Uche Nwosu says God has willed him to be the next Imo governor and Buhari secure a landslide in the southeast

GOVERNOR Rochas Okorocha's son-in-law and handpicked successor Uche Nwosu has rubbished claims that he has suspended his governorship aspirations to lead Imo State following pressure by political opponents.

In February next year, Imo State will go to the polls to elect a new chief executive when Governor Okorocha's second term in office ends. Currently working as a commissioner in Governor Okorocha's cabinet, Mr Nwosu is the Imo State chief of staff and has the governor's backing to take over from him.

However, the move has attracted widespread opposition from members of the Imo State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC), who resent the idea of Governor Okorocha imposing his son-in-law on them. Over the last few days, it was reported that Mr Nwosu has succumbed to the pressure and withdrawn from the race.

Debunking this story, however, Mr Nwosu described the rumour as unfounded and baseless, pointing out that his ambition has been strengthened by the activities of the opposition. He warned that cheap blackmail and propaganda cannot stop his ambition.

According to Mr Nwosu, he was not disturbed by the political intrigues and controversies that arose during the course of the APC congresses in the state because his ambition was divine and cannot be truncated by any man. Several of the wards in the state held parallel congresses to those conducted by the party machine controlled by Governor Okorocha.

Mr Nwosu said: “No amount of cheap blackmail or sponsored falsehood in the media can distract him or derail God’s plan for Imolites through his mandate. There is nothing that can be farther from the truth than such reports that I have suspended my ambition.

"It is those in the opposition that have suspended their governorship aspirations because of the fear of Ugwumba Uche Nwosu. They are afraid because they know that they don’t stand a chance against the will of God and the people."

He added that he is very focused on the goal and cannot be distracted. According to Mr Nwosu, he and his team are not resting on their oar and are taking their message to the nooks and crannies of the state, while the so called Coalition Group are running around in hotels in Abuja looking for ways to subvert the will of the people.

“Those same people fought Governor Rochas Okorocha and even called him all sorts of uncomplimentary names, some even went as far as selling the falsehood that he was working with President Muhammadu Buhari to Islamise the southeast when he was building the APC, are the same people who are pretending to love the party. We know their plans and their sponsors but just like we defeated them in 2011 and 2015, we will also defeat them in 2019 and President Buhari will have landslide victory in Imo and other southeast states," Mr Nwosu added.