This newspaper gathered that some residents of the state believe Mr Uzodinma’s victory could worsen the already terrible insecurity in the state.Īpart from the insecurity, Mr Uzodinma’s party, APC, does not enjoy considerable followership in south-east Nigeria, including Imo, when compared to the followership of other major parties in the region. Other communities in Orlu and Orsu Local Government Areas in the state have witnessed attacks lately with dozens of residents killed in such attacks. PREMIUM TIMES had reported that some communities in the state such as Izombie and Agwa in Oguta Local Government Area have since been deserted by residents due to insecurity in the areas. The APC candidate has been accused of worsening the insecurity in the state through the use of Ebubeagu, a security outfit accused of extrajudicial killings in the state.īut the governor has repeatedly denied being behind the insecurity in Imo State and instead accused opposition leaders of sponsoring the insecurity in the state to frustrate his administration. The greatest of the obstacles is the insecurity in the state which has resulted in the deaths of several persons. However, several obstacles are currently threatening Mr Uzodinma’s reelection bid in the poll. The deputy governorship candidate is married to a man from Ikeduru Local Government Area, where Mr Anyanwu, the PDP candidate, also hails from.Īnalysts argue that Mr Uzodinma’s choice of Mrs Ekomaro as his running mate was meant to cut down the votes for the PDP candidate in the council area. Mrs Ekomaro hails from Umunoha, a community in Mbaitoli, which is the local government area in the state with the highest number of PVCs (152,371) collected ahead of Saturday’s poll. Women account for over 50 per cent of the total eligible voters in the state. He also has the financial strength to mobilise support for his victory.Īs a sitting governor, he is believed to be in control of political structures in the 27 local government areas of the state which could be used to his advantage in mobilising support for his reelection bid.Īlso, Mr Uzodinma’s female deputy, Chinyere Ekomaro, may help him garner women’s votes. Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodinma [PHOTO CREDIT: Uzodinma will hope to leverage his power of incumbency to ward off threats posed by his opponents. Okigwe Zone is third with 395,812 voters collecting their PVCs in the area.Ī common feature among the three candidates is that the trio had served as senators in the past, although Mr Achonu was removed about four months after being inaugurated as senator in 2015. The data showed that a total of 1, 032, 405 voters collected their PVCs in Owerri Zone ahead of the election while Orlu Zone with 12 LGAs came second with a total of 890,702 voters picking their PVCs in the zone. Owerri Zone with nine LGAs emerged as the zone with the highest number of PVCs collected for the 2023 governorship poll in the state, according to data from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). READ ALSO: ANALYSIS: Ten things you need to know about Bayelsa governorship election The zone has the highest number of local government areas in the state (12) and often emerged as the zone with the highest number of Permanent Voters Card (PVCs) collected.īut checks by PREMIUM TIMES showed that Owerri Zone has overtaken Orlu Zone in voting strength ahead of Saturday’s poll. Observers say the superior voting strength being enjoyed by Orlu Zone may have accounted for their dominance in Imo State over the years.

However, Okigwe Zone served for four years while Owerri Zone served as governor for about seven months. A victory for Mr Uzodinma, on Saturday, will take the figure to 24 years. This means that Orlu Zone has served as governor of the state for nearly 20 years since 1999.

The governor, who has served for nearly four years in office, hails from Omuma, a community in Oru East LGA within Orlu Zone. The Supreme Court consequently declared Mr Uzodinma as the validly elected governor of the state.

Owerri imo