Efforts might have been set in motion by the national chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Abdullahi Ganduje, to mend the strained relationship between Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodinma, and his predecessor, Owelle Rochas Okorocha.
The two have been at odds since Uzodimma assumed the governorship following the Supreme Court’s decision in 2020.
Both Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodimma, and former state governor, Rochas Okorocha, on Thursday paid a joint visit to the Presidential Villa. They were accompanied by Abdullahi Ganduje, the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
The threesome was observed at the Presidential Villa around 6 pm, making their way towards the President’s office. However, it remains uncertain whether they had a meeting with him, as they emerged shortly thereafter in company of Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu.
Reports indicate that the President had departed from the office prior to the arrival of the APC leaders.
Subsequently, Ganduje, Uzodimma, and Okorocha proceeded to Vice President Kashim Shettima’s office.
Incidents of clashes have been documented between Governor Uzodinma’s administration and Okorocha, who held the position of Imo State Governor from 2011 to 2019.
A committee established by the Imo State Government to oversee the retrieval of public assets has recently implicated Okorocha and certain associates within his political circle. The committee’s findings propose the reclamation of specific assets presumed to be government property from them.
The committee presented its findings to Uzodimma on Tuesday, proposing the retrieval of the Shell Camp land from Okorocha and his associates within a span of six months, with the intention of transferring it to AIFCE.
The report, signed by Chairman Prof Vitalis Ajumbe and Secretary B F Anyanwu, expressed regret that during his tenure as governor, Okorocha employed forceful measures, involving both the military and unruly elements, to seize the land from the college. Subsequently, he allocated or sold the land to his close associates.
Among those purportedly benefiting from this arrangement and now required to vacate the land are two individuals connected to Okorocha by marriage: Uzoma Anwuka and Kingsley Uju.
