Former chairman of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), Sam Amadi, has formally indicated his intention to contest the 2027 Imo State governorship election, declaring that he would seek the state’s top office despite what he described as the violent nature of Nigerian politics. Amadi, however, is yet to announce the political party on whose platform he will run.
In a statement posted on his Facebook page on Tuesday, Amadi recounted separate conversations he claimed to have had with Governor Hope Uzodimma in 2014 and Labour Party presidential candidate in the 2023 election, Peter Obi, in 2026. According to him, Uzodimma had told him: “Sam, you know you ought to be Governor of Imo State, but you cannot do the things we do.” He also quoted Obi as saying: “Sam, do not run. It will be very violent. You are a good man. You cannot do the evil they do. I know how evil they are.”
Rejecting what he portrayed as politics driven by intimidation, Amadi declared: “But I will run for Governor, evil or no evil,” before ending his post with the refrain: “The violent shall end by violence.” The post has since generated widespread reactions on social media, with many interpreting it as his official entry into the 2027 governorship contest.
Amadi’s emergence brings to three the number of prominent aspirants who have publicly signalled interest in succeeding Governor Uzodimma. The others are Chief Martin Agbaso, who is seeking the office on the platform of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), and Charles Orie, who is aspiring on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Like Agbaso, Amadi is from Owerri Zone, which has intensified its demand to produce the next governor under the Imo Charter of Equity. Charles Orie, on the other hand, hails from Orlu Zone, the district that would have occupied the governorship for 24 consecutive years by the time Governor Uzodimma completes his tenure in 2028. The zoning debate is widely expected to remain one of the defining issues of the 2027 governorship race.
