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In what may seem the most tactical political manoeuvre against
incumbent Imo State governor, Ikedi Ohakim and the ruling People’s Democratic
Party (PDP) in the state, two main opposition governorship candidates from the
All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) and the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN),
Rochas Okorocha and Ifeanyi Araraume at the weekend announced an alliance
against the re-election of Mr Ohakim.

Addressing newsmen at Amaifeke, the country home of a former
governor of the state, Achike Udenwa, the two men said that all that mattered
was to effect change in the leadership of the state and liberate the state “from
the pains of maladministration.” They, however, noted that there was no issue
of stepping down by any candidate, explaining that either of them has the
capacity of saving the state from total collapse if elected.

Mr Okorocha said there was a need for a collaborative effort to
put an effective check on the PDP in the state; saying the alternative for the
party was rigging and manipulation of the electoral process.

While accusing the state government of wielding undue influence
over the state INEC officials and some of the security agencies, the APGA
candidate urged voters to sustain the struggle for change and not to be cowed
by the intimidations of the ruling party.

“If Ohakim insists on rigging at all costs, we shall stop him at
all cost,” he said.

Mr Araraume said: “It is regrettable, the level of desperation
which the incumbent has resorted to in his bid to secure a second term in
office,” Mr Araraume said. “This clearly shows that the man has nothing more to
offer to Imo people. He is spent. He has given his best, but his best is
clearly not good enough. The simple thing to do is to move over for a more
competent hand to run the state.”

When the hint of the new alliance between APGA and ACN broke at
the weekend, the PDP camp literally turned into a panic mode as series of
meetings were convened to fashion out a counter move. The political adviser to
Mr Ohakim, Rex Anunobi, however said there was no cause for alarm.

“You know this is not the first alliance we have faced in the
course of this election,” he said. “This will also crash like the previous
ones.”

Living with Iheanacho’s
suspension

Mr Anunobi also said the governor will triumph despite sudden
hostility from politicians in the Owerri axis following the suspension of the
minister of the interior, Emmanuel Iheanacho by President Goodluck Jonathan.

A number of people from Owerri zone, where the minister comes
from, are angry over the alleged involvement of the governor in the president’s
decision.

Though Mr Ohakim vigorously denied having a hand in the
minister’s suspension, some of the political leaders in the area accused the
governor and his aides of sponsoring a campaign of calumny alleging that the
minister used security forces to intimidate PDP members in the state during the
national assembly election.

“How can a governor stoop this low just to score a cheap
political point? Even Mrs Kema Chikwe had the audacity to brag publicly over
the suspension of Iheanacho. They upstaged Iheanacho because the people of
Owerri zone resisted the imposition of Kema Chikwe by Ohakim through their
votes,” said Nestor Obisike, an angry chieftain of the PDP from Owerri zone.

Mr Anunobi exonerated his boss of complicity in Iheanacho’s
ordeal, stating that his suspension cannot in anyway affect the voting pattern
in Owerri zone.

“Ohakim has done so much for the people of Owerri who are ever willing to
reciprocate the gesture by voting massively for the governor, whose candidature
alone can constitutionally ensure that an Owerri son occupies the governorship
seat of the state in 2015,” he said.