The introduction of Charter of Equity to create balance in the governance of Imo State and ensure that the three senatorial zones of Orlu, Okigwe and Owerri are all given the fair share in producing governors for the state after a protracted dominance of the Orlu zone since the return of democracy in 1999 may be heading to the rocks as some politicians and indigenes of the state have expressed loss of confidence in the proposal while others insist on the agreement.
The Charter was brought to the fore before the off-cycle governorship election in the state on November 11, 2023 which returned the incumbent, Governor Hope Uzodimma, thereby guaranteeing 24 years of Orlu zone in the state’s government house out of 28 years in the ongoing democratic rule.
Prior to the emergence of Uzodimma, the duo of Senators Achike Udenwa and Rochas Okorocha have ruled the state while Ikedi Ohakim from Okigwe zone had a four year term but lost the bid for a second term.
Uzodimma defeated the former Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Emeka Ihedioha who would have been the first governor from the Owerri zone at the Supreme Court to deny the zone.
As the agitations against the dominance of Orlu zone raged, Uzodimma during his campaign last year, assured the people of Imo State that he would ensure that equity prevails in subsequent elections to choose the next governor of the state if he was given the mandate for a second term.
He recorded a landslide victory as has never been in the history of the state by winning in all the 27 local government areas, a confirmation that the people voted massively for him to make sure that come 2027, no Orlu zone politician should join the race for governorship and even if there is, the governor will not support such candidates.
However, in that historic move to engender peace and stability in Imo, the state’s Council of Elders adopted the Charter of Equity for the rotation of key political offices among the three Senatorial zones.
Notable among these offices are those of the governor, deputy governor and speaker of the House of Assembly.
Consequently, the Council endorsed Uzodimma for a second tenure, saying that apart from the fact that he has performed creditably, his zone, Orlu should be allowed to complete its term of eight years.
“If we are really talking about equity, it will only be fair for the three zones to join hands and cede it to the Owerri Zone”
In a communiqué issued at the end of the quarterly meeting, the Council noted that since it is a creation of law and desirous to bring stability to the polity, it decided to adopt the Imo Charter of Equity as recommended by its Strategic Committee headed by Dan Nwanyanwu, National Chairman of Zenith Labour Party and industrious son of the state.
A Chieftain of the Labour Party in the state and former factional gubernatorial candidate, Ikechukwu Ukaegbu in expressing reservations for the Charter of Equity described it as fake and deceptive, accusing Governor Uzodimma of bias and insincerity.
Ukaegbu noted that the state governor who midwived the charter of Equity document has not shown commitment to the agreement but paying lip service to it, as politicians from his Orlu zone are already indicating interest to contest for the position in 2027.
Speaking in an interview with journalists, the Labour Party stalwart said he does not believe in the charter of Equity as the charter has never been respected since the return to democracy in 1999.
He said “Imo Charter of Equity is fake because what they are saying is not what they have in mind, if you believe in the charter of Equity show it by action, I don’t want to be roped into what I know will not work.
“The presentation of it is fake, the charter has failed in the past because Uzodimma from Orlu zone came in after 16 years of Orlu zone and it was not respected.
“There is no truth in all these, it is not today we are hearing equity, I won’t be surprised for an Orlu man to be contesting in 2027.”
Ukaegbu said the Owerri zone has lost confidence in the Charter of Equity arrangement which according to him was hurriedly put together to help Uzodimma secure a second tenure in office.
He reiterated the commitment of the Owerri Zone in producing the next governor in 2027 despite the alleged distortion of the Charter of Equity arrangement which he argued was intentionally designed to fail.
He noted that his concern is how his party wins the state in 2027, adding that he is in the party to lead it to victory.
Speaking further, on the fourth coming local government election, Ukaegbu disclosed that his party, labour party and the opposition will boycott the election as it has no confidence in the electoral process.
A lawyer and former Commissioner, Willie Amadi, charged all the political parties, religious bodies, traditional rulers and critical stakeholders to rein in and ensure that the spirit and intentions of the Charter is brought to bear in the process leading to electing Chairman and Councillors as a grassroots adoption of the Charter or Zoning going forward.
The APC Stalwart said, “As we approach the primary election in July and the election proper in September this year, many local governments, wards, communities, and kindred are enmeshed in serious agitations, debates, claims, and counter- claims of the desirability to observe the 2023 Charter of Equity in their local governments in obedience and adoption of the generally accepted zoning in the state. This will also reinforce the acceptance that Owerri Zone in the 2027 governorship election shall produce the next Governor after Uzodimma’s beautiful tenure.
“In furtherance of deepening and entrenching this novelty applied in the other four sister states of the South East, the time has come for all the political parties, religious bodies, traditional rulers and critical stakeholders to rein in and ensure that the spirit and intentions of the Charter is brought to bear in the process leading to electing Chairman and Councillors as a grassroots adoption of the Charter or Zoning going forward.”
An embittered son of Owerri zone from Ngor Okpala who pleaded anonymity to avoid political victimization, said a governor from Owerri Zone must take over and it must be someone from Ngor Okpala.
He said the argument that Okigwe Zone still has one term since former governor Ikedi Ohakim served only one term is neither here nor there.
“If we are really talking about equity, it will only be fair for the three zones to join hands and cede it to Owerri Zone and my reason being that Owerri zone remains the only zone that has not produced a governor for the state. Ihedioha is nowhere in the history of the state as a former governor but as for Okigwe zone, former governor Ohakim successfully completed his four year term in office but failed to win a re-election for a second term. For whatever reason, I cannot say. However, we must realize that the Charter of Equity is to ensure that those elective positions agreed upon are rotated among the zone which is not foisting on Imolites. It’s the responsibility of a governor to work for his re-election during his first term. If anything in the contrary occurs, nobody should expect Imo people to cast their votes for him. The only area that could be adjusted is for the political parties to present strong candidates from the same zone if they want the governor to come from the zone. Anything outside of this cannot guarantee the zone’s eight years and if it happens they should not insist on completing their two terms.
“Why are we talking about Okigwe Zone when the truth of the matter is that, we have a four year tenure for the elective positions, and after four years your tenure expires for another election, if the Imolites want you to come back to the office, you will be elected again and if not, you relax and wait for another time and not to impose it on the people. That Okigwe governed for only one tenure is not a default to the Charter. That is what they were supposed to have like I said, unless he contested for tenure and won for his second tenure. We should be realistic, I don’t think Imo people owe the Okigwe zone because their tenure was completed for four years and that the governor failed to win re-election is nobody’s fault.”
Another political analyst, Bethel Obinnaya said 2027 is open for anybody to contest the election arguing that it is nobody’s birth right and so if any candidate contests and wins, he should have it because it’s not the birth right of Orlu and Okigwe Zones.
He insists that the best should govern the state. “Let our best govern us. I don’t see how Uzodimma’s tenure transformed the Orlu Zone into London or how Okorocha transformed the zone into Madrid, the same as the Okigwe Zone when Ohakim was governor. If an Okigwe man wins the 2027 elections, let him rule but if he loses it, let him equally rest. It’s not anyone’s birth right. Even the Owerri Zone has not gotten a fair share when it concerns governing Imo State.
“If we can tell ourselves the truth, we all should be looking at Owerri zone to produce a Governor come 2027. There is no sentiment about that. But the problem of Owerri Zone is that everybody would like to contest, you see them having multiple aspirants and candidates in different political parties thereby giving room for another zone especially Orlu. Let us reflect and see why Orlu has been holding this position for a long time. We should understand the game of politics and play it without fear or favour.
“Owerri zone was given an opportunity to govern Imo through Ihedioha but they could not handle the power very well and somebody ran the Ben Johnson style and snatched the power from them.
“Was Okigwe not given the power through Ikedi Ohakim? So what happened? My brother, let’s be realistic. Okigwe Zone got their four year tenure complete but Owerri Zone’s tenure was snatched from Ihedioha according to them. The question now is, was the Owerri tenure completed before the snatching of power from them? And the answer is no. But Okigwe Zone completed its four-year tenure and was not re-elected. Look at it from that angle.”
According to a writer, social commentator and community leader Nze James Chinonyerem from Owerri “The Imo State Charter of Equity was designed, articulated and proposed by the Imo State council of Elders and adopted by Imo people across the political, cultural, denominational and business divides and also aimed at fostering peace, love, unity and progress in the state.
“The charter addresses the needs for equitable rotations of the office of the governor of the state among the three zones in the state. The governor accepted the charter and made a declarative statement to the effect that, going forward, the office of the governor would rotate among the three zones starting with the Owerri Zone come 2027.”
Chinonyerem said the governor spoke in simple and plain language without equivocation or conditions.
“When some people who constitute themselves as electoral gods and givers of political powers began to congregate on social media to distort, reform, rephrase, readjust and recreate the Charter of Equity in their own senses, imaginations, images and likenesses, the stage became set for the confrontations of facts and fictions, lies and truths, history and tall tales. This gang and clan are forceful but false in their narratives. They stand the truth upside down.
“But they failed. Ezenwa-Ohaeto captured it, “If you strike a match to burn truth, it burns into immortality.” Truth is true and gets through no matter the walls built to keep it at bay from passing through. So there’s history, as the witness to the present. The past, Wole Soyinka said, must address the present. The truth is that among the three zones in the state, it is only the Owerri Zone that is yet to produce a governor for the state. Anyone who denies this is distorting history. And this is dangerous. The worst sinners, Khalid Gibran said, “Are those who distort the truth, and the most vicious are those who pervert history.”
“Anyone who is qualified from any of the three zones, Owerri, Okigwe, and Orlu, should contest for the governorship”
According to him, “Some are more damaging in their frenzy to demonize Nde Owerri, they accuse the Owerri Zone of stopping an Okigwe man in 2011. But they chose to selectively remember to forget that in actual fact, it was an Okigwe man that was used to stop Owerri man in 2007. To twist this distortion of history, the promoters of this tall tale hired some olds from Owerri Zone to sing the dirge for them. Unfortunately, the voices are frogged and cranky. The voices are overused in the cranky business and have become unbelievable because they are out of sync with truth and reality. The question that keeps begging for answers is how do these people who blackmail the Owerri Zone hope to evangelize love, peace, unity and progress in the state if they continue to deny Owerri people equity and justice?”
Orlu Zone insists on winner takes it all, discards Charter of Equity
Despite the acceptance of the Charter by generality of stakeholders in the state, it appears that Orlu Zone may not be willing to relinquish its stronghold on the seat without participating in the contest.
Unconfirmed information indicates that a serving member of the House of Representatives, a former National Officer of the All Progressives Congress, and a former governorship candidate who was a key player in the administration of former governor Rochas Okorocha are said to be interested in the race from Orlu Zone.
Former Majority Leader of Imo State House of Assembly, Lugard Osuji, had said that all the three zones in the state, especially Orlu, are free to contest for the governorship in 2027.
He said “Anyone who is qualified from any of the three zones, Owerri, Okigwe, and Orlu, should contest for the governorship.
“Even if the next governor after Hope Uzodimma is from Orlu Zone and has the mandate of the people by winning a free and fair governorship election, he should be allowed to govern the state.”
Nonetheless, it is expected that these aspirants from Orlu Zone would encounter stiff resistance from Owerri Zone, which has been vocal in its demand for the seat.
Groups such as Owerri Zone Awareness Coalition and Imo Harmony Project are relentless in their pursuit for an Imo governor of Owerri Zone extraction in 2027.
Okigwe Zone is also in the mix, with former Governor Ikedi Ohakim emerging as a frontrunner from the zone.
Ohakim’s allies in Owerri Zone have been making a case for his return to office, citing his experience and achievements during his previous tenure but OPOCA, a major socio-political group in Orlu Zone, has set the withdrawal of court cases challenging Governor Uzodimma’s victory in the November 11, 2023 governorship election as a condition for conceding power to Owerri Zone.
Meanwhile, an elder statesman, from Owerri zone, Amaugo Ugorji, recently said he would not be disturbed if Imo North Senatorial District produces the next Imo governor in 2027.
He stated this to newsmen in Owerri while reacting to the controversies surrounding the Imo charter of equity.
He said he was aware of the position of his zone (Imo East) on the change of equity, among other contentious issues surrounding the agreement.
“But my ultimate goal is to see good governance, regardless of the governor’s origin. I will not oppose the potential reemergence of former governor Ikedi Ohakim, even though Ohakim hails from Okigwe Zone. Because of his performance during his previous term, I have nothing against Ohakim. If he becomes the governor, that’s okay because I have seen part of the good things he has done.
“Everybody has areas that need to be cleaned up and straightened, but I acknowledge the good ones he did. So, if, by some circumstance, he becomes governor again, I’m not going to be angry, I wouldn’t mind. At least one area I’m sure the state will benefit from is coming back as one of the cleanest cities in the country.”
“Having served a full term as governor, Ohakim is constitutionally limited to only one more term. I am okay with who governs me at any level as long as the environment is conducive for fair practice. And for Ikedi Ohakim, I don’t have a problem with him. He is a good person, and I don’t have a problem with him becoming governor again,” he said.
The state coordinator of Imo Youths for Equity, 2027, Chigozie Ugwo has said that perceived enemies of Imo Chatter of Equity fighting against decision of Governor Uzodimma and Imo Council of Elders to hand over power to Owerri Zone in line with Imo Charter of Equity have been told that the moves to hand over power to Owerri Zone is sacrosanct and irreversible.
Chiding those championing the return of former Governor Ikedi Ohakim from Okigwe Zone to government house to complete his aborted second term, he described them as the real enemies of Governor Uzodimma and ndi Imo.
Ugwo explained that their call to return former Governor Ohakim was based on selfish interest and ulterior motive against Owerri Zone.
He advised Governor Uzodimma to beware of those pushing for Imo State Governor of Okigwe extraction as against his decision to hand over power to Owerri Zone, saying; they are his real enemies who want to rubbish his hard earned reputation.