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The readiness of
the incumbent governor of Imo State, Ikedi Ohakim, to accept defeat and
his pledge not to challenge the victory of Rochas Okorocha in last
Friday’s governorship election is a commendable gesture from a patriot
who wants the best for his state. The Imo State commissioner for
information and strategy, Elvis Agukwe, has said.

According to Mr Agukwe, “It takes maturity for Ohakim to offer a hand of fellowship to the governor-elect.”

Major roads and
streets in Owerri, the Imo state capital, were shut down on Saturday by
jubilant residents of the state following the declaration of Mr
Okorocha as governor-elect for the state by the Independent National
Electoral Commission (INEC).

Mr Okorocha’s
victory followed the eventual conclusion of the governorship election
in the state that went into supplementary polling.

Apparently,
reactions to Mr Okorocha’s victory reflected the expectations of the
people as several bottles of champagne were freely popped by roadsides
and commercial taxi drivers and tricycle operators offered free rides
to jubilant commuters. Not to be left out of the celebration, popular
restaurants, and even local food joints, dished out free food and
drinks in the spirit of the moment.

‘The sanctity of agreements’

To win the
election, Rochas Okorocha, who ran under the platform of the All
Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), polled a total of 336,859 votes to
defeat Ikedi Ohakim of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who garnered
290,496 votes and Ifeanyi Araraume of the Action Congress of Nigeria
(ACN) who bagged 107,068 votes.

In the first
official reaction after Mr Ohakim congratulated Mr Okorocha and pledged
not to pursue the matter in court, the state commissioner noted that
the governor’s gesture was a testimony to the fact that the election
was beyond him as a person.

“I said it before,
and I repeat it now, the election was beyond Ohakim as a person. It was
about the future of Imo State and the sanctity of agreements. The
people have spoken, we have accepted the verdict,” he said.

He made it clear
that in days to come the people of Imo would miss Mr Ohakim as,
according to him, the country still yearned for his leadership.

“Nigeria has not
heard the last of Ohakim. He may have finished with the task of being a
governor, but I believe we still need his services in the future,” he
said.

Man of peace and destiny

Mr Agukwe said he
disagreed with the notion that Imo people rejected Mr Ohakim, noting
that the margin of victory, about 46,000 votes, did not confirm that
assertion. He said what happened was that godfathers, whom he described
as “political deities”, conspired to scuttle the second term ambition
of the governor because they were refused the key to the treasury of
Imo State.

“These were people
used to squandering the state’s resources and they refused to come to
terms with Ohakim’s resolve to ensure that Imo people benefit from
their sweat,” he said.

The official
however commended Imo people for remaining calm and peaceful throughout
the period of election, noting that the fact that no blood was shed was
due to the peaceful disposition of the governor.

“Ohakim as a man of
peace and destiny demonstrated that he was not desperate to remain
governor. That’s why he restrained his supporters in the face of
extreme provocation,” he said.

He called on the people to extend the same cooperation to the
incoming governor to ensure the sustenance of the “legacy of peace”
left by Mr Ohakim.