In the Imo election, Iboi said the fight would be between the candidates of the Labour Party (LP), Athan Achonu, and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Samuel Anyanwu, contrary to speculations that the incumbency factor will favour Governor Uzodimma’s second term bid.
He said Uzodinma is terribly hated by his people, and it is widely believed that he was the brain behind the spate of killings perpetrated by the unknown gunmen and the destruction of the properties in the state.
Therefore, he charged security operatives to tighten security in the politically charged and volatile state to avert a bloodbath during the poll.
He said, “When we met in the coven to review the three off-cycle governorship elections, we examined all the political parties and their candidates and their chances of winning the election. We noticed that Uzodimma is terribly hated by his people. Also remember that he’s governor not by popular will, but by legal technicalities of the Supreme Court. To date, his people derisively refer to him as Supreme Court Governor. The senseless killing in the state is another albatross he is carrying. His people thought that he is the brain behind the spate of killings perpetrated by Unknown Gunmen (UGM) and destruction of property of the people. So, the people believe he is their sponsor. This is very unfortunate anyway, but that is what we saw in the coven.”
Speaking on Kogi State, he said the election is between the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and PDP, stressing that Governor Yahaya Bello had already lost over failure to field his deputy to succeed him.
He declared, “The Social Democratic Party (SDP) is as strong as the APC and PDP in the state. When we met in Idah, Okenne, Ankpa, and other parts of the state, Governor Yahaya Bello’s candidate would have won easily in the state, but he appeared to have shot himself in the foot by listening to wrong advice.
“The people that advised him not to field his deputy will cost him the election victory in the state. When we got to the coven, we were told that all his strategies of destabilizing the election by fomenting trouble would not fetch him victory. There will be a bloodbath in Kogi, but Bello will still lose the election. So, we saw the election is between PDP and SDP.
“For Dino Melaye, he’s very recalcitrant. We’ve invited him a couple of times for a strategic meeting, but you know, pride goes before a fall. His vain pomposity will be his undoing. And if he fails to heed our call, he will be shell-shocked about the outcome of the election.
“Governor Bello has already lost out of favour with his people by not fielding his deputy governor to succeed him, but preferring to field his brother.”
On Bayelsa State, Iboi said that the former State governor, Sylva, would not go anywhere in the election.
He said, “Recall that I had in a statement predicted that he would suffer a setback in his candidacy for the ruling APC. Now, he is fighting the battle of his life to retain the candidacy of the party, which the court had taken away from him. If he gets it, we don’t see him going far with it”
