Aftermath of Registration: Who Inherits Imo APGA? With the registration of the All Progressives Congress by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), concerns have sprung up on who inherits the soul of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) in Imo State. APGA, it will be recalled catapulted Imo State Governor, Owelle Rochas Okorocha to Government House, Owerri in the 2011 elections defeating the PDP. Okorocha has since sought and found political refuge in the All Progressives Congress (APC), a merger of key opposition parties made up of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) and the Congress For Progressive Change (CPC). Okorocha dragged a faction of APGA loyal to him to the merger. Based on this development, there are speculations that Senator Chris Anyanwu and Chief Martin Agbaso will now inherit the carcass of APGA in Imo State Senator Anyanwu is the only APGA senator in the senate. She has been reported to be interested in the governorship race of the State in 2015, a statement which she has not aligned herself to. At a summit organized by political stakeholders in Imo State recently, Anyanwu backed the clamour for the return of the Imo governorship seat to Owerri zone, a zone which she represents at the Senate. Despite her frosty political relationship with Okorocha whom she ably supported in the 2011 elections, she still commands vast political followership in the party in Imo. On December 26th, 2011, her convoy clashed with that with Okorocha, a situation which deepened her sour relationship with the governor. Both remain political cat and mouse. It is uncertain if the senator will heed the clamour to revive APGA in the State which has been polarised into three factions. However, with the reconciliation of the Anambra State Governor Peter Obi and the party’s National Chairman, Chief Victor Umeh, the unity of the party is expected to translate to huge political capital for the distinguished senator and pale into insignificance fears that the party will not be the same again. Chief Martin Agbaso is also in contention to take over the party in Imo. Agbaso stirred the party since its inception many years ago in the State. This earned him a reward thereafter despite three attempts to become Imo State Governor under the platform of APGA which ended in futility. Agbaso backed Rochas Okorocha for the Imo Governorship seat in 2011 when the latter vied for the contest. He claims he struck a deal with Rochas that the latter will handover power to him in 2015. This was in addition to the nomination of his younger brother, Jude as deputy governor. Things went awry for Agbaso when Jude was fingered in a N458 million naira contract scam which led to his impeachment by the Imo State House of Assembly. Agbaso denied the allegations, saying it was trump up charges and a deliberate ploy by Okorocha to strip his brother of the deputy governorship position and renege on his agreement to handover power to him in 2015. Despite the setback, Agbaso has surged on and has formed formidable alliance with the APGA National Chairman, Chief Victor Umeh. He is also believed to be interested in the governorship race in 2015. While he and Senator Anyanwu remain committed to the ideals of the party in the State, having suffered political persecution in the hands of Okorocha. it is unclear if clash of ambitions will not derail the much needed push to reinvent the APGA phenomenon in the State which swept the PDP off the political landscape of Imo in 2011. It was speculated in the media that he has been handed over the party leadership in the State after his frosty relationship with Okorocha.
Posted on: Thu, 01 Aug 2013 20:13:53 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015