The Okigwe Progressives Youth Movement (OPYM) has called on Senator Ifeanyi Ararume of APC and the PDP candidate in the recently concluded Imo North Senatorial by-election, Chief Emmanuel Okewulonu to sheath their swords and work with Sir Frank Ibezim to move the zone forward.
The group also expressed its unalloyed support for Sir Frank Ibezim and called on all political gladiators in the state to allow the will of Okigwe people prevail.
In a release made available to pressmen on Friday, the umbrella body of all Youth Organizations in Imo North Senatorial district said that they are solidly behind Frank Ibezim whom they massively voted for on December 5th 2020 to represent them at the Senate.
The group said that no amount of intimidation and arm-twisting will make them back down on their support for Sir Frank Ibezim.
According to the release signed by the National Coordinator, Mr Kingsley Okolo the group, expressed optimism that the Supreme court will right the wrong meted to them by the appeal court which erroneously upheld Ibezim’s disqualification by the High court.
“We equally condemn the attitude of Senator Ifeanyi Ararume, who has openly vowed to work with the PDP candidate in order to make sure that Ibezim does not go to the Senate. We wonder why the former Senator would want the party to lose a seat they clearly won at the polls simply because he was not declared the candidate”
According to the group “we voted Ibezim at the polls because we wanted to do away with old politicians. We gave him 36,811 votes from 5 Local Governments as against 31,903 manufactured by PDP from just one Local Government.
“We defeated PDP in 5 out of the 6 Local Government that makes up Imo North Senatorial district. We defeated them in Okigwe, Onuimo, Isiala Mbano, Ehime Mbano, and Ihitte Uboma. PDP came second having won only in Obowo LGA. This was a demonstration of our support to the aspiration of Sir Frank Ibezim”
The group further stated that “There is no discrepancy in Ibezim’s certificate as being erroneously bandied about by our opponents. His name appears the same in all his certificates. it is on his voter’s card that he used “Frank” instead of “Francis” and we wonder how that amounts to forgery and perjury”
“The lower courts have unwittingly played into the hands of enemies of Okigwe zone by aiding in tarnishing the image of a man loved, supported and voted by all. The lower courts also erred by not inviting any of the institutions that issued the certificates to either confirm or deny them before hurriedly delivering judgment.”
We urge the Supreme Court to do the right thing and correct the damage already done to the reputation of an honest man whose only crime was daring to contest an election against political heavy-weights in Imo. Imo North Senatorial seat is nobody’s birth-right”
The group stated they will take to the street in the coming week to press home their demand.
