A mild drama ensued in Owerri, the Imo State last Wednesday during the campaign of the governor and All Progressives Congress, APC, governorship candidate in Imo State, Owelle Rochas Anayo Okorocha as the crowd and traders on Douglas Road and Ekeukwu Owerri cheered the deputy speaker of the House of Representatives and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate in the state, Emeka Ihedioha, instead of the governor’s campaign train.
The governor’s campaign train which temporarily paralysed economic activities in the ever busy Daouglas and Mbaise Roads with the long motorcade saw heavy traffic gridlock on the roads as the crowd along the major roads chanted “Ka O Puo; PDP and Ihedioha We Know” in reference to the wave-rending satirical CD released by comedian and satirist, Uche Ogbuagu.
Uche Ogbuagu’s CD was released to expose the ills of the Okorocha’s administration and has since further dimmed the popularity of the governor, who was accused of only enriching his family members while contractors from outside are left to wreck.
To make their points clearer, while some tricycle operators were chanting “Rochas, ka o puo”, the traders brandished all the available umbrellas including those used as sheds by roadside traders. This is even as Ihedioha’s campaign posters were raised high instead of the governor’s.
This caused some APC supporters to brandish brooms in support of the governor, leading to some sort of competition between the pro and anti Okorocha groups.
Speaking with our reporter, one of the traders told our reporter that “we have to show Rochas that we have known all his evil deeds in the state. A situation where one man and his family is cornering everything that belongs to all of us, we cannot allow such a person to have his way for second time. Look at us in the market, you can hardly sell to feed your family and when we ask they say it is the governor that has seized the money and ahs refused to pay those who worked for him”
