Former Imo State Governor Rochas Okorocha has expressed confidence that President Bola Tinubu could win Imo State in the 2027 general elections, arguing that political grievances in the Southeast should not automatically translate into opposition to the president.
Speaking during an interview on Channels Television on Thursday, Okorocha maintained that Tinubu had not personally offended the Igbo people, pointing to the president’s friendships with Igbo people in Lagos as part of his argument.
“President Tinubu has done no wrong to any Igbo man. His best friends in Lagos are Igbos,” he said.
The former governor also argued that resentment towards the APC in Imo State had previously been driven largely by dissatisfaction with the administration of former Governor Ikedi Ohakim, rather than hostility towards Tinubu himself.
Comparing the party’s performance under different administrations, Okorocha claimed that the APC performed better in Imo during Muhammadu Buhari’s presidency, when he was governor, than it did under Tinubu’s administration and Governor Hope Uzodimma.
He recalled that the party secured 25 per cent of the vote under Buhari but struggled to reach five per cent under Tinubu in the circumstances he described.
Okorocha believes his emergence with a political ticket could strengthen the party’s prospects in the state ahead of the 2027 elections.
“With my emergence now, this ticket, Tinubu will win in Imo State,” he declared.
His comments raise questions about the political mood in the Southeast, where voter sentiment, party loyalty, local political alliances and candidates’ popularity could all influence the outcome of the next presidential election.
Do you agree with Rochas Okorocha that President Tinubu can win Imo State in 2027, or do you think the political situation in the Southeast will make that difficult?
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