Imo guber: Ihedioha cleared as PDP candidate

The Deputy Speak­er of the House of Representatives, Rt.Honorable Emeka Ihe­dioha has finally emerged as the Imo State gubernato­rial candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) as his name was among the list of candidates released by the Independent Na­tional Electoral Commission (INEC) in Owerri on Friday.

It would be recalled that controversy had trailed the conduct of the December , 2014 PDP governorship pri­mary in Imo State whereby Senator Ifeanyi Ararume had laid claim to having won the election, alleging that the Electoral Committee that conducted the primary had inflated the votes in favour of Hon. Emeka Ihedioha.

However, the listing of the name of Hon. Ihedioha along­side his running mate Hon. Chuma Nnaji as governor­ship and deputy governorship candidates respectively of the PDP by the Independent Na­tional Electoral Commission (INEC), has finally brought to an end the waiting game as to who would fly the party gubernatorial flag in the Feb­ruary 28,2015 gubernatorial polls.

Meantime and in a related development, the Emeka Ihedioha Campaign Organ­isation, yesterday described as false and mischievous the report in some newspapers that the name of the Deputy Speaker was not among the list of candidates published by INEC office in Owerri for the 2015 general elections. The organisation said the news report was false and should  be disregarded by all Imolites and Nigerians in general.

The release which was signed by the Director Gen­eral of the organisation, Bar­rister Chris Okewulonu said: “The attention of the Emeka Ihedioha Governorship Cam­paign Organisation has been drawn to the mischievous news report purporting that the list of candidates pub­lished by Independent Na­tional Electoral Commission (INEC) office Owerri, for the 2015 General Elections does not include the name of His Excellency, Rt. Hon. Emeka Ihedioha as PDP Imo State governorship candidate.

“We must state categori­cally that the news reports are totally false, misleading and should be disregarded. That Rt. Hon. Emeka Ihedioha, is the Imo State governorship candidate 2015 is factually and legally not in doubt as a visit to the INEC office, Ow­erri and their public notice board establishes this fact.

“The truth of the matter is that there is no court order of injunction obtained by any person or group restrain­ing INEC from receiving, publishing or treating Rt. Hon. Emeka Ihedioha as the substantive governorship candidate of the PDP for the 2015 general elections in Imo State.”

However, the atmosphere at the INEC headquarters in Owerri, the Imo State capital was tense as supporters of the various parties who had besieged the commission’s office to check candidates’ names were barred from en­tering into the premises by stern looking security men who said they were acting un­der instruction.