The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has released the final list of candidates for the November 11 gubernatorial election in Imo State, with Sen. Athan Nneji Achonu as the candidate of the Labour Party.
In all, 17 parties are contesting in the elections with their candidates.
Achonu survived long and hard fought legal battles and misinformation to make the final list alongside his running mate, Hon. Tony Nwulu.
READ ALSO: http://Ekiti, UK-Habitat collab to sustainable urbanisation
Among the many battles was the alleged propaganda that he was fronting for Governor Hope Uzodinma after reportedly collecting $1 million from him.
This was followed by a plethora of court cases, which persisted due to misrepresentations of clear court rulings on social media by suspected hirelings of the state governor regardless of the party’s recurrent clarifications that Achonu remained its flag bearer.
Recall that former members of the LP led by Lamidi Apapa had been insistent on producing the Imo Labour Party flag bearer in the election, and therefore, pulled all heinous schemes to truncate Achonu’s candidature despite losses in the courts.
Achonu had trounced other contestants in the party’s gubernatorial primaries but unsettled by the victory of Achonu, who is believed to be the only candidate capable of dislodging Governor Hope Uzodinma from office, the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, allegedly unleashed all manner of attacks on him.
READ ALSO: http://Sanwo-Olu to unveil Traffic Radio live camera updates
According to a Labour Party chieftain, Chief Ibegbu Nwokeke, “It is now clear to everyone that all claimants to the LP ticket, including Basil Maduka, Ucheegbu Ikenga and Kenneth Ibeh, have been shut up forever. Achonu remains the candidate of the LP as the party, as the national and state had consistently clarified.
“Ndi Imo now have a golden opportunity to reclaim their state on November 11 by rejecting criminal looting, rudderless administration and mass murders and destruction that have bedeviled the state since the inception ofthe APC governmentlmost four years ago. They can now massively vote for Achonu and say bye bye to rubbish.
“A vote for the Labour Party and Achonu is a vote for a new and purposeful Imo where life matters; where peace, security, employment and prosperity shall boom,” he said.
