Araraume, Ihedioha unite as President Jonathan campaignsin Imo

Supporters of Senator Ifeanyi Ararume over the weekend
joined Hon. Emeka Ihedioha and Imo state PDP to welcome
President Goodluck Jonathan to Owerri, confirming the support
of the Okigwe -born Senator for Ihedioha as the governorship
candidate of his party.
At Saturday’s rally in which Ihedioha was presented to the
people of Imo State by President Jonathan, observers were
quick to imply that the action of Ararume and his men boldly
accepted the course of events in Imo – queuing behind
Ihedioha.
The PDP governorship primary election saw Ihedioha emerging
as the winner and Senator Ifeanyi Ararume coming second –
an outcome that threw up a somewhat bitter aftermath as
Ararume fought so bitterly against Ihedioha.
Yesterday, however, the signal, which even President
Jonathan, the National Chairman of the PDP, Alhaji Adamu
Mua’zu, and the entire hierarchy of the party saw, was that
indeed Ararume and his support base have finally joined
Ihedioha and Imo PDP to form the next government in Imo
State and work for the greater good of Imo PDP. What is not
known is what may have transpired between Ihedioha and
Ararume camps on one hand, and the Presidency before the
rally.
“I have said it before, I am saying it again, we have moved
on. Ararume and Ihedioha have buried their differences for the
common good of the PDP,” a top chieftain of the PDP in Imo
state said at the rally.
Ararume, a traditional PDP loyalist though embittered by the
outcome of the election, may have yielded to the arguments
canvassed by fellow party members and the Presidency to
team up with Ihedioha and ensure the victory of the PDP in
Imo State come February 2015. Ararume, a consistent front
runner in the Imo governorship election, was the winner in the
2007 primaries but lost it to a last minute decision of the
powers that be in the party not to field him – not even a court
judgment in his favour could sway the then leadership in
accepting him as the winner.
In 2011, Ararume was back; this time as the defunct Action
Congress of Nigeria, ACN, candidate. He came third behind
Rochas Okorocha of the APGA and then incumbent Governor,
Imo State, Ikedi Ohakim of the PDP.
Ihedioha, whose campaign has kicked off fully, is boosted by
this development as he is expected to go into the election
with a united PDP family.