The Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodinma has dumped his deputy, Placid Njoku, ahead of the November 11, 2023 governorship election in the state.
Uzodinma is the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
The governor on Saturday, officially unveiled his new running mate, Chinyere Ekomaru.
The unveiling ceremony took place in Owerri, the state capital.
Uzodinma while revealing the reason for dumping Njoku and choosing Ekomaru said, “The choice of a new running mate does not mean he has issues with the present Deputy Governor Placid Njoku. The development, he continued, is due to ecumenical and political permutations.”
Ahead of the governorship election in the state, Uzodinma is hoping to retain power in the state and defeat governorship candidates of the Action Alliance (AA), Lincoln Ogunewe, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Senator Samuel Anyanwu, Labour Party (LP), Senator Athan Achonu and others.
While Ogunewe and Senator Anyanwu are from (Imo East senatorial zone) Senator Athan (Imo North) and Uzodimma (Imo West).
However, ahead of the election the issue of insecurity especially the burning of houses, killings of residents, underdevelopment in the rural areas, and workers’ welfare have remained at the front burner.