Rochas Okorocha, Governor of Imo State, has said the poorly conducted ward congress of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state was meant to punish him for opposing tenure elongation for the party’s National Working Committee, NWC-led by John Oyegun.
This claim was contained in a statement signed by Okorocha’s Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Sam Onwuemeodo.
The statement reads, “Stealing of the sensitive materials meant for the ward congresses on Saturday, May 5 and thereby denying the teeming members of the party from participating, could only be adjudged the price Governor Rochas Okorocha has to pay over his stand on the elongation of tenure for the National Working Committee (NWC) members led by Chief John Oyegun, which failed.
“The position of the governor on the tenure elongation was in the overall interest of the party and the members and it was the most popular position all those who love the party had taken. But it appears some people are yet to purge themselves of the unnecessary anger that could have arisen from the botched tenure elongation stuff.
“Taking the position he took on the elongation of tenure, Governor Okorocha never targetted any person, but was keen in the progress and future of the party, which could not have been sacrificed because of the personal interests of some people.
“Otherwise, there could not have been any other reason the sensitive materials meant for the ward congresses in the state developed wings and fled, and the argument was between the National Organising Secretary of the party, who is from the state, Chief Osita Izunaso and the man originally sent as the chairman of the congress committee, Mr. Ini Okori, of who among themselves was in position of the sensitive materials.
“The good thing about the whole story is that it has shown that those making all the noise in Imo APC using Abuja as their base are afraid of going to the field for a healthy competition, thereby proving us right in our repeated claim that these people are media creations. They do not go home and have never helped anybody. They are afraid of one man, one vote policy.
“Interestingly, members of Imo APC are determined to pursue the case of the stolen sensitive materials to a logical conclusion so that Nigerians would further know the debilitating characters of some of these so called political leaders.”
