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Akinwande Soji-Ojo
Ahead of the November 11 governorship election in Imo State,Governor Hope Uzodinma has dropped his deputy, Prof Placid Njoku.
The list of candidates released by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) showed that Uzodinma dropped Njoku for a female, Mrs. Chinyere Ihuoma Ekemaru.
The list also include the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Samuel Anyanwu, who chose a former House of Representatives member, Jones Onyeriri, as his deputy.
The Labour Party has Senator Athan Achonu as its governorship candidate, with another former House of Representatives member, Tony Nwulu, as his deputy.
It was gathered that the choice of a female deputy by APC is aimed at capturing the votes of the female population in the state.
The choice of Ekemaru, who is from the same Mbaise as the PDP candidate, is to effectively checkmate the growing influence of the major opposition party ahead of the November election.
Ekemaru is also from the same political block as Njoku