The All Progressives Congress (APC) Imo State governorship candidate in the last general election, Senator Hope Uzodinma, has said Governor Rochas Okorocha and his son-in-law, Uche Nwosu have no political value in the state having failed to win elections despite the deployment of state resources to their advantage.
Uzodinma said this in a statement issued at the weekend by the Director of Media and Special Duties of his campaign organization, Declan Mbadiwe Emelumba.
He was reacting to a statement credited to both Okorocha and his son-in-law that APC lost because Nwosu was not given the opportunity to bear the party’s governorship flag in the last elections in the state.
According to Uzodinma, the statement from the duo confirmed that the destruction of the party was their primary concern.
“It is truly pathetic that Okorocha and Nwosu are celebrating their defeat in the polls. Because of their evil infested minds, defeat for APC amounts to victory for them. This crooked reasoning only goes to confirm what is already in public domain which is that he and his father-in-law set out from the beginning to destroy APC in Imo consequent upon which they colluded with the PDP to exclude the votes cast for the party in the elections, from the final collation,” he said.
Uzodinma who described Uche Nwosu as a political infant, insisted that he was no match to him in any electoral contest as he had won his senatorial elections back to back while the AA candidate has never won any election in his life and lost the only election he ever contested.
“Is it not curious that the man who was backed by an incumbent governor; a man whom the resources of Imo State was put on his behest; a man who shared one million naira per booth in the election still failed to win, yet they are celebrating their failure?”’ Senator Uzodinma asked.
The Senator representing Imo west senatorial district argued that in spite of intimidation and vote- buying, Uche Nwosu and his father-in-law could not procure victory because Imo people roundly rejected them.
“Why has Okorocha not received his Certificate of Return? Simple, they forced the returning officer to declare him winner. That is the only style Uche Nwosu and his father-in-law are used to. That was how they got the so-called House of Reps and House of Assembly seats. Even in Oru East, where I won with over 20,000 votes, how can anyone explain that the House of Assembly member could not win. But those results won’t stand”, he declared.
Uzodinma insisted that he remained the most popular candidate in the governorship election and that he won the election by majority of votes cast.
He said he was confident that the tribunal will ensure that justice is done and shame those on a mission to destroy the APC in Imo State.
“How can people who sold out to PDP shamelessly ask to be taken back to the same APC which they tried to destroy? That is to show you the true colour of those who attempted to convert Imo to their personal property,” he said.