Rochas Okorocha, outgoing governor of Imo State, says the evil that led to his withdrawal from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has befallen him in the All Progressive Congress (APC).
Mr Okorocha, a former member of the PDP but presently belong to the APC, who made the comments while addressing reporters in Abuja, said the diabolical incident has occurred 10 times more than he expected it.
The governor, whose preferred candidate lost the state governorship election, was announced as the winner of Imo West senatorial election but the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has refused issuing him his certificate of return.
The electoral body said the declaration that produced the outgoing governor as the winner was made under duress. But Okorocha is accusing Adams Oshiomhole, the national chairman of the APC, of being behind his woes.
Messrs Okorocha and Oshiomhole are politically at war with themselves. POLITICS TIMES recalled the battle started when the ruling party denied Uche Nwosu whom the governor wanted, its governorship ticket. The APC went for Hope Uzodimma, as its candidate for the guber race.
Mr Nwosu, who ran on the platform of the Action Alliance (AA), alongside Mr Uzodimma, lost the race to Emeka Ihedioha, candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
While fingering Oshiomhole as the arrowhead of the plot to deny him joining his colleagues at the red chamber, Okorocha accused INEC for not granting him fair hearing.
“The evil I feared in the PDP has befallen me ten times in the APC,” the governor said on Wednesday.
“Last week, I wrote a letter to INEC for the first time myself, informing INEC of their wrongdoings and illegal actions taken by INEC to withhold my certificate on mere allegations of duress which was never founded, neither was there any committee set up to investigate the matter,” Okorocha said.
“So, INEC on their own believe the reports of their returning officer without investigating the authenticity of the allegation. So, there was no issue of fair hearing at all.
“What is important here is that INEC does not have the power to withhold the certificate of return having declared the result. I believe the INEC chairman is up to a game with the chairman of the APC who is being used to frustrate my coming to the senate and this is politically motivated.
“I’ve given enough time that INEC might correct itself and do the needful and issue me my certificate of return but to no avail,” he lamented.
The iberiberism lexiconnoisseur said the action of INEC is doing more harm than good to the pedigree of the electoral body, saying the action is dangerous for “our democracy because, as it stands right now, the image of INEC is bastardised.
“What it means is that tomorrow somebody can withhold the certificate of anybody because you don’t like his face because you feel that he wants to politically challenge you in future,” he added.
