
In a statement released on behalf of Governor Rochas Okorocha by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Sam Onwuemeodo, the Imo State Governor described the statement by Atiku Abubakar as an empty threat that can never be achieved.
The statement which stated that Governor Rochas Okorocha will defeat the former VP in any election, even in his home state of Adamawa, also advised Atiku Abubakar to “leave Imo and Governor Rochas Okorocha alone and face his worrisome challenges”.
It reads in part;
And if he does not know, Governor Rochas
Okorocha will defeat him in any part of the Country including his
Adamawa State in any election involving two of them. He does not
therefore have what it takes to lead any struggle that will return the
PDP to power in the State or the Country in 2019. That promise was a
false one”.
It continued that, “the former Vice
President Alhaji Atiku Abubakar was in Owerri for a meeting with the
stakeholders of the PDP in the State over his presidential ambition.
“While meeting with the PDP Stakeholders
in the State, he was reported to have told them that he would lead the
struggle for the PDP to take over Imo and Nigeria in 2019. He also tried
to run down the governor, Owelle Rochas Okorocha and his government.
“What we do not take from anybody is
blackmail against the government of Rochas Okorocha. We would do our
best to set the record straight. The former Vice-President would have
done his meeting without scratching the governor and the government he
heads in the State. And that is where we come in”.
The statement also read, “the former
Vice-President therefore leave Imo and Governor Rochas Okorocha alone
and face his worrisome challenges. And if he does not know, Governor
Rochas Okorocha will defeat him in any part of the Country including his
Adamawa State in any election involving two of them. He does not
therefore have what it takes to lead any struggle that will return the
PDP to power in the State or the Country in 2019. That promise was a
false one.
“To say the least, that promise of
returning Imo to PDP was very deceitful knowing full well that in 2011
Rochas ran on the ticket of APGA that had no structure on ground and
defeated an incumbent PDP governor with a very wide margin. In 2015, he
took the soul of APGA to merge with other parties to form APC and
defeated two powerful Candidates of PDP and APGA, even with the PDP
Candidate having the Federal might behind him. Interestingly Alhaji
Atiku Abubakar was not in exile when all these happened.
“Imo PDP is dead. The monumental
achievements of Governor Okorocha in less than eight years have
destroyed the Imo PDP because the Party has no claim again to make
before Imo people.
“When PDP was in power in the State the
Imo Airport was an eyesore, but today it has become an International
Cargo Airport with all the facilities available and Courtesy of Rochas
Okorocha’s administration. The former Vice-President would have
demonstrated statesmanship by commending Rochas Okorocha for that feat”.
Furthermore, the statement pointed out
that, “all the flyovers and tunnels Alhaji Atiku passed through in
Owerri were not there when the PDP was in power for twelve years. The
twelve and eight – lane roads the former Vice President saw in Owerri
when he came were not there when the PDP held sway. The free education
that has raised the school population of the State from 381,000 in 2011
to over one million in 2017, was not also there under the PDP.
“Beyond the noise of few power seekers
in the State, Imo people are on the side of Governor Rochas Okorocha
because of the large extent he has developed the State. The projects are
available for verification. Let Atiku ask the PDP in the State to
publish their achievements for the twelve years they governed the State
and let Rochas publish his achievements for the less than eight years he
has been on seat, and the former VP will discover that PDP in the State
is a goner.
“And that is the reason all those who
made the Party thick in the State have all left to join either APGA or
APC. Today, all the former guber aspirants in the PDP are doing so in
APGA including Chief Ikedi Ohakim. They have left the PDP for two
people.
“So, the former Vice-President should
have told the remnants of the PDP in the State to bear with the
situation they have seen themselves instead of raising their hope by
promising them that he would lead the struggle that will return the
Party to power in the State. And on our part, we do not need to struggle
for APC to sustain its hold on Imo since Imo people shall Continue to
vote for the party.”
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