In 2011, the Justice and Peace Development Commission (JPDC) of the Catholic Archdiocese of Owerri organized the inaugural governorship debate for gubernatorial candidates in Imo State.
The idea was to avail the Imo people of the opportunity to hear from governorship candidates of the various political parties what they have in stock for them.
The governorship debate is taken very seriously by the parties and their candidates.
While governorship candidates may shun debates organized by other organizations, it would be at their own political peril if they do not attend that of the Catholic Church given the massive attendance and influence of the church.
The last governorship debate in 2011, which featured the incumbent Owelle Rochas Okorocha and his predecessor, Chief Ikedi Ohakim, favoured Okorocha as the Church had, after the debate, expressed preference for the incumbent.
So, the people of the state were anxiously waiting for the Catholic Archdiocese’s governorship debate this time, especially between the three leading contestants from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Hon. Emeka Ihedioha; the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA), Capt. Emmanuel Iheanacho and the All Progressives Congress (APC), Governor Okorocha.
And as early as 7:30a.m; the Odenigbo Pavilion, venue of the event was already filled to capacity with people who came for the debate that was scheduled to begin by 10:00a.m.
The people were in high spirit to witness a robust debate going by the candidates involved, but this was not to be as hoodlums swooped on the venue, destroying the podium, making the priests and those who had gathered to witness the debate to scamper for safety.
Trouble had started shortly after the Chairman of the Organising Committee, Rev. Father Casmir Nze, reminded the audience of the need to be of good conduct during the debate.
As he was addressing the audience, a group of women numbering over 200, who were clad in black attire started blowing whistles, displaying red cards, and chanting anti-Okorocha songs.
The women, Oriental News gathered, are the same widows who had two weeks ago confronted Okorocha because of their matron, Prof Viola Onwuliri.
As the red-card carrying women blew their whistles, their action was matched with a quick response from another group of women, who were dressed in the regalia of the Catholic Women Organisation (CWO), who countered them by chanting pro-Okorocha slogans.
This later group of women were said to have been “rented” by Okorocha to counter the widows who were said to have in the past few days embarrassed the governor with their red cards and whistles.
In the confusion, armed hoodlums invaded the podium and destroyed the chairs and other Church property, including the public address system and video cameras, while the clergymen and other guests who were already seated on the podium, quickly jumped down and fled to safety.
Also the other people who gathered to witness the debate ran away, and in the process, many sustained injuries in their bid to escape from the rampaging hoodlums who were destroying everything in sight.
But for prompt response of security operatives, the famous Odenigbo Pavilion and other church property in the place would have been totally destroyed.
As the people ran away from the Odenigbo Pavilion, the hoodlums pursued some of them up to the Orlu Road Junction, throwing heavy stones and other objects at them.
Their action caused traffic confusion as motorists were turning back in panic, particularly as women and children who fled from the scene were crying, most of them injured with blooding stains on them.
The shocked Archbishop of the Diocese, His Grace Anthony Obinna, thanked God that no life was lost in the fracas, adding that the event could have gone as planned if not for the crisis.
Even when it was obvious that the fracas emanated from the supporters of the PDP and APC, the two parties have been engaged in accusations and counter-accusations.
Hon. Ihedioha, who arrived the venue as the crisis started pointedly accused Governor Okorocha of sending his thugs to disrupt the debate having known what awaited him at the venue.
His words: “You can see that Governor Anayo Rochas Okorocha sent his APC thugs who invaded the place because Governor Okorocha knew what awaited him if the debate had held. So, to avoid the debate he simply sent in his thugs, including his aides to embarrass, intimidate and beat up widows, young men and women, including reverend fathers and destroy church property and equipment meant for the debate and the Holy altar of God was desecrated by the man who has been at the helms of affairs of the state for three and half years.
“Because he is aware that the people are overwhelmingly rejecting him, he does not want to face the wrath of the people, so to ensure that the event does not hold he brought in thugs with machetes, knives and guns apparently because we did not have enough security here they descended on innocent citizens who had come to listen to governorship candidates to know what they have in stock.
“It is most unfortunate about what has happened here today but this has been the plight of Imo people since Okorocha was sworn in 2011, because he doesn’t mean well for the state and doesn’t want a violence-free election to hold in the state but the will of the people shall prevail.”
“The debate would have been an opportunity for Governor Okorocha to share his testimonial with the people but, of course, you know that his record is nothing to write home about and that is why he has been avoiding any debate.
“He shunned the CAN organized debate held at the Cathedral Church of the All Saints Anglican Church, but this is a different case because this is a debate in which he has to participate or it is all over for him and in order to prevent the calamity that awaits him he sent thugs to disrupt the event from holding.
“So, Nigerians and Imo people should take note because Imo State is going to be one of the states to watch. If Okorocha thinks that it would favour him he would have been here but he knew that he has told Imo people too much lies and knows that the odds are now heavily against him,” Ihedioha said.
The PDP governorship candidate also accused Okorocha of stockpiling arms for the elections, saying that the party through its state chairman has officially reported to the security agencies on the plans of the All Progressives Congress to make lives miserable for the people and advised the entire Imo citizens to be more vigilant.
Also speaking, the APGA governorship candidate, Capt Iheancho told Oriental News that the Chief of Staff to Government House, attacked one of the priests while the Secretary to the State Government personally broke down the altar of God in their bid to ensure that the debate never held.
“I was surprised that the Secretary to the State Government, Prof Awuka and his counterpart the Chief of Staff to Government House, Sir Jude Ejiogu did not only bring thugs to disrupt the event, but also participated in the whole sordid affair; while Sir Ejiogu attacked one of the priests, the SSG was gleefully destroying the podium on the Altar of God. It was quite unfortunate.
“So, every Imolite must condemn what happened at the Assumpta Cathedral by Governor Okorocha’s aides who beat up priests and destroyed the property of the church. I had it on good authority that Governor Okorocha had sent text messages to his aides to mobilize women outside Owerri and equally distribute the wrappers of the Catholic Women Organization into deceiving the people that they are Catholic Christian mothers at the venue and this very wrong,” Ihanacho regretted.
According to him, anyone who wanted to be the governor of Imo State must be ready to tell the people how to positively change their situations for the better which he said was the essence of the debate and not the making of bogus promises which cannot be fulfilled.
The APGA governorship candidate called on the security agencies to disband the over 20,000 armed Imo Security Network employed under the guise of “Youths Must Work” by Governor Okorocha before the elections, alleging that they were the paid thugs of the state government whose duties were simply to intimidate and harass innocent citizens of the state to forcefully support Okorocha.
“These APC thugs called Imo Security Network beat two of my aides to a pulp and one of them had his head broken with a bottle at the venue and so we have appealed to the security agencies to disband this terror outfit which is being used to harass and intimidate innocent Imo citizens.
“If Okorocha has anything to offer he should accept to come for a debate because we cannot continue to entertain charlatans in government who have nothing to offer. Interestingly, while Okorocha has no plan for mass housing for the civil servants in the state he has built a massive housing estate for himself at Spibat,” he said.
But the Director General of the Rochas Okorocha Campaign Organization, Mr Iheukwumere Alaribe dismissed the allegations of Hon Ihedioha, and Capt Iheancho, absolving the state government in the complicity of aborting the Catholic Archdiocese of Owerri governorship debate.
The DG accused the chairman of the PDP in the state, Chief Nnamdi Anyaehie and Ihedioha as the agents provocateur of the fracas at Odenigbo Pavilion, alleging that it was the PDP who brought the thugs to the venue in their desperation to win converts at all costs.
Addressing newsmen shortly after the botched debate, Alaribe,who commended the Catholic Archdiocese of Owerri for the initiative said that Governor Okorocha was ready to debate with anybody at anytime it was rescheduled.
He, therefore, accused the state Chairman of the PDP, Chief Anyaehie of inciting the hoodlums and widows to chant anti-Okorocha slogans while blowing whistles and displaying red cards.
His words: “We commend the Church for the initiative and are ready to honour the invitation whenever it is re-scheduled, but we are worried that if the PDP and APGA do not refrain from politicizing the Church, it may have negative effect on the faith of worshipers.
“For instance, the PDP chairman came to the venue with over 50 armed thugs and the same thing with the PDP governorship candidate, Rt. Hon Emeka Ihedioha who was escorted by hoodlums with whistles and red cards. But we are not worried because we are ready for the election.
“Although 80 per cent of the crowd at the venue of the debate were APC supporters owing largely to the popularity of Governor Okorocha, the truth remains that APC supporters never confronted anybody, talk more of beating a reverend father of all people.
“Again, there was the story of the supporters of the candidates and political parties holding mini-rallies at the venue of the debate and creating a rowdy situation that scared people away. The truth of the matter is that, in an event of that nature involving governorship candidates and the Owerri Catholic Archdiocese such excitement and rowdy scenarios could not be ruled out but the good thing was that there was no fracas,” Alaribe said.
Reacting to the ugly incident, the Director of Social Communication of the Catholic Archdiocese of Owerri, Reverend Father George Nwachukwu told Oriental News that the Church was very disappointed as the debate was disrupted. He pointed out that the disruption of the event may have been pre-meditated as the government in power had failed to help with the provision of adequate security as was the case in 2011.
“The entire church was very disappointed that a debate solely organized to allow the various governorship candidates to tell the people what they have in stock for them was disrupted even before it started and unfortunately, the government in power which ought to have assisted with adequate security as was the case in 2011 did not help matters as some of its officials participated in the disruption of the event.
“If they said that some people had come to the venue with red cards and whistles was not an excuse for the invading of the podium by suspected party thugs and in the process destroyed church property, including chairs, tables and the public address system. Even, Reverend Father Osuagwu was assaulted by one of the supporters of Governor Okorocha who forcefully removed his eye-glasses and smashed it. So, it is very unfortunate and the Archdiocese has decided to cancel the debate in the light of what has happened and it was quite unfortunate because in 2011 even though the then incumbent Ikedi Ohakim was booed by the supporters of APGA it never degenerated to what we experienced because the debate had still gone ahead,” he said.
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