Hope Uzodimma, governor of Imo, says he is convinced that the All Progressives Congress (APC) has performed well enough to win in all the states in the 2023 elections.
Uzodimma spoke on Tuesday in an interview with Channels Television.
Asked how many of the five south-east states he can deliver for the APC in 2023, the Imo governor said the party will market its candidates to the people when campaign starts in September.
“It’s not a pre-determined arrangement. I’m confident that APC has done so well to the extent that they can win all the states in Nigeria but we still need to engage the people and campaign will soon start by September and we have to go and market our product,” he said.
“By the time we finish our marketing, then we will carry out an opinion poll that will give us an idea of how many states will win proper because we are talking about human beings, and in this business, one day can change a lot of things.”
Asked to react to the rising wave of Peter Obi’s movement, the Imo governor said he does not want “join issues” with the Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate, adding that APC members are “obedient” to the party.
“I think I’m a politician and you know my party is APC and I have my candidates in my party and I know that we are currently consulting and speaking to our people to vote for our candidates,” the governor said.
“I’m concerned with what will come out from the campaign of my party.
“I don’t want to join issues with Peter Obi, who you know is not a member of my party. I know members of APC are obedient to APC.”
Asked to state how he will convince Imo people to vote for APC in 2023, Uzodimma said with his achievements, APC will get significant votes in his state.
“I’m very confident that reasonable minds in Imo state would vote for my party. Let me start by 2020 when I came here as the governor, 95 percent of our major roads were not passable,” he said.
“Today, the major economic roads in Imo state have been managed in a very first-class manner that even members of the opposition party are commending my effort.
“From 1999 till date, members of Imo state house of assembly have no place they stay to sit. They were attached to a local secretariat in Owerri.
“The Imo state house of assembly building that was abandoned thirty something years ago has just been rehabilitated.
“There is no member of the house of assembly who will go into that place and come out and tomorrow if there is an election will not vote for APC.
“For over 30 years, the Imo standard shoe which was a major industry created by Mbakwe administration was abandoned and seized by AMCON over bad loan. My government, within two years, has just recovered the Imo standard shoe and any moment from now, Imo standard shoe will be creating over 10,000 jobs.”
