AIPA Dishes out result of 2019 Imo Guber Opinion Poll.

As regards the 2019 Imo guber war, numerous debates, endorsements and recently public opinion poll by the Association of Imo Professionals in America has been put in place to ascertain the head whom the crown fits as the governor of Imo state.

The President and Secretary of the body, Dr. Desmond Chukwuma Anoruo and Engr. Peter Obioha in a press release on January 20, 2019 made public the outcome of the governorship opinion poll to guide the electorate on voting in credible leaders at the polls.

According to the body “Being aware of the tumultuous agitation in Imo State for good governance and disturbed by the laxity of the Imo statesmen and opinion leaders to rise above party identification, pecuniary interest and primordial considerations to assert themselves and direct the political process in the State so as to bring about the type of leadership which Imo people sorely lack and earnestly desire, we have, working in concert with the other groups of Imo indigenes in the Diaspora, taken up this onerous responsibility of leading the vanguard to usher in a better Imo State realized through good governance and accountable stewardship.”

The group in furtherance of their objective, said they have drawn up certain modalities, fashioned in line with democratic ethos, to help ascertain the intentions of Imo people about the forthcoming governorship election in the State.

“It is our conviction that the good governance yearned for in Imo State can be achieved only if and when the genuine intentions and aspirations of the people are brought to the fore in the decision of whom governs the State. Consequently, we have set out to do this, mindful of the sincerity and dedication that the task requires, yet hopeful that the outcome will help to deepen democracy and open up a fresh vista and insight into the politics of our State.”

“The first step we took in this direction was to conduct an opinion survey across the State to engage the people and get their responses about the qualities which they would prefer to see in the next Governor of Imo State and, indeed, who among the array of candidates they would prefer to elect as Governor come 2019”, they disclosed.

THE SURVEY

The Imo Governorship Opinion Poll (IGOP), which was conducted between December 21, 2018 and January 17, 2019, using a simple random sampling method, covered the 305 INEC Wards in the State. Our choice of the period was motivated by the need to also get the inputs of Imo people who might be resident elsewhere, since the Christmas and New Year celebrations invariably bring most persons back home. The exercise was highly coordinated and was given zero publicity in order to insulate it from partisan interests and engender credibility both of the process and of its outcome.

A total of one hundred thousand questionnaires were distributed across the 305 Wards. Some Wards got 327 while Wards in more urbanized areas of the State got 328, given that by the nature of their residence they represent diversity and shades of opinions. Of all the Governorship Candidates in the State, we chose two top contenders from each Senatorial District, to wit:

Okigwe Zone

1. Senator Ifeanyi Araraume of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA.

2. Dr. Ikedi Ohakim of the Accord Party.

Orlu Zone

1. Senator Hope Uzodinma of the All Progressives Congress, APC.

2. Chief Uche Nwosu of the Action Alliance, AA.

Owerri Zone

1. Sir Okey Ezeh of the Social Democratic Party, SDP.

2. RT. Hon. Emeka Ihedioha of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP.

There were five questions which the respondents were requested to answer by ticking against the names of the appropriate Candidates. The questions were selected in a way that would ultimately reveal three things about the Candidates, namely: Public Perception, Leadership Credentials and Disposition to Democratic Rule. The following were the questions:

1. Who do you know to have the required integrity to be the next Governor of Imo State?

2. Whose economic blueprint do you know that really addresses the true concerns of the people of Imo State?

3. Who among the Candidates do you know that has a genuine desire to work for Imo people?

4. Who do you know that is not likely to rely on electoral fraud to win the election?

5. Who do know that has no records of embezzlement of public funds?

On the question of integrity, 62% of the respondents chose Sir Okey Ezeh of the SDP, 16% chose Senator Ifeanyi Araraume of APGA, 12% chose Dr. Ikedi Ohakim of Accord Party, 5% chose Chief Uche Nwosu of AA, 3% choose RT. Hon. Emeka Ihedioha of PDP and 2% chose Senator Hope Uzodinma.

On the question of economic blueprint, 50% of the respondents preferred Sir Okey Ezeh of the SDP, 21% selected Dr. Ikedi Ohakim of the Accord Party, 15% settled for Senator Ifeanyi Araraume of APGA, 9% chose Senator Hope Uzodinma of APC, 4% voted RT. Hon Emeka Ihedioha of PDP and 1% went for Chief Uche Nwosu of AA.

On the question of sincerity of desire to serve, Sir Okey Ezeh secured 58%, Dr. Ikedi Ohakim got 23%, RT. Hon. Emeka Ihedioha polled 11%, Senator Hope Uzodinma got 3%, Chief Uche Nwosu got 3% and Senator Ifeanyi Araraume got 2%.

On the question of abhorrence of electoral fraud, Sir Okey Ezeh of the SDP got 61%, Dr. Ikedi Ohakim of the Accord Party polled 14%, Chief Uche Nwosu of the AA got 12%, RT. Hon. Emeka Ihedioha of the PDP secured 9%, Senator Ifeanyi Araraume of APGA got 3% and 1% settled for Senator Hope Uzodinma of the APC.

Finally, on the question of absence of records of embezzlement of public funds, Sir Okey Ezeh of the SDP got 86%, Dr. Ikedi Ohakim of the Accord Party got 5%, Senator Ifeanyi Araraume of APGA secured 4%, Senator Hope Uzodinma of the APC got 3%, RT. Hon. Emeka Ihedioha of the PDP got 1% and Chief Uche Nwosu of the AA got 1%.

OBSERVATIONS

Going by the unsolicited reactions of the respondents which our team had been instructed to record, the following observations have been made. First, there is a high level of cynical indifference among the Imo electorate, who feel that the electoral process in the State is flawed beyond redemption, and they feel that their votes may either not be counted or that their votes may not count. Very many of the respondents confronted our team of field workers with this issue. Second, they seem to fear that structural violence and overt use of state apparatus may prevent the expression of popular will during the governorship election. Third, some of the Imo voters still express certain preparedness to stand up to those who may wish to subvert the process. Regrettably, some respondents revealed that all they would need before voting was simply money.

RECOMMENDATIONS

There is need for the various civil society groups in the State, the mass media, faith-based organizations and the schools to carry out spirited enlightenment programs so as to educate the masses on the centrality of voting to their collective prosperity. They should also be enlightened about the consequences of vote buying and the need to de-emphasize money politics. Also, there should be mass mobilization for election monitoring and mandate protection.