The Supreme Court nerve-shattering judgment that sent Emeka Ihedioha packing as Imo state governor of Imo state and in his stead Senator Hope Uzodinma of APC is still rankling. Chuks Nweze writes.
Enter Hope Uzodnma
Senator Hope Uzodinma came a distant third in the March 9, 2019 governorship election was declared winner by the apex court. The cookie actually crumbled with the judgment because it thus set the hand of the clock back for Ihedioha, members of his cabinet and indeed the Imo people, especially the Owerri Zone that had thought that at last they had got the governorship position that had eluded them since the days of late Sam Mbakwe and had been rotating between Orlu and Okigwe zones.
Like a bolt from the blues, the Supreme Court judgment of January 14, 2020, pulverised and mesmerized the Imo people and elicited wild reactions from within and without Imo shores. Those who were displeased with the change of baton reacted positively and condemned the judgment while some of them immediately embarked on a peaceful demonstration in solidarity for the former governor, Emeka Ihedioha.
However, while some were demonstrating against the judgment, some others hailed it and demonstrated in favour of the judgment and even began to send congratulatory messages to Hope Uzodinma who providence, or so to say, has dropped Imo governorship on his laps.
However, as absurd as the judgment may sound that a candidate that came third in an election should be declared winner even when the person that was declared winner did not come from the ruling party, the APC, but from the opposition party, the PDP, some politicians who could best be described as fair whether politicians, immediately started fouling the air by dumping the PDP for the APC.
The bizarre defection drama
It was a big drama, though not entirely bizzare because most African politicians and their parties lack ideology, some members of the Imo state House of Assembly quickly started crossing over to APC so that APC could have majority members in the House whereas they had none before. They knew that since the PDP had majority members in the assembly, the impeachment of the governor would be a question of time. Thus, in January 21, just seven days after the Supreme Court verdict, nine members of the Imo state house of assembly defected to the APC. Among the nine that defected, was the deputy speaker of the house, Okey Onyekanma. While PDP members defected, four AA members and one APGA member dumped their political parties and opted for APC.
While Imo people were yet to recover from the shock of the nine members that defected, on January 28, 2020, eight more members dumped PDP to join APC, thereby bringing the number of the defected members of the assembly to seventeen.
PDP chairman dumps party for APC
To add salt to injury and to add more nails to Ihediohas PDP coffin, the state chairman of the PDP, also resigned his membership of PDP for APC. That is the magnitude of political madness brewing in Imo state today.
Before now, political watchers had foretold that with the Supreme Court verdict that sacked Ihedioha as governor, as is characteristic of the type of politics being played in Africa, especially in Nigeria, members of the state house of assembly would start carpet crossing to enable Uzodinma function and to equally give them prime positions in the house. So, when the Speaker, Collins Chiji defected with seven others, the stage has thus been set for more defections.
“I know that it is going to be so that many house of assembly members are going to defect. Trust our politicians, they always go for the highest bidder and don’t care about whose ox is gored. Parties do not have ideologies and people do anything in the name of politics.
“I know that political jobbers who call themselves politicians will soon start moving over to APC in Imo state after the Supreme Court judgment. They will not even wait to know if Ihedioha will upturn the judgment and they have started defecting. I am not surprised, many more will join the band wagon, as they call it. Our politicians have no scruples, ” declare James Okey, a political analyst.
Defection not strange
What is happening in Imo state is not strange. It was the same defection in 2014 build up to the 2015 general election that robbed PDP of oil victory that made way for Buhari-led APC to gain power which they consolidated in 2019.
In 2014, many governors, house of Representatives members and senators dumped the ruling party at the centre then, the PDP and opted for APC that was newly registered then and thus, the party, PDP came tumbling from the premier position they were holding at the centre since the return to civil democracy in Nigeria in 1999.
From the way politicians behave, should Ihedioha eventually reclaim his mandate at the review of his case, the same mass defection that greeted his ouster will still welcome him back. Political turncoats will still dump their present parties to join the PDP and say that they never left PDP spiritually but bodily. When the former Imo speaker, defected, he said that he consulted with his people before crossing over and thus others will also say. Nobody leaves a political party without adducing a reason why he is doing so.
“It is a common knowledge in Nigeria that politicians can hardly stay at a place especially if their party fails to win in an election. When Olusegun Obasanjo the former president left the PDP, he tore his membership card and Sullivan Chime, former governor of Enugu state when leaving PDP, said that PDP was dead and wanted others to join him in the APC which few of his allies complied,” another political analyst, Chika Ezeugwu said.
Today, politicians are dancing a macabre dance in Imo state by crossing over individually and collectively and it will continue for some time to come. If Ihedioha should bounce back, the same people that defected will not waste time to embrace him.
From every indication however, and from the outcry all over Nigeria and beyond, Ihedioha may come back because many people have started raising eyebrow over the unanimous judgment of all the Supreme Court judges. Many view the judgment that it left acrid taste in the mouth and should be reversed to give Ihedioha what he merited. Such is the great expectation but who knows when the reversal of the judgment will be since the one that sacked Ihedioha lasted for so long.
Leadership of Ihedioha’s party has shown in many fora and in many ways they are not comfortable with the apex court declaration and will back Ihedioha solidly to win.
There is no doubt that Ihedioha is loved by many and would want him to return. If not that Supreme Court has the monopoly as the final arbiter, supporters of PDP would have revolted but they have no option than to wait in the wings to see if Ihedioha would spring surprises.
