Governor Ohakim Begins Moves to Decamp to PDP
By Roy Chikwem
The Progressive Peoples Alliance (PPA) has emerged as a powerful political party since they won the gubernatorial elections in 2007. The PPA was formed by the immediate past Governor Orji Uzor Kalu of Abia State as an alternative to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). In April 2007 Nigerian national assembly elections, they won 3 out of 360 seats in the House of Representative and 1 out of 109 seats in the Senate. The party also won the governorship election in Imo and Abia States. The Governor of Abia State is Theodore Ahamefula Orji while the Governor of Imo State is Ikedi Ohakim. Following the April 2007 presidential elections, the PPA agreed to work in harmony with the government of President Umaru Yar’Adua, who supposedly won the presidential election on the platform of PDP.
Since the emergence of Governor Ohakim to office, he has been battling to assert his authority in the state. Many Nigerians are of the opinion that he may be impeachment by the State legislators due to the fact that the State House of Assembly of Imo State is wholly controlled by elected members of the PDP platform. Ohakim’s rise to power as the Imo State governor was a result of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party expelling Senator Ifeanyi Ararume, who won the party’s primaries after which PDP in obedience to the Supreme Court ruling affirming Ararume’s candidacy, withdrew from the elections thus paving the way for the realignment of forces that eventually threw Ohakim into power.
Governor Ikedi Ohakim was a prominent member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and he actually contested the Senatorial primaries in 1999. In 2003, he contested as a Deputy Governor of Imo State under the platform of Alliance for Democracy (AD) but unsuccessful in his bid to power. He then decamped to Progressive Peoples Alliance (PPA), where he contested and won. Barely one year after PPA victory in Abia and Imo States, all indications show that the number of PPA elected governors may drop to one due to the fact that Governor Ikedi Ohakim has begun underground moves to decamp to the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Governor Ikedi Ohakim recently paid a visit to the national secretariat of the PDP in Abuja where he held talks with the outgoing national chairman of the party, Dr. Ahmadu Ali and other party executives behind closed door. According to THISDAY Newspaper, the meeting was to discuss the modalities of Governor Ohakim defection to the party. It was said that Governor Ohakim had gone to the meeting with his terms and conditions, which included total control of the PDP party structures in Imo State and sole responsibility of selecting the Imo State Chairman of the PDP as well as control of local government chairmen in order to solidify his position in the State chapter of the party before he begins the process of dismantling the PPA structure. The founder and presidential candidate of the PPA in 2007, Orji Uzor Kalu dismissed the entire defection of Ohakim as a “mere speculation”. Kalu, who spoke at the official inauguration of the PPA National Executive Committee (NEC) was quoted as saying “It is all speculation, these are all speculations. He is a solid member of the PPA. The PDP are only jealous, they are jealous of our governors ……….. Being PPA does not mean I cannot go to the PDP national secretariat to see Ali. If I cannot go the PDP secretariat, it means I cannot also go to the Villa to see the President because he is also PDP.”
The immoral practice of back-stabbing, two-timing, cris-crossing from one party to the other is no news in Nigeria. Many party members have no loyalty to their party except for themselves. But it is highly understandable why Governor Ohakim may want to defect to PDP. Imo State has a total of 27 local government areas (L.G.A) headed by a chairpersons and elected councillors. While the legislative arm of the Imo State government is headed by the Speaker of the State House of Assembly, which is made up of elected legislators. But unfortunately for Governor Ohakim, the local government chairpersons, councillors, state legislators, senators and traditional rulers are mostly members of the PDP. In fact, PDP controls about 95% of all elected positions in Imo State.
It is believed that Governor Ohakim has lasted this long without being impeachment for any number of made-up reasons by State legislators, presently headed by Nanah Opiah from Ohaji/Egbema L.G.A because Ohakim is currently rated as one of the best performing governors in Nigeria. He has embarked on new reforms to assuage his taste for a "New Face of Imo". Ohakim is also responsible for commissioning the Okigwe Regional Water Scheme, road network projects and the foundation laying of the new Government House, etc.
Nevertheless, Governor Ohakim has also started dismantling the existing PPA political structures that threw him up as governor. These actions have been widely criticized by the people of the state. The people of Imo States need to hear officially from Governor Ikedi Ohakim himself on where he stands on the issue of his defection to PDP. They need to know if he is under pressure by the State House of Assembly to join PDP or face impeachment or he has decided to defect to PDP because PPA may have out-lived its usefulness. Bottom-line, the good people of Imo State and Nigeria need to know. The way business has always been conducted in government houses across Nigeria for years needs to stop, the people need to rise up, open up, speak up and stand up for their rights. Governors are elected by the people and for people; the People demand to know when governors decide to make critical changes that could affect their ways of life.
Roy Chikwem is a member of Amnesty International, American Civil Liberties Union and Junior Chambers International. He wrote from New Castle, Delaware, USA. rchikwem@yahoo.com
