– As Ararume positions self for Okigwe Zone Senate
Following the successful screening of the former governor of Imo State, Owelle Rochas Okorocha and the incumbent, Governor Hope Uzodinma, ahead of the party’s primaries election scheduled to hold any moment from now, the orchestrated endorsement of the latter as the sole candidate for the election by the Orlu Political Consultative Assembly (OPOCA) consisting mainly of government appointees and apologists seems to have been thwarted and thrown to the dogs.
It was also gathered that the decision of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Imo State to adopt direct primaries for the selection of candidates for the 27 House of Assembly seats, 10 House of Representatives seats instead of the much anticipated Consensus arrangement was because of the tension and rivalry elicited by the clash of interests between the former governor and the incumbent.
There are also speculations that the screening exercise which was supposed to be conducted in Imo was shifted to Abuja because it was reliably gathered that the governor and his supporters had concluded plans to hijack the process to his advantage.
A source who spoke to this reporter on the condition of anonymity stated that, “though former governor Rochas Okorocha’s tenure was nothing to write home about, he is still loved by a lot of Imo people. However, in a more decent society, neither Okorocha nor Hope Uzodinma will contemplate contesting for the Orlu Senatorial seat again having been there before”.
Speaking in the same vein, an APC Stalwart in Okigwe zone said, a similar scenario is believed to have played out in Okigwe zone where Senator Ifeanyi Ararume has also purchased the Expression of Interest and Nomination forms for the senatorial election, contrary to the calculations of Gov Uzodinma and his preferred candidate in the zone.
In a statement issued on Saturday May 9 2026, the APC announced that members would vote directly to elect candidates for various elective offices across that state.
The announcement is seen by many within political circles as a cardinal shift from the pattern adopted in 2023, when the party and to a large extent, Governor Hope Uzodinma, influenced the emergence of candidates through consensus arrangement that was hinged mostly on loyalty considerations.
Recall that it is widely believed that Uzodinma allegedly hindered Ararume from assuming office as Chairman of the Nigeria Petroleum Company Ltd when he was appointed during the Buhari administration and the old relationship between them exists till today”.
