Ndi Imo | Spotlight: Today in history Owelle Rochas Okorocha was born.
Spotlight: Today in history Owelle Rochas Okorocha was born.
Rochas was born on 22 September 1962 in Ogboko, Ideato South, Imo State to an Imo father and an Anambra mother. He attended Juladaco High School, Jos (1976-1981). He studied at the University of Jos (1990-1991), obtaining a diploma in Public Administration. He returned to the University of Jos (1993-1994) to obtain an advanced diploma in Public Administration.
Career positions include President, Nigeria Red Cross Society, President/Founder, Rochas Foundation Inc., President, Rochas Group of Companies Limited, Pro-Chancellor, African Business School and Former Chairman, Board of Nigerian Airspace Management Agency.
Okorocha was a Commissioner on the Federal Character Commission and a Member of the National Constitutional Conference. When democracy was restored in 1999, Rochas Okorocha competed in the primaries to be the People's Democratic Party (PDP) candidate for governor of Imo State but lost to Achike Udenwa. He moved to the All Nigeria People's Party (ANPP) and ran for the party's presidential nomination but a disappointing result in the primary in 2003 ended his ambition. He returned to the PDP, and President Olusegun Obasanjo appointed him as Special Adviser on Inter-Party affairs.
Rochas Okorocha formed the Action Alliance (AA) party in 2005, planning to become a Presidential candidate for the AA in the 2007 elections. He again returned to the PDP, and in September 2007, indicated that he was interested in becoming PDP National Chairman.
Okorocha decamped from the People's Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), to run as an APGA candidate for Imo State Governor in the April 2011 national elections which he won the incumbent governor at the polls.
On 2 March 2013, Rochas led an APGA faction to form the All Progressives Congress. He was later elected by his colleague governors in the opposition as Chairman of the Progressive Governors Forum. He contested for the a second tenure under the APC in 2015 and won, while still in APC he contested the senatorial ticket for the 9th Senate representing Imo west Orlu senatorial zone during the 2019 National Assembly elections and was sworn in on 13 June 2019 by the Senate President Ahmed Lawan.
Owelle is well known for his passion for education and philanthropic nature which birthed the Rochas Foundation, a charity organisation comprising a number of special schools that are spread all over Nigeria that gives scholarship to the less privileged children in Nigeria.
He is married to Nneoma Nkechi Okorocha and together they have 6 children (3 girls and 3 boys); Uloma Rochas Nwosu, Uju Rochas-Anwuka, Uchechi Rochas, Aham Rochas, Amen Rochas and Amam Rochas.
