Hope Uzodimma is the Governor of Imo State. A businessman and two-term senator, he became governor in January 2020 through a Supreme Court judgment, after finishing fourth in the declared results of the 2019 election, and was re-elected in November 2023. He chairs the forum of APC governors.1

Early life and career

Uzodimma was born on 12 December 1958 in Omuma, Imo State. He entered politics as a youth leader of the National Party of Nigeria in the Second Republic and later belonged to the PDP and other parties before joining the APC in 2018. He was elected senator for Imo West in 2011 and re-elected in 2015.1

How he became governor

INEC declared Emeka Ihedioha of the PDP the winner of the March 2019 election, with Uzodimma fourth on 96,458 votes. On 14 January 2020 the Supreme Court ruled that results from 388 polling units had been wrongly left out, declared Uzodimma the winner and removed Ihedioha. The judgment was criticised by opposition parties and many lawyers; the court later declined to review it.1

Second term

Uzodimma won the November 2023 election, which opposition parties rejected over alleged irregularities. The Supreme Court affirmed his victory in August 2024.23

Record and controversies

Imo has suffered years of attacks by “unknown gunmen”, killings of security personnel and politicians, and the separatist sit-at-home orders. Rights groups have called on the governor to take responsibility; he has argued that politicians opposed to his government are behind much of the violence.45

In November 2023 the president of the Nigeria Labour Congress, Joe Ajaero, was assaulted in Owerri while preparing a protest over workers’ pay in the state. Labour blamed the state government and the police and called a national strike; Uzodimma denied owing workers and the police arrested a former aide of the governor accused of leading the attack.67

References

  1. Hope Uzodimma. Wikipedia, accessed October 2026. ↩ ↩ ↩

  2. Breaking: Uzodinma re-elected. ThisDay, 12 November 2023. ↩

  3. Supreme Court affirms Hope Uzodimma as Imo governor. Channels Television, 23 August 2024. ↩

  4. Uzodimma’s stance on insecurity in Imo under scrutiny. ThisDay, 1 May 2022. ↩

  5. Uzodinma insists politicians behind insecurity in Imo. Ripples Nigeria. ↩

  6. When Ajaero tasted Uzodimma’s high-handedness. ThisDay, 5 November 2023. ↩

  7. Police arrest Uzodimma’s ex-aide who led attack on Ajaero. TheCable, 2023. ↩