My attention has been drawn to the , mischievous, misleading and diversionary report authored by some APC members believed to be Chief Alex Mbata’s supporters which stated that the All Progressive Congress, APC will not only lose the 2023 election in Imo state but will also disintegrate.
The report which was circulated on social media is not only ridiculous, laughable but also false and misleading in its entirety. I would not have bothered about the content of the article which from all indications, is the product of the warped and distorted imagination of the author who appears is living in self delusion.But in a bid to halt the obvious representation of facts and to properly inform Imo people who deserve to know the truth, I would endeavour to put the records straight by stating as follows:
It is the height of deceit and self conceit for any person to ascribe the growth, sustenance or success of the All Progressive Congress, APC to Dr Alex Mbata who from all intents and purposes is a green horn and a political neophyte.
It is on record that the former Governor of Imo state, Owelle Rochas Okorocha despite his inadequacies is the fore bearer of APC in Imo state. He not only laid the foundation of the party but also nurtured and gave it relevance in the state. Though he later, with the connivance of people like Prince Alex Mbata who he appointed as the Pro Chancellor of Imo state University balkanized, demarketed and rubbished the party through some of his actions and inactions .
I would not want to delve into Prince Alex Mbata’s actions, performance and track record as Pro Chancellor of Imo State University as that would be a story for another day. Besides, the White Paper on the panel set up by the state government to look into the activities of the university has done justice to that. It is therefore ridiculous, laughable and preposterous for Prince Alex Mbata and his media aides to claim or insinuate that APC will lose or be demeaned in any way if Prince Alex Mbata who, from all indications is not only a political feather weight but also a new entrant into the party. Nobody ever knew or heard of him until he was made politically relevant by Okorocha who appointed him as the Pro Chancellor of Imo State University, Owerri.
On the contrary, the Governor, His Excellency, Distinguished Senator Hope Uzodinma (Onwa Oyoko) should be given the credit for presently transforming and repositioning APC in Imo state.
The All Progressive Congress APC won the election for Isiala Mbano, Onuimo, Okigwe federal constituency in 2019 with Princess Onuoha as the party’s flag bearer. The party also won the Okigwe North Senatorial bye-election with Senator Frank Ibezim as the flag bearer. All this while Prince Alex Mbata was neither in the picture as an active politician nor a member of the APC.
Therefore for Alex Mbata’s media aides to be attributing non-existent importance to their principal could be attributed to the fact that, Prince Alex is either not telling them the truth or that they have short memory and cannot comprehend the sequence of events and happenings in the party, nay Imo state.
It is also pertinent to recall that the Director General of Prince Alex Mbata campaign organization, Chief Godffrey Dikeocha and his principal have in one way or the other demarketeding the party through some of their present, past actions and utterances.
Chief Dikeocha was recently quoted in both state and national newspapers as saying that an aspirant for the Owerri zone senatorial seat is an ex-convict. Till date, despite persuasions from different quarters for him to prove his assertion beyond reasonable doubt , by naming the person he referred to, he has not been courageous enough to do that, thereby making himself an unreliable person who makes bogus statements that he can neither substantiate nor prove.
On the other hand, his principal, Prince Alex Mbata was also in the eye of the storm recently, as a group known as “Every Child Education and Advancement Foundation (ECEAF) after a crucial meeting in Owerri called on him to explain why several projects initiated by Education Trust Fund at the Imo state University, Owerri were abandoned during his tenure as the as Pro Chancellor despite the enormous resources made available for them.
The group in a release signed by the Director of Publicity Comrade Dominic Nwankwo frowned at the damning revelations contained in the recent White Paper on IMSU which unveiled how Prince Alex Mbata an aspirant for Owerri zone senatorial seat who was Pro Chancellor of the university at that time, unilaterally and inexplicably, changed the Consultants appointed by TETFUND to oversee the projects and ensure completion according to specifications and appointed new consultants who eventually abandoned the projects and fled.
The group further posited that, “we have been reliably informed that PRINCE Alex Mbata, the Ngwoma Obube, Owerri North born, C.E.O of ABM Global is aspiring for the Owerri zone senatorial seat, hence we as a matter of urgency demand that he explains in graphic details what happened to TETFUND projects at the Imo state University, Owerri when he was the Pro Chancellor during the Rochas Okorocha tenure as governor of the state. “We are aware that IMSU is in dire need of lecture halls and other facilities, while some of those presently available are dilapidated. As a group that is passionately committed to the provision of the basic educational and other needs of the “Child” we will be left with no other option than to take drastic actions if we are not availed of the explanations we seek within the shortest possible time.
Continuing, they said, “we understand the importance of the position of Senator to Imo people hence we would do anything possible within the ambit of the law to ensure that the position is not given to or occupied by somebody who will use it to enrich himself at the expense of the people.”
The white Paper in paragraph 5.1 titled “Abandoned Building contracts said, “The abandoned building projects have been a source of worry and embarrassment to Imo State University and Imo State Government, and people as a whole. The abandoned buildings are made up of three (3nos) TETFUND Intervention Projects, namely; Faculty of Business Administration, Faculty of Science and Faculty of Education Annex Building Projects; and two (2nos) NEEDS Assessment Projects, made up of the New Main Library and the Medical Centre Buildings.”
The report further stated that, “Contractor mobilized to site on Monday, 13 January 2015, but commenced
work in the last week of March, 2015 due to difficulty in getting occupants of the buildings on the site to vacate.
By 16 June 2015, the contractor had started having problems with the delayed release and payments of his earned certificates.
Between 16 June 2015 and up till 14 October 2015, Arisa Adifice and other contractors of identified TETFUND abandoned projects made four joint requests (16 June 2015, 24 August 2015, 3 September 2015 and October 2015) for payments of earned certificates without success. By December 2017, contractor abandoned the project .”.
It is obvious from the statement of the group referred to above, that Prince Alex Mbata already has skeletons in his cupboard that make him a political liability rather than an asset to the APC, considering the fact that ECEAF comprises mostly of youths who are the determining factors in elections in the country.
Having said that, it is instructive to advise Prince Alex Mbata, his handlers and media aides to concentrate more on issue based campaigns by projecting and highlighting the strong points of their principal, including his academic qualifications, political experience, long standing contributions to the socio-economic and human capital development of Owerri zone and the state at large rather than dwelling on campaigns of calumny or blackmailing the state governor and other aspirants who from all indications and at the risk of sounding immodest, are more educated, move politically experienced and stand better chances of clinching the ticket for Owerri senatorial zone, all things being equal by virtue of their transparent and unblemished track records .
The Director General of Prince Alex Mbata campaign organization Chief Godffrey Dikeoha had on several occasion thrown caution to the wind several occasions throw caution to the wind by accusing the Macdonald Ebere led executive of the party of not providing a level playing ground for the aspirants.
At the Owerri zone stakeholders meeting held at the party’s state secretariat, Owerri, recently, he said, “I am the Director General of Prince Alex Mbata campaign organization and my principal has been very supportive of our great party. I want to state categorically that our party may lose in Owerri zone going by the way and manner the affairs of the party are being piloted. We should realize that Owerri zone comprises nine local government areas. We should not make the mistake of losing all because we failed to do the needful”.
The above statement was seen by many as an indictment of the Sir Macdonald Ebere PhD led stateexecutive and also an act of insurbornation which breeds disunity and ultimately undermines the party’s chances of success and victory in 2023.
However, all these ranting, pessimistic and defeatist utterances and approach emanating from the camp of Prince Alex Mbata are nothing but storms in a tea cup that will not in any way affect or impact negatively on the fortunes of the APC in the 2023 election, when the chips are down.
This is because the people Owerri zone are educated, politically aware and conscious of happenings in the party and around them. Hence it would be better for Prince Alex Mbata and his aides to exhibit decorum, maturity and decency because politics is not a do or die affair.
However, I advise Prince Alex Mbata to caution his media handlers and media aides to order. He should as a matter of urgency admonish them on the need to play by the rules and shun all utterances, conducts, actions and inactions that are likely to heat up the polity or fan the embers of confusion, chaos and disaffection, bearing in mind that no matter what they think their principal has contributed towards the growth and sustenance of the party within the very short time that he came on board, there are people who have done that several times over in all ramifications.
They should also understand that their negative utterances that are borne out of desperation and me-alone syndrome is demarketing and drawing negative attention to our great party.
Besides, the interest of our great party APC is more paramount and takes precedence over the interest of any single individual.
