“Why I dropped from Imo governorship race.” TJ Ehirim.
2 min read
Imo State born chieftain of Labour Party and South African based youthful politician and democrat, Dr T.J Ehirim has for the first time disclosed why he dropped out of the race for Imo governorship election. According to him, it was the issue of “power rotation” that was used to stop his positive ambition to become the next Imo governor. Dr Ehirim who used the occasion of his 2024 birthday celebration to take a look at the political atmosphere in Imo State stated that it was never his intention to withdraw from the race to Government House Owerri, the Imo State seat of power. In his opening speech, the new breed politician said, “The pressure was so high and I never supported rotation.”
Ehirim told Umuaka Times that during the buildup to the rotation policy, one a certain day, he was called by H.E. Peter Obi who told him that he (Obi) was reliably informed that power had rested on the shoulders of Orlu politicians for the past 20 years and there was a need for power to rotate to other zones in the state.
Ehirim after hearing this from Obi, thanked him for his concerns and reminded him that all the people of Imo State want is good governance from anyone no matter where he is from. “I also made him understand that the incumbent governor of the state is from Orlu and he was also in the race.”
Umuaka Times gathered that after several discussions, it was agreed that Labour Party would support Owerri Zone for the office of the governor of the state. “That was how and why I withdrew my ambition and supported an Owerri man.”
While addressing the South African correspondents of Umuaka Times concerning Imo politics, Dr T.J Ehirim condemned in outright terms the issue of power rotation which has been christened the Imo Charter of Equity. In his own opinion, “What Imo needs now is how to wrestle power from unproductive politicians and allow the best of us to lead the rest of us. We are not working for any form of rotation and as you can see, can you tell us the benefits of power rotation in the last 20 years in the state?”
During his campaign days, Dr Ehirim was widely accepted by Imo youths under a political umbrella called Project TJ Ehirim.
