A former governor of Imo state, Ikedi Ohakim, has withdrawn from the Imo North Senatorial primary election of the All Progressives Congress which is billed to take place in the six Local Government Areas in the district on Saturday.
Ohakim, who was the governor of Imo state between 2007 and 2011, announced his withdrawal from the race in a letter addressed to the National Chairman of APC, Abdullahi Adamu, through the chairman of the party in Imo State.
The letter which was dated Friday, May 27, disclosed that the ex-governor withdrew from the senatorial race after he consulted his family and close associates.
The letter was titled “Withdrawal from senatorial primary election”
The three-paragraph letter read, “It is with the highest sense of responsibility that I write to inform you of my withdrawal from the senatorial primaries for Imo North scheduled for Saturday, May 28, 2022.
“The decision to withdraw from the race was arrived at after due consultations with my family and close associates and after a thorough review of events in the last couple of days.
“I wish to assure the leadership of our great party at all levels of my commitment to the success of the party both now and in the future.
“May I also seize this opportunity to thank you for your encouragement and moral support while I was in the race.”
Investigation by our correspondent revealed that the ex-governor withdrew from the race after a former chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Prof Maurice Iwu and a businessman, Tony Chukwu, insisted that Ohakim will not fly the flag of the party.
They rather preferred a former member of the National Assembly, Patrick Ndubueze, over Ohakim.
