Imo: 69 parties, 50 guber candidates back Ihedioha’s victory

…Charge him to focus on revamping the economy of the state, prioritise human capacity devt

Val Okara, Owerri

No fewer than 69 political parties in Imo State have expressed their satisfaction with the outcome of the governorship election in the state which produced Hon. Emeka Ihedioha of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as the governor-elect.

The parties under the aegis of the Inter-party Advisory Committee (IPAC), the umbrella body of registered political parties in Nigeria, disclosed this in a press conference held in Owerri, on Monday.

Duru Bennett, state IPAC Chairman, Peter Okafor, state Chairman, Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) and others who spoke on behalf of the group, described the election as free, fair, credible and the victory of the PDP candidate, as well deserved.

They berated some of their members who according to reports plan to approach the court to challenge the election, stressing that efforts should rather be made on how to support the incoming government to succeed.

“We call on every Imolites and Nigerians in general to disregard the release issued by some of our colleagues against the Imo guber election.

“On the contrary, we are all delighted with the outcome and are solidly behind the governor- elect, Rt. Hon. Emeka Ihedioha. We shall stand behind him to succeed,” the parties stated.

In a related development, over 50 governorship candidates in the state have accepted the outcome of the Governorship election and pledged their collective support to Ihedioha.

Speaking on their behalf, in a press briefing in Owerri on Saturday, Excel Nwaneri-Ochiama of the Fresh Democratic Party (FDP) said they are of the expectation that the governor-elect will focus on revamping the economy of the state as well as prioritise effort on human capacity building once he assumes office.

He said: “Ordinary, we will say we are heading to the court but to challenge the result or the outcome but to establish certain areas INEC must have to improve, particularly on transmission of results.

But as patriotic citizens, we all saw the will of our people expressed by way of vote for Rt. Hon. Emeka Ihedioha and we decided to accept our faith and submit our memoranda whenever time calls for it.

“We also want the world to know that about 90% of us in Imo are in full support of the election outcome.

“For those of us who are clamouring to head to the court, we appeal to them to sheath their political sword, so that we can collectively drive Imo to our place in destiny.”