Okorocha Locks Out Oshiomhole, Imo Apc Chiefs From Stadium

NATIONAL Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC),
Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, and Governor Rochas Okorocha of Imo State
were yesterday locked in a fresh spat after the state government
allegedly denied APC the use of Dan Anyiam Stadium, Owerri for the
flag-off of its governorship election campaign.

Oshiomhole branded the governor’s action anti-party and derided
his style of governance. Although Okorocha is an APC member, he is
vehemently opposed to the party’s governorship candidate, Senator
Hope Uzodinma, whose election he has threatened to work against.
The governor, who is supporting his son-in-law, Uche Nwosu, for the
governorship race on the platform of Action Alliance (AA), fired
back at Oshiomhole, dismissing the allegation that he denied
Uzodinma the use of the stadium as untrue, adding that only
Oshiohole could believe it. Okorocha and members of the state
cabinet boycotted yesterday’s campaign of APC.

Oshiomhole said: “For the workers who no longer know what a pay
day looks like, I bring a message of hope. “When a governor will
look at the face of his people and say there is money to do other
things but no money to pay those who are working for the
government. “I bring a message of hope that appointments into your
government will be made on merit and not on family connection. “I
bring a message of hope that when we talk of happiness, we will not
domesticate it in the hands of a sister; that the happiness of the
great people of Imo State will be the primary purpose of government
under Senator Hope Uzodinma. “I bring you a message of hope that in
constructing buildings and building roads, they will be based on
due process. “One contract will not be awarded to three people. If
it must be awarded, it must not be awarded to in-laws; it will be
awarded to genuine business men and women of Imo State.

“I bring you hope that never again will your governor look at
your leaders and abuse them because democracy is about people. “I
bring you a message of hope that never again shall we govern on the
basis of family connection: whether you know somebody or you don’t
know somebody; you married from me, I didn’t marry from you; that
shall not be the basis of winning the next election. “I bring you a
message of hope that your money will be used to develop Imo land.
“And through you, I bring a message of hope to the traditional
rulers; that they will be able to preside over their domains
without being intimidated by the governor. “I bring you a message
of hope that from now on, we will govern in a way that will leave
no man in doubt that democracy is government of the people by the
people and for the people.

“I want to assure those workers who have been lamenting, those
families whose husbands have not been paid for six months to nine
months, and I want to assure those pensioners that the bailout
money which President Buhari gave to governors, including the
governor of Imo State, that was not used for the purpose, that
money will be retrieved and our pensioners will smile again. “Never
again will a governor of this state look at you in the face and say
that your salary depends on when he wants and not when it is due.
“Never again will someone use your money to print posters with a
President Obama when he is doing the opposite of Obama. “I bring
you assurances of hope that you are going to have a governor who
will lead you by the power of personal example. “Let me say it
without fear of contradiction that those who are printing President
Muhammadu Buhari’s posters, putting his face and their own faces
because their faces are unknown, their party is unknown and they
will put Buhari’s face and put the logo of an unknown party, those
ones are fake.

“President Muhammadu Buhari has APC as his party. He is our
presidential candidate. President Muhammadu Buhari believes in and
has adopted Senator Hope Uzodinma as the APC governorship
candidate. “We want real democrats that will accept the will of the
people. How can you explain that an APC governor will deny an APC
candidate the use of the stadium that is built with tax payers’
money from Imo State?” Switching to pidgin English, Oshiomhole
continued: “I hear say yesterday he talk am say he no wan give
stadium because when he dey contest against (former governor Ikedi)
Ohakim, he talk say Ohakim no give am stadium. So, he too go copy
Ohakim. I say e good oh! If you copy who fail exam, you too you
never fail? If you copy who fail exam, what will you get? He who
copy failure will find failure awaiting him.”

In a swift reaction to Oshiomhole’s allegation, Okorocha,
speaking through his Chief Press Secretary, Sam Onwuemeodo, said:
“For those who know Chief Hope Uzodinma very well, they won’t be
surprised that he could come up with this false claim on the issue.
Only men like Adams Oshiomhole would believe him. “Since Governor
Rochas Okorocha became governor in 2011, the Dan Anyiam Stadium has
always been made available for all the political parties and
candidates to use, not minding the political affiliations.

“The Stadium is the property of Imo people and Chief Uzodinma
would not have been denied the opportunity of using the facility
for the flag-off of his campaign if he had asked or applied for it.
“He never applied to use the stadium, especially when a press
release had been issued days before the flag-off of his campaign
that the governor had directed that the stadium should be released
free to political parties and candidates who would like to use it
for their rallies or for other political activities. “As usual,
Chief Uzodinma wanted to use the stadium issue to blackmail the
governor and to continue to deceive men like Oshiomhole.

“The truth is that Chief Hope Uzodinma cannot raise up to one
thousand people, talk more (sic) raising a crowd that would fill
the stadium. “He does not have the capacity. He knows his
handicaps. Where would Chief Uzodinma get the crowd to fill the
Stadium? “Last time, he published a crowd of an event that took
place in the north as the crowd that graced his rally when he was
named the candidate of the party. And Senator Araraume’s men also
used the picture of the same crowd. We exposed them on that. “Men
and women of goodwill should ignore Chief Uzodinma’s claim for who
he is.”

Culled from Thenation

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