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Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodimma, has rejected calls for him to relinquish his All Progressives Congress (APC) senatorial ticket, insisting that nobody can take the party’s nomination away from him.
Uzodimma spoke on Sunday after attending a church service at the Government House Chapel in Owerri, where he urged residents to support APC candidates in the forthcoming elections.
“If they tell you that I will hold this ticket and somebody will collect it and give it to another, tell the person it is a lie,” the governor said.
He declared that his political camp would not support any party other than the APC, urging residents to campaign for the ruling party at all levels.
“Go and campaign for the party, our great party, the All Progressives Congress (APC). There is no other political party we are going with,” he said.
Uzodimma also named the APC candidates he expects residents to support in the legislative elections, identifying Patrick Ndubueze as the party’s senatorial candidate for Okigwe Zone, himself for Orlu Zone and Alex Mbata for Owerri Zone.
“For house of assembly, it is APC. For house of representatives, it is APC,” he said, adding that “for senate, your senator in Okigwe zone is Patrick Ndubueze, in Orlu zone it is my humble self (Hope Uzodimma), and in Owerri zone it is (Alex) Mbata.”
The governor’s declaration comes days after a Federal High Court in Abuja ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to remove his name as the APC candidate for Imo West Senatorial District and replace it with that of former governor, Rochas Okorocha.
Justice Obiora Egwuatu ruled that Okorocha secured the majority of votes in the APC senatorial primary held on May 18. The court faulted INEC for recognising Uzodimma’s nomination despite what the judge described as overwhelming documentary evidence that the governor did not win the primary.
Okorocha had approached the court in August, challenging INEC’s recognition of Uzodimma as the party’s candidate. Following the judgment, the former governor described the ruling as a victory for Imo West residents and commended the judiciary.
He also thanked President Bola Tinubu, claiming that the Presidency was no longer supportive of the situation in Imo State, and said the judgment showed that “justice is no longer for sale to the highest bidder”.
Uzodimma’s insistence that he would retain the ticket comes amid the court-ordered substitution of his name with Okorocha’s, setting up a dispute over who will represent the APC in the Imo West senatorial race.
