Ikedi Ohakim may bounce back as Imo governor.
3 min read
If speculations going on in some parts of Imo State are anything to go by, an Imo State former governor, Chief Ikedi Ohakim may emerge as the next governor of the state after the second tenure of Senator Hope Uzodimma who is currently the governor of the state.
It can be recalled that Chief Ohakim who was the Imo governor did only one term starting from 29 May 2007 to May 29, 2011. His bid to run for a second term crashed as he lost to Rochas Okorocha of APGA after a heavily contested governorship election. Not much was heard of Ohakim for a long time after his loss to Okorocha until the time he announced that he has decamped to the All Peoples Congress, APC. The announcement which was made in an event held in Okohia in Isiala Mbano Local Government Area of Imo State, the home town of the former governor attracted top party bigwigs who displayed their full support for his decision to join his friends in the stable of APC. Ohakim was born on August 4, 1957 in the same community of Okohia in Isiala Mbano in Okigwe Senatorial District in the state.
The decision of Ohakim to join the APC did not come as a surprise to many Imolites because the PDP, one of the former political parties Ohakim belonged to, was no longer in power in the state; he had to join the ruling party.
According to the Guardian newspaper of July 28, 2021, under the title, Why I joined APC by ex-governor Ohakim, he told a gathering that he joined the party to help Uzodimma successfully navigate the affairs of the state. To achieve this, Ohakim could not do so from another political party. From the time he joined the Imo APC. Strong indications have so far emerged that the political relationship between Ohakim and Uzodimma has been cordial and fruitful.
Umuaka Times findings show that there are several factors in favour of Ohakim come 2027 as far as Imo State is concerned. Since the advent of a new democratic dispensation in Nigeria, Orlu Senatorial Zone has always produced almost all the governors. Names like Chief Achike Udenwa, Rochas Okorocha, and Hope Uzodimma are all from the same Orlu Zone. Other politicians from other senatorial zones in the state have expressed reservations over the dominance of Orlu politicians in Imo governorship politics. This has led to a strong clamour for power to shift to other zones in the state.
To balance the equation, observers of Imo politics are of the view that Okigwe Senatorial Zone should complete its term by supporting Ohakim back to Government House Owerri because he will do just a term of 4 years and leave.
The third reason also shows clearly that APC may most likely give its ticket to Ohakim for the sake of justice and fair play in the state.
Ohakim who was a former commissioner in the state and a former governor has his team of supporters across the state who want him back to office. Someone last week described him as a man to beat in Imo State come 2027. For now, there seems to be no odds against Ohakim’s second rise to Imo Government House. Imo fingers are indeed crossed.
