The Action Alliance had not won even a councillorship seat anywhere in the country since its formation sometime in 2005 till recently when His Excellency Ugwumba Uche Nwosu picked the Party up from the dustbins and injected some life into it. The Party which was battling for survival and would have most likely been deregistered after the 2019 elections, sprung to life became the third most popular Party in Nigeria after the APC and the PDP. The story of how this sudden turnaround in fortunes is directly tied to the massive popularity of its governorship candidate in Imo State, His Excellency Ugwumba Uche Nwosu, and the national appeal of its founder, and funder, Distinguished Senator Owelle Rochas Okorocha.
The Party is believed to have won the governorship election in Imo State, won the Imo North Senatorial District election, won four federal house of Representatives seats and about 21 House of Assembly seats, in Imo State. However, the Independent National Electoral Commission is accused of having connived with the People’s Democratic Party to rob the AA of its well earned mandates in several Constituencies, but the most heartbreaking of these electoral heists is the governorship election which is believed to have been won by His Excellency, Ugwumba Uche Nwosu, with a comfortable margin. However, some INEC officials connived with the PDP and other undemocratic elements to steal this mandate.
As it is that every crime leaves a trace, the perpetrators of this mindless electoral heist left not just traces but clear landmarks that shouting ‘frausd’. It is therefore easy to understand why the beneficiary of that fraud could be desperate to distract attention from a deep investigation into the fraud, but is rather focusing attention and most likely, huge public resources into trying to raid the camp of his biggest nightmare in this election, and possibly discourage as many foot soldiers of the Youth Revolution as possible.
Ihedioha’s lawyers are said to have advised him that his loss at the tribunal is unavoidable, considering the well spelt out arguments and the watertight evidences adduced by the AA governorship candidate, His Excellency Ugwumba Uche Nwosu. It is believed that if the tribunal makes the mistake of refusing to declare Ugwumba Uche Nwosu as the winner of that governorship election, then, a run-off is imminent.
Governor Ihedioha would understandably be ready to break the banks to ensure that neither of the two options happens. As most Nigerian politicians would do, Ihedioha is possibly walking around with bags of money looking for a way to buy himself more time in power.
The current crisis rocking the AA in Imo State and even nationally shows glaringly the hands of an Ihedioha in it. While some people have openly accused the Imo governor of doling out billions from the over 55 billion Naira he inherited from his predecessor, to ensure that the Action Alliance is put in disarray, it is understandable that a man who has spent all his post-university days playing politics and flirting with power, would do anything, including closing down the accounts of the State or even shedding blood, to ensure that his first experience of holding executive powers is not cut short. However, he might not be able to help himself on this.
Ihedioha’s strategists are said to have advised that investing on defending their illegal declaration as governor would amount to a waste of time and resources, as no panel of judges with the most basic knowledge of the Nigerian Constitution would uphold such illegality. Having failed at attempts to query the nomination of His Excellency Ugwumba Uche Nwosu as the AA governorship candidates, through the sponsorship of some moles like Leonard Okolienta and Myke Ikoku, the troubled thieves of the umbrella Confraternity have seemingly resorted to buying off buyable commodities within the AA leadership to cast a legal doubt on the eligibility of His Excellency Ugwumba Uche Nwosu to stand as a candidate for governorship, given some Constitutional grounds.
First, they got the deputy governorship candidate of the Party to defect from the AA and joined the PDP. In their very poor analysis; since the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria demands that for a candidate to be eligible to stand election as governor, he must have a deputy governor nominee. The Ihedioha camp believes that they can bring up the argument that Ugwumba Uche Nwosu is not qualified ab initio to stand the election, hence, lacks the locus to challenge the outcome of the election. I will not teach them the angle to that law and argument they failed to factor in. It is better to leave them chasing their own shadows.
Ihedioha, a master political coupist, likes keeping many doors open at the same time. He must have imagined that should the argument of not been eligible on the basis of not having validly nominated a deputy, fail, then, the Party itself to, being the platform on which the Ugwumba Uche Nwosu candidacy stands should be pulled off his feet. To that end, they may have thrown millions of dollars into extracting an empty and baseless press statement from a usually cerebral, strong-willed and steadfast big brother, Kenneth Udeze. It should soon dawn on the rain drenched and sun scorched umbrella wielders that whatever investments made on trying to cast questions on the eligibility of the Ugwumba Uche Nwosu candidacy has fallen through.
The best way that Chief Ihedioha could make the best use of the illegality he presently enjoys is to give the best services possible to Imolites within the shortest possible time. He might be fatally shooting himself on both feet, if he believes that the billions he inherited from his predecessor is to be diverted for sponsoring distractions against his political rival.
By ONWUASOANYA FCC JONES
Writing From Owerri IMO state Capital
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