It was a celebration, that saw the attendance of Vice President Yemi Osinbanjo, representing President Muhammadu Buhari.
Also present was the Senate President and his deputy, several APC governors as well as other dignitaries from across the country.
Even Adams Oshiomhole, who orchestrated Uzodinma’ s emergence as the APC candidate in 2019, as well as the legal coup that removed Ihedioha, was there.
However, the noticeable absence of Imo Federal Representatives, from the Senate to the Federal House of Representatives, marred the integrity of the celebration.
The Senator representing Owerri zone, Senator Ezenwa Omyewuchi is of the Peoples Democratic Party PDP, whose mandate, Hope Uzodinma took away through the Supreme Court, and as such, Onyewuchi was not in attendance at the function.
However, Senator Rochas Okorocha being the only other Senator in the State, being that the Okigwe zone Senate seat is still heavily contended in court, was also absent at the gathering.
Okororcha, who is of the All Progressives Congress APC, which is the same party with Uzodinma, has been locked in serious political and legal battles with Uzodinma, one of such battles, resulting in an attack on Okororcha, his family members and associates, resulting in the injury of his son- in- law Uzoma Anwuka and his personal aide, as well as the destruction Okororcha’ s vehicles, even his personal staff car.
Okororcha wasn’t also spared, as he was humiliated by Uzodinma’ s aides, while being paraded like a common criminal by the police, for trespassing into his wife’ s property, which had been sealed by the Imo State government, at the orders of Senator Hope Uzodinma.
With such a tumultuous relationship, Okororcha was expectedly, not present at the occasion.
Interestingly, aside from two APC Federal Representatives, Princess Miriam Onuoha, whose real alliance isn’t yet known, as she was made a Federal Representative through the efforts of Senator Ifeanyi Araraume, himself a close ally of Senator Rochas Okorocha, and a bitter political enemy of Hope Uzodinma, Hope Uzodinma seems to have only Chike Okafor as the only Federal Representative loyal to him.
Chike Okafor, who was a former commissioner for Finance to Okororcha, and whose political journey was the making of Okororcha, is suspected to have betrayed his benefactor, to save himself from probe over his time as the Imo finance man, under which, may financial misappropriation were alleged.
The former Deputy Speaker of the Imo State Assembly, who is now a Federal Lawmaker, Ugonna Ozuruigbo, is rumoured to be considering a jump from Okorocha to Uzodinma, to save his hotel from demolition.
Okororcha has all the other Federal Representatives of the APC on his side, while the rest are of the PDP, an all boycotted the ceremony.
Presently, Uzodinma has almost no voice in the National Assembly, which is probably why he is battling Araraume for the Okigwe seat.
Okigwe has remained with a Senator for over a year, since the death of Senator Benjamin Uwajumogu.
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