Who Is Hope Uzodimma? 9 Quick Facts About APC Governorship Candidate in Imo State
Legit.ng journalist Esther Odili has over two years of experience covering political parties and movements.
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Imo state, Owerri - For the good people of Imo state, January 14 and 15, 2019, will be remembered as the days the Supreme Court declared Hope Uzodimma, the duly elected governor of the state, and the day he was sworn in, respectively.
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After a long battle with his predecessor, Uzodimma challenged the decision of the Court of Appeal, which upheld the election of Emeka Ihedioha.
Apart from Uzodimma's battle with Ihedioha, only a few Nigerians know anything about the Imo-born politician.
Brief facts about Governor Hope Uzodimma
There are a few details about the governor who is in the race to seek a second term opportunity to serve the good people of Imo state on the platform of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
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Barely twenty-four hours before the state election, Uzodimma promised that if re-elected, he would ensure that by December 2023, four thousand Imo youths secure employment in Europe.
Find out more about Uzodimma below:
1. Hope Uzodimma, a former senator
Hope Uzodimma is a Nigerian politician who was elected senator for the Orlu (Imo West) constituency of Imo state, Nigeria, in the April 2011 federal elections.
He ran on the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) platform but dumped the party afterwards.
On May 29, 2011, Uzodimma was sworn in as a senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, representing Imo state (west senatorial district).
He was re-elected for a second term in the Senate during the 2015 election.
In 2018, he left the Peoples Democratic Party and joined the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC) to contest for Imo state governor in the 2019 general elections.
2. How Uzodimma joined Nigerian politics
Hope Uzodimma's sojourn into politics was an interesting one yet controversial.
He began his political career during the Second Nigerian Republic, joining the ruling National Party of Nigeria (NPN), where in 1983, he became the Imo state youth leader.
In the 1990s, with the aborted transition to the Third Nigerian Republic, Uzodimma featured prominently as a member of the United Nigeria Congress Party.
3. Uzodimma's wife is the youngest first lady in Nigeria
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Uzodinma's second wife, Chioma, is the first lady of Imo state.
Chioma nee Ikeaka, a law graduate from Imo State University (IMSU), is the youngest first lady in the history of Nigeria.
Referred to as H.E. Barr. Chioma D. Uzodimma, she is the governor's wife from his second marriage in 2015.
4. Crisis rocked Uzodimma's election
Uzodinma is the incumbent governor of Imo state after his victory in 2020.
His election was challenged because he was not a valid PDP candidate, but on May 5, 2011, the Supreme Court declared Uzodimma the winner of the 2019 governorship election.
5. He is a successful businessman
Although he is only seen as a strong-willed politician, a report in 2001 disclosed that Chief Uzodimma had a business empire spread across the country.
This is revealed in his leadership style in Imo state.
6. Uzodimma is a titled chief
Governor Uzodimma had the ceremonial title of Onwa-Netiri Oha of Omuma in the Orlu local government of Imo state.
The governor was honoured with the prestigious chieftaincy title of "Enyioma Mbaise", which means good friend of Mbaise nation', in 2022.
7. Uzodimma dumped PDP for APC
Uzodimma ran for governor in the April 2003 elections and decamped to the Alliance for Democracy (AD), becoming their candidate for the Imo state gubernatorial election.
He was unsuccessful and, in February 2004, was readmitted to the PDP.
Uzodimma, who has served two terms as a senator in Imo state, representing the Orlu zone from 2011 to 2019, and later decided to come home and contest for governor.
He decamped to the APC in 2018 to pursue his governorship ambition, which he achieved in 2020.
8. A former PDP BoT member
Uzodimma was appointed a member of the PDP board of trustees. He was among those who endorsed the bid by Ikedi Ohakim to run again for Imo governor in 2011 after Ohakim had returned to the PDP.
9. Uzodimma is chairman of the APC's governors forum
Hope Uzodinma was elected as chairman of the Progressive Governors Forum, a body of all governors elected on the platform of the ruling APC in Nigeria.
Uba Sani, governor of Kaduna state, is deputy chairman of the forum.
Uzodimma's fate would be determined in the Saturday, November 11, governorship election.
Imo election threatened as peace talk ends in disarray
In another report, the build-up to the Imo state gubernatorial polls is proving to be heated and might lead to an imminent postponement.
There are disparities and reservations about the state electoral umpire from the opposition's end.
Things got worse as the peace accord meeting organised by the Independent National Electoral Commission ended in disarray.
Legit.ng earlier compiled a list of governors that have ruled Imo.
Source: Legit.ng
