Who inherits Uzodimma’s remnant tenure?

By Ifeanyi Maduako

Senator Hope Uzodimma, the governor of Imo State, took the oath of office on 15 January, 2020. That was after the Supreme Court of Nigeria sacked his predecessor, Chief Emeka Ihedioha who governed the state between 29 May 2019 and 14 January 2020.

Governor Uzodimma is the first governor in the history of the state who came into office through a court judgment. That has made it possible for the state to join the league of states with off-cycle elections in the country.

Speculations are replete in both the traditional and social media platforms that the governor will contest for the next senatorial election for the Imo West Senatorial District (Orlu Zone) in the next general election in January. The governor has performed relatively well in infrastructural development, especially federal roads in the state. In my own honest assessment, he’s the best governor in the history of the state after the first civilian governor of the old Imo State, Chief Samuel Onunaka Mbakwe.

The governor was a senator for eight years between 2011 and 2019. He has the inalienable rights to return to the Senate after his tenure as governor as the senatorial seat has no term limits unlike the executive positions. Moreover, the governor likes Abuja so much that even as a governor, he stays there more than he resides in the state. He wants to return to his comfort territory after his tenure. In fact, he would have continued as a senator in 2019 because that was his ambition. But when the then governor, Rochas Okorocha, became too greedy to turn the state into his private kingdom or fiefdom by his attempt to impose his own son-in-law, Uche Nwosu, as his successor, Uzodimma had to jettison his senatorial ambition to slug it out with him to rescue the state. Without his intervention by snatching the APC structure from Okorocha, perhaps Uche Nwosu would have become the APC candidate in 2019. And if that had happened, he would have won the governorship seat by the combined federal and state might. Who says men no dey? Men dey o!

Governor Uzodimma’s tenure should expire on 15 January 2028. The next general election will be in January 2027. The next 11th senate will be proclaimed and inaugurated possibly in the second week  of June 2027. Should Uzodimma contest for the senatorial election and wins, he will join his colleagues as a senator and relinquish his governorship seat because he can’t hold two positions at the same time. It’s unconstitutional.

With the forgoing background, once he relinquishes his remaining or remnant tenure as governor, his deputy will complete it. That will be about seven months to the end of the tenure in January 2028.

By my own political permutations, by June 2027, the governorship candidate of the APC and other parties should have emerged for the off-season governorship election for the state in November 2027. So, the governor will still be in the seat and in charge to determine who will be the governorship candidate for the APC. Because if the candidates have not emerged before the governor leaves office in June for his senatorial duties, his successor, who is statutorily his deputy, will be in charge of the APC primary election. He or she will likely be the candidate for the November off-season governorship election.

Whoever will inherit Uzodimma’s remnant tenure of seven months will be the governor of the state for eight years and seven months should the person serve for two terms.

Uzodimma is a smart politician. He wants to return to the Senate next year in lieu of forfeiting his seven months remnant tenure because he knows that if he misses to return to the Senate next year, in 2031 when the next general election will come up, there’s no guarantee that whoever is in governor of the state will be favourably disposed to his senatorial ambition that time, and that will be the end of his political ambition. He doesn’t want to put his hope on federal appointment by completing his tenure because he knows that it’s not guaranteed as well. Therefore, he wants to help himself by forfeiting seven months of governorship for four or even more years (depending on his performance) as a senator.

•Maduako, writes from Owerri via email.