Oguta Assembly Polls; APGA'S Pain, PDP's Gain

Inno ArticlesWhatever is the yardstick adopted to asses the Oguta House of Assembly election by political pundits, the bitter truth is that it portends far reaching political consequences for the ruling All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Imo State. The just concluded election shows that the two political parties in the State are at daggers drawn and will certainly leave no stone unturned in a bid to outwit the other. It has further made both parties to be cat and the mouse that is bound to engage in war of supremacy geared towards undoing each other. While the PDP is popping victory champagne over the outcome of the Oguta elections, it is a dangerous political signal for Governor Rochas Okorocha whose party- APGA- has lost two crucial elections after he was sworn in as Governor of the State on May 29, 2011. It will be recalled that APGA had crumbled at PDP’s feet at the Ezinihitte/ Ahaizu Mbaise Federal Constituency seat which was won by its candidate, Hon Nnanna Igbokwe. The latest House of Assembly election in Oguta which the PDP won has re energized the party in the State. It has given it the much needed moral booster to challenge APGA not only for the desired Governorship position, but for other elective offices in the State in 2015. No matter the hue and cry that has trailed the credibility of the Oguta elections, it has inflicted on PDP members the belief that they are the party to beat in the State in the next general elections. It also underscores the fact that it dominates the Imo political landscape. Whether such belief held by PDP members in the State can be defined as an erroneous impression, the party’s recent electoral success is an indication that the party may have purged itself of anti democratic practices and seems to be gradually putting itself into the hearts of Imolites as a responsible and responsive political party. Further, the PDP in the State, having tasted the bitter pill of being in the opposition in the State appears to be fired by the resolve to once again climb to the top. It has never pretended that it is getting fed up of being in opposition and has minced no words to tell Imolites that it is bent on removing Okorocha’s APGA from Government House, Owerri come 2015. This is why the recent victory recorded in the Oguta elections appears to be the propelling tonic that is increasing the confidence of the party. Little wonder the party’s Publicity Secretary, Blyden Amajirionwu, minced no words to say that the outcome of the elections in Oguta confirms the fact that there is no other party in the State except the PDP. For me, I do not align myself to the self delusions of the Imo PDP considering the fact that the party is yet to convince Imolites that it is not a chip of the old block where the gospel of internal democracy is alien. If one takes into consideration the unconventional practices prevalent in the party in the past, one is compelled to ask if the party qualifies as a credible platform for aggrieved Imolites can turn for succour in the next political dispensation. The same goes for APGA in the State- a party whose electoral value seems to be diminishing since Imolites rejected the PDP and opted to give the opportunity to pilot the affairs of the State in 2011. One had expected APGA’s electoral value to increase after that nail- biting political battle with the PDP at the last general elections in the State. If APGA could win elections without the might of incumbency factor and with a rag tag status in the State in the past, then one wonders why the party now trembles at the mere sneeze of the PDP in recent elections held in the State. It is not enough for APGA to cry foul play and accuse the PDP of all sorts of election manipulation techniques for losing the Ahiazu/ Ezinihitte House of Reps polls and lately, the Oguta House of Assembly elections. For me, it is defeatist for the party to always tow the line of boycott or cry foul whenever it fails to win elections. Politics is all about struggle and it behoves on serious political parties to adopt conventional methods and measures it can to ensure its candidates emerge victorious at the polls. I say so because in Nigeria where elections are all about intrigues, deceit and where the gospel of free and fair elections is a fairy tale, APGA in Imo has what it takes- the wherewithal and might- to stop the PDP from easily dusting it at the polls or taking it to the cleaners easily. If the present trend continues for the party, then it means APGA is either losing acceptance in the State or merely relying on public sentiment to win future elections in the State. At this juncture, it is important APGA stakeholders advise Owelle Rochas Okorocha to do more to strengthen APGA in the State. Much as he cruised to power on the support of the people, it was on the wings of the party that he flew to Government House, Owerri. Founding fathers and leaders of the party should note that it is a sad story that APGA’s electoral value has continued to dwindle in the State after Okorocha’s emergence as Governor of the State. I have also seen most of its members murmur and lament over the neglect of the party in the present dispensation. What a pity. Most of the key players in the party have had reasons to complain and lament over the seeming neglect of the party by its principal. They have continued to wonder what has happened to the magic wand in the party that easily dust other political parties in the State in the past. Much I do not have sympathy for any political party in the State; rather I am not averse to any political party in the State that can meet the expectations of the good people of Imo State, no matter the colouration of such a political party.