Government of Imo State

The Governor of Imo State is the highest ranking official, the chief executive officer and chief security officer of the statem He wields significant influence in matters relating to the governance of the state. As in most presidential systems, the governor is both the head of government and head of state. He or she is empowered by the Constitution to preside over the Executive Council, as well as to appoint, dismiss or reappoint its members–excluding the deputy governor–at will. In addition the governor may sign legislation passed by the House into law or may veto it, however, if he or she does not make a decision to sign or veto a bill, it automatically becomes law after 30 days.

A vote by a two-thirds majority in the House can overrule the governor. The same vote is required to initiate an impeachment process of the governor or his deputy. In all cases where the chief executive is unable to discharge his or her duties, the deputy governor assumes the office of Acting Governor until the governor resumes duty, or until election of a new one.[1]

Since achieving statehood, Imo State has had a total of 7 governors.

The position of Deputy Governor of Imo State constitutes the vice-head of state and government, created when the federation returned to civilian authority under the Second Republic. Whoever holds the post is considered the second highest official in the executive branch. He or she is also seen as the first official in line of succession to the Governor of Imo State, should the office be vacated.

Placid Njoku currently holds the position of the Deputy Governor of Imo State since January 15, 2020. The current governor Hope Uzodinma chose him to be his running-mate during the 2019 general elections.

There are numerous powers the Constitution expressly and specifically granted to the House of Assembly as they are necessary for its relevance. These include the powers to approve budget estimates presented to it by the executive; to make laws establishing the chargeable rates and the procedure to be used in assessing and collecting the rates charged by each local government council; confirm gubernatorial appointments, oversee and monitor activities of government agencies, review policy implementation strategies of the executive, summon before it and question a commissioner about the conduct of his or her ministry especially when the affairs of that ministry are under consideration and to initiate impeachment proceeding in order to secure the removal of the governor or the deputy.