Things You Need To Know About Imo LP Governorship Candidate, Athan Achonu

Senator Athan Achonu is the Labour Party (LP) governorship candidate in the forthcoming November 11 election in Imo State.

Naija News recalls that Achonu, on Saturday, April 15, 2023, won the LP governorship election primary held in Owerri, the capital of Imo state.

The former Senator, who is physically challenged, won the LP primary election with 134 votes, to defeat a retired Major General, Jack Ogunewe, who had 121 votes, and other aspirants.

The LP candidate will contest against Governor Hope Uzodinma, who is also the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), and Samuel Anyanwu of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), among others.

In March 2015, Achonu was elected into the Senate to represent Imo North Senatorial District on the platform of the PDP. He was later sacked by the Appeal Court in Owerri in December 2015, and a rerun election was conducted.

However, in the rerun of the election, Benjamin Uwajumogu, the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, was declared the winner.

Towards the Imo State gubernatorial election, Achonu defected to the LP from the PDP and emerged as the governorship candidate of the opposition party.

On September 28, 2023, the Supreme Court affirmed Achonu as the LP governorship candidate after a contestant in the primary, Basil Maduka, had objected to his candidature at both the Federal High Court and the Court of Appeal.

BIRTH & BACKGROUND

Achonu was born to the family of Chief (Sir) T.E.O Achonu, MFR, and (Lady) Martha Achonu, of blessed memory, on May 31, 1959, in Okigwe, Imo State.

His father, Sir Achonu, was a family man, community leader, educationist of repute, politician and a nationalist who played key roles in the political and socio-economic development of Old Mbano Division, where he served as Chairman.

He was responsible for some of the policies and projects that helped shape education and political developments in the old Mbano and old Okigwe areas of Imo state.

EDUCATION

Achonu got his primary education at Madonna High School, Etiti, in Imo State. He proceeded to the Government College Umuahia, Abia State.

After his primary and secondary education in Owerri, Achonu proceeded to John Cabot University in Rome, Italy, where he got a Bachelor’s Degree in Agronomy.

The Senator also studied at the University of Lagos, where he received a Bachelor of Science in 2002 while majoring in Business Administration.

CAREER

At a prestigious Nigerian bank, Achonu began his professional career as a management trainee. Within a few years, he progressed swiftly through the ranks to become a branch manager. However, he believed that starting his own business was his actual calling, so he left the banking sector.

He established his first business, a real estate development company, in 2005 with the goal of creating affordable housing for Nigerians from the middle class. The business was an immediate hit, and within a few years, it had risen to become one of Nigeria’s top real estate companies.

Achonu also set up several businesses in Imo state, including Neejach Engineering, Okebaram Limited, and Numo Farms, a sprawling massive agricultural/tourism business with a huge capacity to employ 2000 youths and more.

STRUGGLE

Senator Achonu, whose political sobriquet, the one-armed lion, is linked to the loss of one of his arms in 1970 towards the end of the Civil War.

In an interview with Joke Lijadu in 2016, Achonu recalled that his journey into the Army began when he was about 10 years old. He fought on the Biafran side against Nigerian troops in the 1967-1970 civil war.

Achonu said that he lost his arm while trying to rescue a colleague who accidentally triggered a grenade after a bridge battle.

“It was a grenade explosion, three days to the end of the civil war. We had just blown up the IMO bridge to stop Nigerian soldiers from advancing,” Achonu said in the interview.

“We had come back to camp. Somehow, to date, I still don’t understand, my friend Michael made a mistake with a pin. I had to get it away from me, and it exploded in my hand.”