BY INNOCENT ONYEUKWU
The academic qualifications of the 17 governorship candidates competing in the November 11 Imo governorship election have been revealed.
Among the candidates, nine acquired university education, while the majority hold school certificates, including one of the frontline candidates, Senator Athan Achonu of the Labour Party.
Of the 17 candidates, one holds a Ph.D., one has a Master’s degree, three possess a Bachelor of Science (BSc) degree, and three have Bachelor of Laws (LL.B) degrees.
Chapter 6, section 177 of the Nigerian Constitution, states that a person shall be qualified for election to the office of the Governor of a State if he has been educated up to at least School Certificate level or it’s equivalent
INNONEWS learnt that James Okoroma of the Africa Democratic Party (ADP) holds a Ph.D.
Tony Ejiogu, the candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), has a Master’s degree.
General Jack Ogunewe (retd) of the Action Alliance (AA), Awulonou Ifeanyi of the Africa Action Congress (AAC), and Achilike Obieze of the Advance Peoples Democratic Party (APP) all have LL.B degrees.
Senator Samuel Anyanwu of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Ekwebelem Prince of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), and Edoziem Clinton of the Allied Peoples Movement hold B.Sc degrees.
Steve Nwoga of the ADP holds both an MB and a BS degree.
The remaining candidates possess the minimum educational qualification of the First School Leaving Certificate (FSLC), West Africa Examination Certificate (WAEC), or the General Certificate of Education (GCE) equivalent.
Information about the specific schools or higher institutions where these candidates obtained their qualifications was not provided by INEC on its portal.
All the 17 gubernatorial candidates are male, with no female candidates in the race.
However, two political parties, the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Action Democratic Congress (ADC), fielded female deputy governorship candidates.