Information available to 247ureports.com has it that the actual reason behind the Imo State Governor, Owelle Rochas Okorocha’s car gift to the state and local government executive members of the All Progressive Congress, APC last weekend was to oil his vice presidential ambition.
The governor had purchased about 150 new Sienna and Passat vehicles and distributed same to energize the party in the state.
While the media in Imo State had been awash with reports that stakeholders of the party are to benefit from the vehicles, it was gathered that top on the agenda of the Imo Governor is to use the vehicles to woo south east delegates and stakeholders of the APC to support his aspiration for the VP slot to a Northern presidential candidate.
Part of the ploy, a dependable source revealed is that the vehicles will also be used as a lobbying tool for the South east APC delegates to back his aspiration. Thereafter, he is expected to use it as a negotiating tool to negotiate with any of the two frontline APC presidential aspirants, General Muhammdu Buhari and former vice president, Atiku Abubakar before the party’s national convention which holds in October. Buhari and Atiku eying the Presidential ticket of the APC.
According to the source, the Imo Governor is also said to have opposed moves by the party leadership to locate its South East Zonal office in Enugu as he was alleged to have promised to open and equip such an office in Owerri, the Imo State capital.
This is said to be part of Okorocha’s moves to have the party structure in the South East in his grip as bait to be in the running for the VP ticket of the APC.
Expected to face serious opposition from the South West arm of the APC which is also in the running of the VP ticket, the Imo Governor is not resting on his oars or deterred from achieving his mission and perfecting his strategies which is believed to have gotten to an advanced stage.
The source said “Owelle is seriously eying the VP ticket of the APC, he will pretend to be contesting for the Imo governorship but I can tell you that this is a smokescreen. He is seriously in the race for the VP ticket of the APC. Whether he gets it or not is a story that will be told when the time comes.
“If you noticed what happened during the APC National Convention, Owelle intentionally shut the door on Ogbonnaya Onu and some other top Igbo members of the party and prevented them from having any viable national office. This led to the emergence of John Odigie Oyegun from Edo State (South South) as the party’s national chairman. This was done so that when we table our demand for the VP position, the party will reason with us and give it to us gladly”.
247ureports.com can report that the Governor has also severally held private meetings with top APC chieftains of South East extraction in Owerri and had also played a key role in aiding the party’s registration exercise by rendering financial and logistics support to the party during the exercise in the South East States.
