Disquiet over Okorocha’s Imo 2015 comment
q The political atmosphere in Owerri, the Imo State capital, was heated up at the weekend following Governor Rochas Okorocha’s comments on the state’s ideal governorship candidate in 2015. Okorocha, speaking at the yearly Oru-Owerri Festival, said people with questionable character, including “419 persons” and women who beat their husbands would not be voted for. The governor said the would-be governor must be godly, honest and decent. His statement angered many aspirants who stormed out of the venue. A senator allegedly wept before moving out of the venue with aides and other supporters. Other aspirants, who earlier adorned the venue with their campaign posters, left furiously as a large part of the crowd continued to urge Okorocha on, despite spirited efforts by some hired thugs to shout him down. But a statement by the governor’s Senior Special Assistant on Media, Mr. Sam Onwuemeodo, warned politicians, especially governorship aspirants, to jettison intol...