Senatorial Race: Why Uzodimma ought to have resigned as governor – Okorocha

Former Governor of Imo State, Rochas Okorocha

A former governor of Imo State, Rochas Okorocha, has criticised Governor Hope Uzodimma for seeking to contest the Imo West District election despite serving as governor of the South-eastern state.

Mr Okorocha spoke on Thursday night when he appeared as a guest on Channels TV’s Politics Today.

The former governor was responding to his earlier victory at the Federal High Court in Abuja.

PREMIUM TIMES earlier reported that the Federal High Court in Abuja sacked Mr Uzodimma as the APC’s candidate for the district and then declared Mr Okorocha as the winner of the party’s primary for the district.

Mr Okorocha argued at the Channels TV programme that Mr Uzodimma ought to have resigned as governor before seeking a return to the Senate.

“The point we are making is that Hope Uzodimma has a tenure of eight years to elapse in January 2028. Hope is contesting for the Senate, which starts in June 2027.

“What that means is that Hope Uzodimma is holding a paid job and seeking another paid job,” he said.

The former governor argued that holding two paid jobs as a governor was contrary to Section 183 of the 1999 Nigerian Constitution.

“The Governor shall not, during the period when he holds office, hold any other executive office or paid employment in any capacity whatsoever,” the section says.

But PREMIUM TIMES understands that Mr Uzodimma had perfected plans to resign as governor before the inauguration of the 11th Senate in 2027 if he was successful with his ambition.

Meanwhile, this newspaper recalls that both Messrs Uzodimma and Okorocha had represented the district in the past.

While Mr Uzodimma served as the senator for the district from June 2011 to June 2019, Mr Okorocha represented the same district from 2019 to 2023.

During the TV show, Mr Okorocha contended that Mr Uzodimma was wrong to seek a return to the Senate while still serving as governor of the South-eastern state.

“The Constitution never envisaged that such a situation would ever arise where a normal person holding a position of governor would abandon it to go for the Senate when his tenure had not come to an end.

“But the court made a very clear statement on that. And it’s unlawful for him to do that because if he wins it, he would be holding two paid jobs,” he said.

Mr Okorocha suggested that Mr Uzodimma should not appeal the judgement because the “facts had spoken.”

“He has the right of appeal. But you know you cannot manipulate the law,” he said.

Mr Okorocha celebrated the court judgement which affirmed his APC candidacy for Imo West District and then contended that his candidacy would help President Bola Tinubu win in the state in 2027.

“What is important to me now is how Asiwaju will be elected in Imo State.

“With my emergence now in this ticket, Asiwaju can be sure that his victory is given in Imo State,” he said.

The former governor said he refused to leave the APC despite his squabbles with Mr Uzodimma in the state because he was a founding member of the ruling party.

“I wouldn’t have left the party I had founded. The name APC was given by Rochas Okorocha. Ask anybody.

“I am among the founding fathers of this party and so I’ll not leave the party because of Hope Uzodimma,” he said.