This year’s edition was disappointing. Crisis started as Imo State governorship debate traditionally organised by the Catholic Diocese was about to begin.
Every election year, churches and religious groups organise debates for the candidates, though the Catholic Diocese of Owerri has been adjudged the most famous and a must-attend for all the candidates. It is presumed that any candidate who wins the Catholic debate will be elected.
The Catholic debate, which started in 1999, became famous during the 2011 governorship election after Governor Rochas Okorocha defeated the then incumbent Governor, Chief Ikedi Ohakim and subsequently won the election with the support of the Catholic faithful who were directed to vote him en masse.
But this year’s edition went awry when hoodlums descended on the audience and vandalized sacred Church properties before the candidates arrived at the venue.
As early as 8am, the Odenigbo Pavilion, venue of the event was filled to capacity with party supporters who could not hide their desperation. The stern look on the faces of some of the supporters, especially the youths, was instructive.
Trouble started while the Chairman of the Organizing Committee, Rev. Father Casmir Nze, was reminding the audience of the conduct during the debate.
While he was still speaking, a group of women numbering over 200, who were dressed on black clothes, started blowing whistles and displaying red cards, while chanting anti Okorocha slogans. This was followed by a resounding response from another group of women, who were dressed on the regalia of the Catholic Women Organization (CWO), who were chanting pro-Okorocha slogan.
The Catholic women who were listing Okorocha’s achievements took over the premises, singing and dancing.
At this point, some armed hoodlums invaded the podium and destroyed the chairs and other Church properties including the public address system and video cameras, while the clergymen who were already on the podium, jumped down and fled.
There was stampede as the people scampered to safety. It took the efforts of security operatives to stop further destruction of Church property.
Meanwhile, the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) have continued to trade blame over the incident.
Addressing reporters, the Director General of the Rochas Okorocha Campaign Organisation, Mr Iheukwumere Alaribe, a lawyer, accused the state Chairman of the PDP, Nnamdi Anyaehie for the inciting the hoodlums to chant anti-Okorocha slogans while blowing whistles and displaying red cards.
He said: “We commend the Church for the initiative and are ready to honour the invitation whenever it is rescheduled 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 the 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”.
However Ihedioha, who arrived the venue in the thick of the crisis, stated that, “the APC hired thugs and invaded the place because Governor Okorocha knew what awaited him if the debate had held. He knows that the majority of Imo people have rejected him. With his attitude it is obvious that he doesn’t want the election to hold.
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.
Meanwhile, reacting to the development, the State Governor, Rochas Okorocha commended the political parties and candidates who would have participated in the debate, for their peaceful conduct, which he said averted what could been a bloody clash.
The governor in a statement signed by his Senior Special Assistant on Media, Mr. Sam Onwuemeodo, said, “It is a good development for Imo people that supporters of the political parties met for such a function and there was no major fracas and nobody was wounded. It means Imo people have come to appreciate the fact that beyond politics we are still brothers and sisters, whether we are in APC or PDP or APGA or UPP”.
The Imo state governor also commended the Archbishop of the Diocese, His Grace Anthony Obinna and the Catholic Archdiocese of Owerri for coming up with such a laudable idea of bringing the governorship candidates together to tell Imo people what they have in store for them if elected.
He assured, saying, “Whenever the debate is re-scheduled whatever caused the postponement of the event would be taken care of.”
According to him, 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.
“However, we took exception to the statement credited to the Governorship candidate of PDP, Hon. Emeka Ihedioha who rushed to one of the radio stations in the state the moment the debate was cancelled to claim that the APC supporters beat up a Reverend father at that event.
“Although eighty 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, beating a Reverend father, of all people.
“Hon. Ihedioha is not the spokesman of the Owerri Catholic Archdiocese. The Archdiocese has a media Director and a number of good Information Officers. And if Hon. Ihedioha’s claims were right, the Archdiocese would have spoken and they would have also given detailed information on that like when a PDP governor then flogged a Reverend father.
“Imo people know the particular political party that has the unbeatable record of beating men of God including a reverend father. It is not in the character of APC leaders and members to do such. Once again, we thank Imo people, members of all the political parties, and moreover the Owerri Catholic Arch-Diocese for their love for the state, God bless Imo state and her people.
Two days after the fracas, facts were said to have emerged about how widows and hired thugs, allegedly mobilized by the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), disrupted the governorship debate organised by the Catholic Archdiocese of Owerri.
The purported widows numbering over 500, The Nation gathered were the same set of women that invaded the Imo State Government House bearing mock coffin at the alleged instance of the Minister of State for Education, Professor Viola Onwuliri.
The women who were dressed on black attire also had red card and whistles which they had earlier concealed in their bags until they were given the signal to blow the whistles and flash the red cards.
It was also gathered that the widows, were instructed to disrupt Governor Rochas Okorocha’s speech during the debate and applaud the PDP candidate, Rt. Hon Emeka Ihedioha during his speech.
Speaking with The Nation, Bar Iheukwumere Alaribe, stated that the PDP never wanted the debate to hold because of the Governor’s intimidating record of achievement, adding that, “the All Progressives Congress (APC) government has done well in the last three and a half years in the state and this has endeared Governor Okorocha to the people so such debate will expose the PDP and give the people of the state the opportunity to compare between the APC led government and the PDP that frittered the wealth of the state for 12 years.
He continued that, “we were very happy about the planned debate but you saw what happened and how the PDP were fighting to politicize the Church. The people know the truth and will stand by the truth no matter the antics deployed by the PDP”.
Also speaking, the State Commissioner for information and strategy, Chief Chidi Ibe, lampooned the PDP leaders for “hiring thugs to disrupt an event that was organized by the Church, just to stop the Governor from giving his scorecard”.
He lamented that the disruption of the well attended event, had robbed Imo people the opportunity to have an interface with the candidates, especially to “hear their performing Governor give his account of stewardship”.
A member of the Catholic Church who did not want his name mentioned, described the attitude of the women as sacrilegious, adding that, “it is becoming worrisome that women who have lost their husbands have become tools in the hands of mischievous politicians in the state. How can it be said that widows will abandon their children to go and disrupt public peace because of the peanuts given to them by politicians”.
The source added further “it is this same set of widows that the Governor’s wife has built over 200 houses for I wonder why they are allowing themselves to be deceived by the PDP members. They seem to forget how they were treated during the PDP administration in the state”.
An Owerri-based legal practitioner, Iwuala Emperor, who disagreed with the modalities for the debate, said that it contravenes the Electoral Act, which stipulates that no political gathering or debate shall be held in religious places of worship, adding that it is a criminal offense that attracts one month imprisonment or one hundred thousand naira fine
