■ Accuses them of killing Charter of Equity in 2011
■Says Owerri zone never gave Udenwa PDP in 1999
The 2027 governorship election and the process of implementing the proposed Imo Charter of Equity have continued to resonate among the major contenders, elder statesmen, and political commentators in Imo State. Two major claimants to the 2027 Imo Governorship seat, Okigwe and Owerri zones have equally been adducing reasons why each of them should be allowed to succeed the incumbent governor, Senator Hope Uzodinma.
However, some elder statesmen from the largest geopolitical zone in Imo State, Orlu zone, though not necessarily kin on angling to succeed the incumbent governor based on the fact that Orlu zone would have governed the State for cumulative 24 years by 2028 when Uzodinma must have completed his tenure, are nevertheless, not passive or averse to who succeds Uzodinma from either Okigwe zone or Owerri zone.Governor Uzodinma himself, has also made it clear that it will be “unfair and unjust” for any Orlu zone indigene to aspire to succeed him. He has,therefore, advised any of his Orlu kinsmen harbouring such thoughts to drop it forthwith.
Speaking on political developments in Imo State ahead of the 2027 governorship election, an elder statesman from Orlu zone and National President, Alaigbo Development Foundation ,Prof Ukachukwu Awuzie,pointed out that the panacea to the seeming discordant tunes in Imo lately, “is for Okigwe zone to be allowed to complete its wickedly truncated tenure in Imo’s governorship of 2011 by 2027.” He explained that “there can not be justice where injustice still hovers around.”
According Awuzie, who was a former Vice Chancellor of Imo State University, Owerri, “but for the greed and selfish inclinations of some Owerri zone political leaders, Okigwe zone’s eight years tenure would have long been completed and power smoothly transited to Owerri zone long before now.” He asserted that the truncation of Dr Ikedi Ohakim’s tenure in 2011 broke the seamless implementation of rotational governance in Imo State as began in 1999.
The first Nigerian Professor of Landscape Architecture pointedly accused Owerri zone political leaders of being instrumental to Ohakim not getting a second term in Office. “If we must go to equity, we must go with clean hands. In those other States where the Charter of Equity is working, and which they cite as examples, did any of the governors not serve two terms? Even when this same injustice occurred in Ekiti State against Ayodele Fayose, the people, realizing their mistake, corrected it promptly by allowing Fayose to come back and complete his purposeful second term.Like Fayose, Ohakim was a victim of wicked conspiracy theory master-minded by some elements in Owerri zone. In terms of performance, Ohakim excelled creditably in his first tenure. If you want to talk about justice and fairness, then we should allow Okigwe zone to complete its remaining tenure with a proviso that such a person will not go for another term in Office,” he averred.
Awuzie also described as unfair, any attempt by anybody from zone to seek to govern Imo again immediately after Senator Hope Uzodinma, insisting that such should be resisted. He stated however,that Orlu zone has gotten the governorship multiple times due to no making of theirs. “Indeed,it was Owerri people who patronized Orlu zone to become governor after the they used destructive blackmail and propaganda to hound Ohakim out of Office for selfish reasons, with Chief Martin Agbaso and the G8 spearheading the onslaught. We all know them and history never forgets,” he contended, positing further that”Owerri zone might play this dirty politics again if not checked. If we want to talk about justice, we must first look at what happened in 2011 Imo governorship election and situate our emotions forward from there so that we can restore justice and have peace in Imo. Four years is not too much.”
On the contentious claim that in 1998, Owerri zone through late Chief Humphrey Anumudu donated the Imo governorship seat to former Governor Achike Udenwa from Orlu zone in the spirit of Imo Charter of Equity,Awuzie described such claim as “reckless and devoid of substance.” He explained that a lot of factors played out at that time which led to Udenwa’s emergence as a candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and not a consensus candidate for all the political parties then which contested the same election with him,and which he(Udenwa) won.
“How can Owerri zone donate governorship to Orlu zone? That is pure lie. Udenwa won not due to zoning or Charter of Equity. Were there no Owerri zone people in All Peoples Party (APP),which had late Chief Ezekiel Izuogu also from Orlu zone as its governorship candidate? So,Owerri zone probably donated the same governorship ticket to Udenwa and Izuogu at the same time and for the same election? We have to get the facts correct at all times. The incontestable fact remains that PDP at that time was more strategically positioned to win elections Imo than any other political party then just as the APC is today,” Awuzie said.
He further opined that “even if we agree without conceding the facts that Owerri zone were the people donating the governorship, where were they when the governorship went to Okigwe zone in 2011 after Udenwa’s eight years tenure? If they were the people donating it whenever they want and however it pleases them,why did they not take it after Udenwa? If Owerri zone claims they donated governorship to Orlu zone, and perhaps, tacitly to Okigwe zone, they would have allowed Okigwe zone to complete its eight years tenure. Ironically, by spearheading Ohakim’s regrettable ouster in 2011 through callous blackmail and pernicious propaganda against him which were routed through the leadership of the Owerri Catholic Archdiocese then,Owerri zone’s political leadership ended up shooting themselves on the foot. They should realize by now that there are nemesis and laws of karma and retributive justice. Luckily for them, 2027 is another opportunity God has provided for them to show atonement and restitution by allowing Okigwe zone to complete its tenure.”
It would be recalled that lately, there have been similar calls from various elder statesmen and political analysts in Imo State on several media platforms and podcasts, for the 2027 Imo governorship seat to be ceded to Okigwe zone to complete its tenure generally believed to have been unjustly quenched in 2011 by a well orchestrated onslaught and falsehood allegedly ignited by certain political leaders in Owerri zone against the then Governor, Ikedi Ohakim. Even the fiery Catholic priest, Reverend Father Ejike Mbaka of the Adoration Catholic Ministry,Enugu, who, knowingly to him that it was a calculated blackmail against the people of Okigwe zone,joined in escalating the allegation that Ohakim flogged a Catholic priest. Mbaka, realizing later that it was malicious and false, apologized publicly to Ohakim and sought his forgiveness for unknowingly partaking in the gang up against him.
