Imo Election: No preferred candidate, APC cabals attempting to politically harm Uzodinma- Ohanaeze

Ohanaeze Ndigbo, the leading Igbo sociocultural organisation, has remained impartial in the upcoming Imo State gubernatorial election on Saturday.

Ohanaeze guaranteed that it does not have a favourite candidate for Imo State’s upcoming governorship election on Saturday.

The statement was made by Okechukwu Isiguzoro, the factional secretary-general of Ohanaeze, in response to accusations that cabals within the northern All Progressives Congress, APC, were planning a big plot to politically hang Governor Hope Uzodinma of Imo State.

Salihu Lukman, the former APC National Vice Chairman (North West), had claimed that Uzodinma had been rewarded for his efforts to fund the adoption of former Senate President Ahmad Lawan as the APC consensus Presidential candidate. Isiguzoro was responding to this claim. Uzodinma is now the Chairman of the Progressive Governors Forum.

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Isiguzoro issued the following statement: “Ohanaeze Ndigbo categorically upholds its zero neutrality stance in the Imo State gubernatorial elections.” We support an open, honest, and transparent political process that preserves democratic values, but we do not have a favourite candidate. But we cannot watch helplessly while strong factions within the APC launch a witch hunt against Governor Uzodinma in an attempt to sabotage his federal support and rig the results of the election.

We have learned that strong factions within the All Progressives Congress (APC) are plotting to exact revenge and retaliation on Governor Uzodinma. They are attempting to discredit him ahead of the upcoming Imo State governor’s race by pointing to his purported political transgressions.

According to these vengeful APC cabals, Governor Uzodinma’s purported transgressions include his cooperation with former APC National Chairman Abdullahi Adamu in conspiring to unseat President Tinubu during the presidential primaries. It is important to remember that because of their notorious acts against Tinubu during the APC primaries, Adamu and the APC National Secretary were both removed from their positions. These same forces are now unfairly using Governor Uzodinma as a scapegoat for their political grudges and asking that he be sacrificed.

“Just days before the Imo State elections, a timed press interview attributed to Salihu Lukman, the former APC National Vice Chairman (North West), strengthened our suspicions even more. During the interview, Lukman purportedly brought up the fact that Uzodinma received his reward as the Chairman of the Progressive Governors Forum following his purported financing of the endeavours to accept Ahmad Lawan, the former Senate President, as the APC’s consensus presidential candidate.