Get Guardian on GoogleImo State Governor, Hope Uzodimma, has dismissed suggestions that he could lose his All Progressives Congress (APC) senatorial ticket for Imo West Senatorial District, insisting that no individual can take the ticket away from him.
The governor maintained that he remained the APC’s preferred candidate for the forthcoming senatorial election, despite a recent Federal High Court judgment directing the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to replace his name with that of former governor of the state, Rochas Okorocha.
Uzodimma made the declaration on Sunday after attending a Mass at the Government House Chapel in Owerri, the state capital, where he urged residents to support the APC and its candidates in the forthcoming general elections.
Addressing residents, the governor dismissed reports suggesting that his senatorial ticket could be transferred to another aspirant, describing such claims as false.
“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,” he said.
He also called on residents to campaign for the ruling party, declaring that his political camp would not align with any other political platform in the forthcoming elections.
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.
The governor further outlined the APC candidates he expects residents to support across the legislative constituencies in the state, insisting that the party should secure the votes for the State House of Assembly, House of Representatives and Senate.
For House of Assembly, it is APC. For House of Representatives, it is APC,” he said.
On the senatorial contest, Uzodimma named Patrick Ndubueze as the APC candidate for Okigwe Senatorial District, himself for Imo West (Orlu) and Alex Mbata for Imo East (Owerri).
“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,” he said.
His comments come against the backdrop of a legal dispute over the APC senatorial ticket for Imo West, following a judgment by the Federal High Court in Abuja ordering INEC to remove Uzodimma’s name as the party’s candidate and substitute it with Okorocha’s.
In the judgment, Justice Obiora Egwuatu held that Okorocha secured the majority of votes at the APC senatorial primary election conducted on May 18, faulting INEC for recognising Uzodimma as the party’s candidate despite what the court described as overwhelming documentary evidence that the governor did not win the exercise.
Okorocha, who governed Imo State between 2011 and 2019, had instituted the suit in August, challenging INEC’s recognition of Uzodimma as the APC candidate for the senatorial district.
Reacting to the judgment, the former governor described the ruling as a victory for the people of Imo West, expressing appreciation to President Bola Tinubu and commending the judiciary.
Okorocha also claimed that the presidency was no longer supportive of the political situation in Imo State, while describing the judgment as evidence that justice was no longer determined by financial influence.
He said the ruling demonstrated that “justice is no longer for sale to the highest bidder”.
Meanwhile, Uzodimma’s senatorial ambition has continued to raise constitutional questions, particularly over the legal implications of a sitting governor seeking election into the Senate and the implications of the court’s decision on his candidacy.
The governor’s latest declaration, however, signals his determination to maintain his senatorial ambition and mobilise support for the APC candidates despite the ongoing dispute over the party’s ticket
