The former Governor of Imo State, Rochas Okorocha has revealed why he has not won the presidential election in Nigeria despite showing his intention for the highest political seat.
Okorocha in a recent interview with Punch disclosed that the 2023 general election would be the fourth time he would be contesting.
According to the lawmaker representing Imo West senatorial district, “the first time was in 2001 when I declared to run for the 2003 election under the All Nigeria Peoples Party.”
He further stated that he made attempts to contest for the presidency again in 2006 on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party but lost to the former president, Umaru Musa Yaradua.
Okorocha in the interview said, “This will be the fourth time that I’ll be contesting the presidency of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The first time was in 2001 when I declared to run for the 2003 election under the All Nigeria Peoples Party. I had a very colourful and beautiful outing but at that very election, President Muhammadu Buhari emerged as the candidate of the party. If you recall, there were certain disagreements, some people walked out of the convention because the governors of the North insisted that the presidency must come from the North and that was why President Muhammadu Buhari emerged as the presidential candidate for the ANPP.
“Then in 2006, I declared again to run for the position of president on the platform of the PDP. At that time, I came into the PDP barely two weeks to the primary. I came second to President (Umaru Musa) Yar’adua of blessed memory. Again, the PDP had zoned the presidential ticket to the North because President Olusegun Obasanjo had finished his tenure for eight years. I didn’t contest again; I went back to Imo State to become the governor on the platform of the All Progressives Grand Alliance because I didn’t get a ticket in the PDP and the ANPP. All the political parties won’t give a ticket. So, I picked a political party that had no single structure, no counsellor and I used that to defeat the incumbent governor who just had his first term. He was also in the PDP when President (Goodluck) Jonathan was in power.
“I led the APGA to the merger in APC while President Muhammadu Buhari led the Congress for Progressive Change; Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu led the Action Congress of Nigeria. In 2015, the Igbo refused to accept Buhari and for them, the name Buhari was taboo in the South-East. So, I had to do whatever I could do to make Igbo believe in the political party, and the only thing I could do was to contest for president on the platform of the All Progressives Congress with Muhammadu Buhari, Atiku, among others. That helped a whole lot to rebrand the image of the APC in the South-East. At this time also, Jonathan had finished his six years and it was agreed that power should go back to the North.”
He added that zoning has been a major problem in achieving his presidential ambition.
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