By Jonathan Igwebuike
From precedent, the unending intrigues that have marked the Okigwe (Imo North) Senatorial bye-election may pave the way for a compromise candidate.
With the recent grounding of Hon. Frank Ibezim by Senator Ifeanyi Araraume at the Federal High Court and the consequent replacement of Ibezim with Araraume as the candidate of the All Progressive Congress (APC) in the forthcoming Okigwe Senatorial bye-election, the stage is set for even more political jiggery-pokery.
When Araraume upstaged Ibezim, he also upstaged his backers and sponsors, and they will re-strategize and if they cannot get their mandate back they will at least play the spoiler’s role. And certainly, there will be many spoilers in the Okigwe political space and this will accentuate uncertainties in the final outcome of the Okigwe Senatorial bye-election.
At least, Nwajiuba is a known backer of Ibezim and it will be political naivety to think he will pack up and go home after the Ibezim crash.
Even if Ibezim becomes a lost cause, it will also be political ignorance to forget so soon that Hon. Emeka Nwajiuba wields substantial ‘franchise’ in the Accord party where he could re-launch himself and structure by offering to back the Accord senatorial candidate, Chief Patrick Ndubueze, if that is what it will take to get shot at the Okigwe Senatorial bye-election.
Nevertheless, Araraume is no toddler in the game having been through this road many times. He will know how to nip a threat in the bud before it becomes an emergency.
In the same vein, Nwajiuba cannot boast of the confidence of Governor Hope Uzodimma. Uzodimma has a 2023 ambition and Nwajiuba does too. They both know deep down that their ambitions may clash, so they cannot fully commit to advancing each other’s political adventure. It is called mutual distrust.
Uzodimma cannot fully throw his weight behind Nwajiuba’s project when he is not certain whether Nwajiuba is building political structures for public good or to unseat him in 2023. And this reality may have become the Achilles heels of Hon. Frank Ibezim.
So while this proxy war rages, leaders of Okigwe zone across the board, in keeping with political precedence, will be shopping for a compromise candidate. And often times, when they set about this venture, they are searching for a candidate who they can manage, guide, and direct where necessary.
Preferably, they will be looking for a new generation politician that will most likely be amenable to the majority of the leaders across the zone.
With the mood of the nation and in the wake of the #EndSARS protests across the country, not a few leaders in Okigwe zone is now looking in the direction of the youngest candidate in the contest, Engr. Promise Nwadigo who is flying the flag of the Young Progressive Party (YPP) in the Okigwe Senatorial bye-election.
Engr. Nwadigo may be the joker in the election as his name is being mooted in high quarters and whispered across political blocs.
Okigwe zone, having gone through this retrogressive cycle many times over, are eager to embrace a new order and accelerate developmental politics in their region.
While Araraume, Nwajiuba, Uzodimma, Rochas Okorocha, and their ilk are locked in a battle of supremacy, community leaders, and the everyday people of Okigwe zone, will gladly take their sight off the old warhorses and focus on the new order of young leaders which Engr. Promise Nwadigo represents.
Yes, as the storm gathers, Okigwe people will ignore the controversies and intrigues that go with political gladiators and will speak in very clear terms.
They will make it clear that Engr. Promise Nwadigo has already been penciled down to be their voice, their stand, and indeed the compromise candidate for the Okigwe Senatorial bye-election.
