ABIA NORTH TEARS PDP APART
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Barely five days to elections, Abia North Senatorial District is engulfed in a rainbow war that may further decimate the Peoples' Democratic Party (PDP). It is like a chess game being played by only one man, the Abia State Governor, Theodore Orji, and seemingly targeted at two party stalwarts, Chief Ojo Maduekwe and Senate President, David Mark, in the bid to match the formidable threat posed by Progressive Peoples Party (PPA) senatorial candidate and former governor of the state, Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu.
The governor had in a recent remark urged voters to choose the PDP candidate, Uche Chukwumerije, so that he would become the next Senate president. And that is coming at a time many Abian natives in the party feel Maduekwe should be made national chairman. Curiously too, Senator Mark has not dropped his ambition of returning to the National Assembly as president of the Senate.
Apparently, Governor Orji is not comfortable with having Maduekwe, who is from Ohafia in Abia North as PDP chairman, and is, therefore, pushing Chukwumerije as Senate president even when he has not won a third-term ticket.
Governor Orji knows that following the party's continuity arrangement, Senator Mark, who is a strong backer of President Goodluck Jonathan, has brighter chances of winning Senatorial elections than Chukwumerije.
Reacting to the development, one of Kalu's aides, Emeka Obasi, said: 'That is a sweet umbrella battle. Kalu is their waterloo. Expectedly, the 'Otimkpu' regime has started playing 'kalo-kalo,' building castles in the air. This is just a ploy to knock out Maduekwe from the PDP chairmanship race. I hope Senator Mark is watching. No governor has the power to anoint a Senate president. Elections have not even been held. And you know it is now one- man-one- vote. No Federal might, no state power.'
Obasi described the move as further proof that the Abia State government had run short of ideas, speedily turning into an island in the Igbo hinterland.
'Believe it,we have a pariah government in Abia.The First Lady had since distanced herself from their terminological inexactitudes. The Chief-of-Army staff Gen. Azubuike Ihejirika, a worthy son of the state, said the army would not take part in politics. Somebody, somewhere wallowing in delusion, thought the renovated military presence in Ohafia would be part of their kitchen cabinet. And just Saturday in Abuja, Governor Chibuike Amechi rightly proclaimed Mr. President as a Rivers son-in-law. Now the umbrella in Abia cannot cover anybody,' Obasi said.