Former Imo State governor Rochas Okorocha has argued that hostility toward the late President Muhammadu Buhari in Imo and across Nigeria’s South-East was far stronger than sentiment directed at President Bola Tinubu, insisting that Tinubu has not wronged the Igbo population.
Key takeaways
- Okorocha said public anger toward Buhari during his presidency exceeded the current opposition to Tinubu in Imo State and the wider South-East.
- He warned against treating dissatisfaction with a governorship candidate as a rejection of the Tinubu administration.
- The former senator said Tinubu has longstanding close relationships with Igbo associates from his time in Lagos.
- Okorocha predicted that Tinubu would carry Imo State following his emergence with the party ticket.
- He challenged Hope Uzodinma to pursue an appeal, saying legal outcomes cannot be altered once the evidence is clear.
APC tensions and regional political sentiment
Speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today, Okorocha said the All Progressives Congress experienced its most serious difficulties in Imo State while Buhari was president. He said the political climate at that time should not be confused with current reactions to Tinubu.
“When we discuss the APC in Imo State, it is important to understand that the period when the party faced problems was under Buhari’s government,” Okorocha said.
He maintained that the resentment associated with Buhari was not comparable to what he described as the perceived dislike of Tinubu in Imo or elsewhere in the South-East. In his view, some of the current criticism reflects anger transferred from the Buhari era rather than a direct objection to Tinubu or his policies.
Okorocha predicts Tinubu victory in Imo
Okorocha said voters should not mistake such transferred frustration, or protests over a preferred candidate for governor, as an anti-Tinubu movement. He argued that Tinubu had committed no offence against Igbo people and pointed to the president’s friendships with Igbo figures during his years in Lagos.
“Tinubu has done nothing against any Igbo person. His closest friends in Lagos are Igbo,” he said, adding that Tinubu would win Imo State after Okorocha’s emergence with the ticket.
The former governor also called on Uzodinma to take the matter to the appeal stage, arguing that legal processes cannot be manipulated once the facts have been established.
