By Gideon Njoku
A victorious and relaxed Governor Hope Uzodinma of Imo State, on Friday, November 24, 2023, presented his Certificate of Return, CoR, to an excited President Bola Tinubu at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
The CoR was given to Uzodinma by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, as a confirmation of his overwhelming victory at the Governorship poll.
Uzodinma, a very high profile member of the President’s Political Party, All Progressives Congress, APC, trounced a field of 17 other contestants in the November 11, 2023, Imo State Governorship Election.
In an unprecedented victory in the history of Governorship Elections in the State, Uzodinma won in all the 27 Local Government Areas, beating his rivals even in their Local Government Area. He beat his two closest rivals, Senator Samuel Anyanwu of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and Chief Athan Achonu of the Labour Party, LP, to a very distant second and third places respectively. The other contestants were just the “also ran.”
It was an excited President Tinubu who received the Governor and congratulated him on his reelection victory.
Recall that Tinubu backed Uzodinma to the hilt during the Governor’s campaign for reelection. Two times, Nigeria’s First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, went to Imo State to campaign for the Governor’s reelection.
Uzodinma was accompanied to the Villa for the presentation of the CoR to President Tinubu by the National Chairman of the APC, Dr Abdullahi Ganduje.
