The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has announced that Governor Hope Uzodimma of Imo State will not continue to serve as the chairman of the rescheduled Edo State governorship primary election due to a prior official assignment. The party has appointed Governor Bassey Otu of Cross River State to replace Governor Uzodimma and complete the governorship primary election, which was earlier declared inconclusive.
The decision to replace Uzodimma was communicated on Wednesday through a notice signed by the APC National Organising Secretary, Sulaiman Argungu. Although the notice did not provide a specific reason for the change, the party’s spokesperson, Felix Morka, clarified during a press conference on Thursday that Uzodimma had a pre-scheduled obligation to present a report to the National Economic Council on the same day as the rescheduled primary election.
Morka stated, “We wish to clarify that Governor Uzodinma was neither ‘sacked’ nor ‘dropped’ but was unavoidably unavailable to lead the completion of the Party’s Edo State Gubernatorial Primary Election Process due to his prior scheduled attendance of, and presentation of a report, to the National Economic Council meeting today, February 22, 2024.” In light of Uzodimma’s unavailability, Governor Bassey Otu, who was the Deputy Chairman of the Committee, graciously accepted the role of Chairman to oversee the completion of the Edo State Gubernatorial Primary Election Process.