After meeting Buhari, Okorocha reacts to defection allegations

– Governor Okorocha met with President Buhari on Thursday, November 1, 2018

– He said he had clarified from the meeting that Oshiomhole was acting on his own concerning the lingering crises in Imo APC and other states

– The Imo state governor also stated that he cannot leave the ruling party because of the crises

Governor Rochas Okorocha of Imo state has dismissed rumours that he is mulling defecting from the All Progressives Congress (APC) over the fallout of the party’s governorship primaries in the state.

Okorocha spoke with State House correspondents after a closed-door meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday, November 1, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports.

He said he was in the Presidential Villa to clear the air that presidency was behind what Adams Oshiomhole, APC national chairman, was doing in some of the states.

Okorocha said that Oshiomhole’s actions had affected APC negatively, adding that there was no instruction from the president directing him to do anything illegal or create any sort of injustice.

“How can I build a house and leave it for someone else? I am in APC; I founded APC; I gave the name APC and so this is our party and we continue with the party and build the party for victory.

“Oshiomhole is on his own in this whole thing; there is no presidency support for him to refuse those who won elections and give wrong candidates who did not win election.

“So, this is the matter and I will simply say it is not on the consent of the presidency; he is on his own.

“I also requested that Oshiomhole must learn to respect the rule of law and obey court orders where they apply; this issue of court orders as tissue papers must stop; it does not reflect the image of our party.

“He must act quickly to fix the integrity of this party because his coming ought to have brought in joy into the party, not sadness,’’ he said.

The governor said that APC would not disintegrate for as long Buhari was still the president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and leader of the party.

Okorocha said that the party was still intact though many people were hurt.

He said that since Oshiomhole came on board coupled with the controversy surrounding his primaries, APC was losing almost five million voters because of anger and protests.

The governor said it was high time national chairman was called to order; to respect the rule of law; do the right and respect court orders.

“He cannot stand on Hope Uzodinma because the gentleman did not win election; you cannot compare somebody who won 265,000 votes to somebody who won 7,000 votes.

“He did not; he never won the election and Oshiomhole cannot impose candidates unacceptable to people on the people.

“He should do the right thing before he creates more disaffection for our party; I do not think the National Working Committee (NWC) will not submit the name of Hope Uzodinma.

“In the first place, NWC sent a 13-man delegation who conducted election and 12 of them signed proving that Uche Nwosu won the election with 265,000 votes as against Hope who had less than 7,000 votes.

“He cannot do that and there is a letter to that effect from NWC saying Uche Nwosu won; there is a certificate of return given to Uche Nwosu; there is a police report saying Uche Nwosu; there is INEC report saying Uche Nwosu.

“Nobody can do that; and if they do that, that must be the worst imposition in history,’’ he said

Speaking on the comment of the national leader of APC, Bola Tinubu, that Oshiomhole was on the right track, Okorocha said that Tinubu must have been `ill-informed’.

According to the governor, if Tinubu is properly informed, he will not say that Oshiomhole is doing is the right thing.

Meanwhile, TRACK NEWS previously reported that Uche Nwosu, the son-in-law to Governor Okorocha, said his name had not been dropped as the gubernatorial candidate of the APC in the state.

Contrary to reports that the National Working Committee of the ruling party had adopted Senator Hope Uzodinma as its candidate, Nwosu insisted that he remained the authentic governorship candidate of the party.

He said: “Apart from available records which show that I am the authentic governorship candidate of our party, I also have a valid court order barring the party and INEC from substituting my name. So, the media house reporting that is obviously sponsored to do a hatchet job.”