Stop Clannish Politics If You Want To Be Governor, Okorocha Tells Mbaise People
By Austin Echefu
Governor Rochas Okorocha has advised the people of Mbaise Clan in Imo State to change their attitude to politics and stop playing clannish politics if they want to produce the Governor of the state someday.
He told them that their clannish politics has separated them from the rest of the state and denied them their support to produce the Governor of the state.
The Governor made this known through a press release by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Sam Onwuemeodo, saying that the Governor had during a meeting with political leaders, traditional rulers, church leaders and other stakeholders from the three local governments areas of Mbaise Clan: Aboh Mbaise Ezinihittee Mbaise and Ahiazu Mbaise, on Saturday, January 6, at his home-town Ogboko in Ideato South Local Government Area.
Recall that Mbaise Clan had produced the governorship candidate of the PDP in 2015, Rt Hon Emeka Ihedioha, but did not win the governorship election, though he forced the Governor to rerun election.
But during the meeting, Governor Okorocha advised Mbaise people to change their style of politics which he said was “too clannish both in practice and in words, to enable them attract the support of other parts of the state to produce the governor of the state one day”.
According to the press release: “The Governor stated that before now, the political leaders in Mbaise had enthroned a very disturbing political development or practice that portrayed the people of the area as clannish which has unfortunately alienated them from most of the other areas in the state”.
The Governor also “praised Mbaise people for being industrious, intelligent, resourceful, united and enterprising, and that they have been due to produce the governor of the state long before now but regretted that Mbaise people alone cannot produce a governor without the rest of Imo people”.
However, Governor Okorocha expressed the hope that “the new emerging political leaders in Mbaise would correct the mistakes of the political leaders of the old order by playing group politics instead of clannish politics”, stressing that with politicians of like-minds now waxing stronger in the area, Mbaise people can now work with other people in the state to produce a governor very soon.
He also expressed his love for Mbaise people, adding that there was nothing he did in other parts of the state that he didn’t do in Mbiase.
Governor Okorocha added that the Resin Paint Industry which he repurchased and handed over to a foreign company, SkyRun, that has begun production is in Mbaise, and the University of Agriculture and Vertinary Medicine vis-à-vis other numerous projects of the government located in Mbaise.
Also, Hon. Nnanna Igbokwe, member representing Ahiazu and Ezinihittee Mbaise Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, who led the delegation, assured the Governor that Mbaise people had decided to be on the same page with him for the overall good of Mbaise people, since he has shown that he is a Governor with large heart.
The House of Reps member who recently left the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the All Progressives Congress (APC) also said that what some key political leaders of Mbaise extraction could not do for their people, the Governor has done it for them, adding that henceforth, the Governor would begin to see broad-based politics by Mbaise people.
