Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodimma, has vowed not to surrender his senatorial ticket of the All Progressives Congress, APC, to anyone amid a legal battle over the party’s candidate for Imo West Senatorial District.
Mr Uzodimma made the declaration on Sunday after attending a church service at the Government House Chapel in Owerri, where he urged residents to support the APC 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 urged his supporters to campaign for the APC, insisting that his political camp would not align with any other party in the forthcoming elections.Follow Politics
“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 also outlined the APC candidates he wants residents to support in the forthcoming legislative elections.
“For House of Assembly, it is APC. For House of Representatives, it is APC,” he said.
He named Patrick Ndubueze as the party’s candidate for Okigwe Senatorial District, while identifying himself as the candidate for Orlu and Alex Mbata for Owerri Senatorial District.
“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.
Mr Uzodimma’s remarks come amid a legal dispute over the APC’s senatorial ticket for Imo West, following a Federal High Court judgment in Abuja ordering the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to remove his name as the party’s candidate and replace it with that of former governor Rochas Okorocha.
The development has cast uncertainty over the APC’s representation in the district ahead of the forthcoming elections, with the latest comments by the governor indicating that he is not prepared to relinquish his claim to the ticket.