comrade Fred Nwaozor
Executive Director, Docfred Resource Hub (DRH) - Owerri
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Twitter: @mediambassador
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