• Narrates how suicide bombers were arrested in Ikeduru March 9
By JOHN Meziem
A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Imo state chapter, Dr. Vitalis Orikeze Ajumbe, has revealed that Senator Ifeanyi Araraume will be a governor in the state.
Ajumbe who disclosed this while interacting with top media executives in Owerri weekend; maintained that “my mind is still telling me that Araraume will be a governor”.
According to him, “Araraume worked so hard and has suffered so much for this. That was what drew my sympathy for him”
Ajumbe served as the Director Contact and Mobilization in Senator Araraume’s Campaign Organization.
“I was one of the first indigenes of Owerri zone who came out to support Araraume.
Because I saw in him a man with capacity, a man with vision, that if this state is given to govern, Imo state will be good and this conviction made me to support him. But unfortunately, it went the way it went but I don’t think it is over until it is over.
“But my mind is telling me somehow that Araraume will still be a governor.
I don’t know how it’s going to happen.
Last night when I dreamt, I saw it in my dream. What I’m trying to say is that Imo has missed a good governor in the person of Senator Ifeanyi Araraume.
“I have no regret supporting him. I didn’t support him because of any inducement and I want to make it very clear that I never asked Araraume for any money for all these period I followed him. Even I never asked him for any gift including vehicle.
“I followed him believing that he will be a governor of this state. But it went the way it went. He may have been sabotaged”, he stressed.
Ajumbe further narrated how some hoodlums suspected to be suicide bombers invaded the Ikeduru Local Government Area INEC collection centre at Iho during the Governorship and House of Assembly elections on March 9
“I want to talk about my observation during the elections. On the 2019 elections, we thought we are in a modern world but what we saw on these days of election, first the presidential and National Assembly election and the Guber election, what we saw wasn’t really how elections was supposed to be. There were wide spread violence and ballot box snatching.
“The National Assembly elections was heavily rigged by PDP. PDP was in control of INEC, security that made it impossible for others to have a free and fair elections and there were manipulations.
“How come almost all the returning officers are from one part of the state, all to favour PDP. Of the four prominent candidates for governorship, Araraume, Emeka Ihedioha, Hope Uzodinma and Uche Nwosu; Emeka Ihedioha seems to have beaten them to the game. At Mbaise for example, the collation officer for Ezinihitte Mbaise is from Ezinihitte Mbaise, the one (collation officer) for Aboh Mbaise is from Aboh Mbaise and Ahiazu Mbaise collation officer is from Ahiazu Mbaise. So as you can see, he beat all of them to the game which means he may have mastered the game more than all of them. The tricks of election management.
“In Ikeduru LGA where I come from for example, no free and fair election took place in Ikeduru that even my own booth, they came hijacked everything including the INEC Adhoc workers and that made me to go to the local government collation centre Iho-Ikeduru to lay my complaint and I wrote petitions.
“And I made it impossible for them to bring in those results they wrote in their houses. I want to say that the officials at Iho co-operated and find my petition to have merit. That made it possible for them to cancel about 41 polling units. In Amaimo where I come from, we have 17 polling units 11 polling units were cancelled. At Eziama Okwu Ugirike, three quarters of the polling units were cancelled, so bringing the total to 41 polling units that were cancelled in Ikeduru. “And at the Central school Amaimo, it was like Iran and Iraq war, gunshot openly. And I begin to wonder, is it the way they are going to nurture our young boys in future? Teaching them how to carry guns, how to hijack ballot boxes, how to kidnap INEC officials just for the sake of having upper hand. And these people who are sponsoring these boys are known politicians in the state. If you say you are a big politician why not allow free and fair election so that we will know how popular you are in your area. I have never snatched a box before, I’ve never manipulated any election before but I’ve always want our elections to be free and fair. But it is unfortunate what you saw in Ikeduru. At a time the security agencies were helpless they couldn’t know what to do. And to worsen the whole situation, between 5 and 6pm, suicide bombers were sent to Ikeduru collation centre where I was. Because I made every effort to ensure that they did not bring in those results they wrote in their houses, they now sent suicide bombers to bomb us. I know that the main target was me. But I want to thank the gallant efforts of our youths who made it possible for the security agents to arrest the three bombers. I was told that they were 11, the other eight ran away and three were caught.
“From the video that was going viral now, they mentioned a prominent politician from Ikeduru who sponsored them to come and kill Ikeduru sons and daughters, to kill security agencies just because it did not go the way they wanted it go.
“I want to appeal to the law enforcement agents to make sure those implicated in the crime are brought to book.
“They should not sweep it under the carpet. The electoral law is very clear on that-those who sponsor terrorism and crime during elections. Infact it has gone beyond that, you cannot send terrorist to come and kill people just because of elections must be punished. The law enforcement agents should do something about it otherwise other elections in Ikeduru or Imo state, I don’t know how it’s going to be like. What of that day if I have died? It would have been in the news today.
“To the electorate: the electorate are no more looking for quality, this is what I’ve just observed. It’s very painful. They want the people who have money. They are not interested in the quality one has. If they are interested in quality, somebody like Mike Nwachukwu would have been a senator-elect by now.
“What I observed in Nigeria politics, is that do your rally, don’t consult leaders or wards, keep your money and bring it at the day of the election and give people they will vote for you. They are not interested in what you will do for them. I knew how much my friend Nwachukwu spent visiting leaders, wards likewise Araraume too but on the day of election, they forgot all these things. We must do what is possible to stop money politics, it will not make us to have the best.
“The only person I know who did not play money politics is Buhari. I’m sure he did not play such politics. I want to congratulate Buhari, he is my man any day. Is the kind of president Nigeria needs.
“He has only four year to go. We should give him support especially in his pursuit to stop corruption. Corruption has destroyed Nigeria. We need a man like Buhari who has integrity to stop corruption I’m a member of APC and I’m very happy that Buhari won.” Ajumbe added.
Nigerianhorn
