Following the conclusion of ward, local and state congresses of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Imo, Osita Okechukwu, Director-General, Voice of Nigeria (VON) and a chieftain of the party has advised Gov. Rochas Okorocha to leave the party if he so desires.
Okechukwu spoke on the heels of Gov. Okorocha’s disagreement with the outcome of the congresses held in Imo last month.
He told newsmen at the APC national secretariat in Abuja on Monday that the APC would win the 2019 elections without Okorocha.
According to him, the actions and inactions of Okorocha have caused the APC more setbacks in the last four years in Imo and the South-East in general.
He said recent development that made the governor to lose at the party´s just concluded congresses was a grand plan to reposition APC toward winning elections in the South-East.
“At least there are more than 60 political parties now. Okorocha is free to join any one of his choice, though, we are not forcing him to leave.
“What we are saying is that we have taken the leadership out of his hands because he is playing God; so, what I am saying is that he is at liberty to leave APC.
“But let nobody anywhere think that the APC will lose because we have retrieved the party from him. Mr president is going to get more votes, we are going to win more parliamentary seats, more governorship seats without him,” he said.
He noted that over 90 per cent of the leadership and membership of the APC in the South-East were against Okorocha and his style of governance.
However, Dr Toe Ekechi, Convener of APC Restoration Coalition in Imo, said they would rather prefer that Okorocha remain in the party than leave.
“Rochas Okorocha is the governor of Imo, I think there is joy in heaven when one’ s lost sheep is found.
“We will be most joyous to see our governor Rochas Owelle Okorocha come back to the fold and work with us as a family to ensure the success of APC in 2019.
“That is not taking away the fact that he has the right to make political decisions that suits him, but in terms of what we want, we wish that we work with him.
“I will not want it to degenerate to that extent, not necessarily in the interest of the party but in his own interest and I think he is a smart governor and won’t want to contemplate leaving APC,” he said.
He expressed confidence that even if the governor decided to leave the party, the coalition was prepared to sustain the APC in Imo.