Ugochukwu Eke.
There are signals from Imo state government that the state governor, Rochas Okorocha might have settled for the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Sir George Eche from Owerri zone as his successor.
The signal says that the decision of the governor may not be unrelated to unremitting pressure from both the Presidency and the Party to drop his Chief of Staff and Son-in-Law, Chief Uche Nwosu as his successor in 2019.
The New Narrative reliably gathered that Okorocha who had travelled to China with President Muhamnadu Buhari had called the Secretary to the Imo state government from China to immediately procure the Gubernatorial nomination and expression forms of the party ahead of the party’s primaries scheduled to hold later this month.
It was learnt that the sudden volte face by Okorocha on who succeeds him outside his earlier preferred choice of his Son-in-Law, might not be unconnected by the strong opposition from President Mohammadu Buhari to drop the idea of his Son- in- law succeeding him when Governor Okorocha had requested for the assistance of the president on the heated issue.
According to the source who pleaded anonymity, “Governor Okorocha who had been part of the president’s delegation to China while there had solicited for the support of Buhari over the issue of Nwosu succeeding him in 2019”.
“It was said that President Buhari was who surprised and promptly told Okorocha to shop for another candidate from Owerri zone since it is the turn of the zone to produce the next Governor for the state and he should drop Nwosu forthwith”.
“The President also told Okorocha that all the stakeholders of the party he had spoken with said they don’t have any problems with him as a Governor but that the problem is insisting that Nwosu will his successor “.
The source continued, “So that was why the Governor who was still in China had called the SSG, Eche to proceed immediately to Abuja and procure the Governorship nomination and expression of interest forms”.
” Before this sudden change Governor Okorocha had given Sir George Eche the green light to contest for the Ngor-Okpala Aboh Mbaise Federal Constituency in 2019 to go to the federal House of Representatives”.
The source also posited that as it stands presently that Eche who earlier served as both Accountant-General and permanent Secretary under this administration before being appointed to his present position of the SSG would be the governorship candidate of the party for 2019.
However, it was equally learnt that there is disquite in the camp of the Okorocha’s Son-in-Law, Nwosu who is said not to be well disposed to the latest development over who becomes the flag bearer of the Imo APC in 2019 gubernatorial poll in the state .
It would be recalled that Nwosu had earlier obtained the Governorship nomination and expression of interest forms last week and had already scheduled 12 September for his official declaration for governorship contest.
