By ENYIM ENYIM

ONITSHA — First, son of late Dim  Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu,Emeka Ojukwu jnr, has said that his father never made any wish for Governor Peter Obi of Anambra State to be re-elected in the 2010 gubernatorial election.

Speaking to newsmen in his Nnewi residence, he contended that the assertion was a political gimmick by Obi to get a second mandate from the people of the state.

He said the so-called wish was the only strategy that could  draw the support of Anambra voters since the time was short to shop for another candidate for the All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, in the last governorship poll.

He said: “It is a fact that my father was the pivotal factor…That and Chief Umeh’s strategies. The billboards, the posters, the so-called “last wish”, all were designed to raise sentiment.

“To tap into that enduring love the majority have for Ezeigbo, to galvanise an otherwise lack lustre campaign into a victory for Governor Obi.

“Actually, I had resigned long before then, but to my father, the survival of the APGA was paramount.

“After several meetings, during which alternatives to Governor Obi where considered, it was the consensus that with limited time on our hands and the lack of uncommitted credible aspirants, ‘the devil you know’ was better than a gamble.

“To him, APGA was the symbol of Igbo unity, the means with which Igbo could sit around the table to negotiate at the federal level, in order to be able to better protect our interests.”

Reacting to the allegation that he is now fighting the governor who helped his father, Emeka Ojukwu Jr. retorted:

“Are you referring to the support given by Governor Obi to an ailing man who raised him up from political obscurity to national prominence?

“A man who made him governor, then rescued him from impeachment, and then reinstalled him to power when he arrived at Government House, Awka, to personally order the handover of power after the court decision removing Dr. Andy Ubah?”

“Are you talking about his taking care of his political raison d’être, who braved illness to implore his people to grant him his so-called last wish?

“Although I am grateful, whatever support he gave Ikemba; it was his duty to do so.

“To answer the last part of your question, the nature of any relationship between two people is primarily determined by the disposition of the more dominant party. “As a governor, perhaps you should refer that question to him”.