Okorocha Declares Interest in 2023 presidential race

Senator Rochas Okorocha, the former governor of Imo State, has declared his interest in the 2023 presidential election.

Okorocha plans to run for the office on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

His interest was disclosed through a letter he wrote to the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, which was read at plenary on Wednesday.

Okoroacha’s entry into the race further swells the ranks of contestants of Igbo extraction gunning for Nigeria’s highest political office.

Others from the region who have joined the race include former Senate President and one-time Secretary to the Government of the Federation, P Anyim Pius Anyim; former governor of Abia State and current Senate Chief Whip, Orji Uzor Kalu; and, David Umahi, governor of Ebenyi State. Others include Sam Ohuabunwa, and, Kingsley Moghalu, a former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria.

Igbos leaders have declared that the presidency should be zoned to the South East in the 2023 elections. They support their demand with the fact that the region has not had an opportunity of occupying the position since the country returned to civil rule in 1999.

Some politicians of Igbo extraction, as well as sociopolitical organizations in the region, have warned that any of the political parties that zone its presidential ticket outside the zone risk being blacklisted by the region.

Even so, some political analysts point out that the increasing number of presidential contestants from the region could weaken its chances of securing the tickets from either the ruling All Progressives Congress or the opposition People’s Democratic Congress.

 Okorocha will officially declare his interest at a world press conference on Monday, January 31. 2023, he said.