From Everest Ezihe, Owerri
Following recent statement from Governor Hope Uzodimma of Imo State, that his Shared Prosperity administration is no longer interested from which of the senatorial zones his successor will come from, but rather a person who would sustain the legacy pedigrees his administration have achieved, Prof Vitalis Orikeze Ajumbe has opened can of worms that should be addressed ahead of the State 2027 governorship election so as to achieve seamless and equitable successor ship.
Ajumbe who’s a chieftain of All Nigerians People’s Party, ANPP in Imo State as well as the National Coordinator of the Association of former ANPP members revealed this in a telephone interview with selected Imo State based Journalists.
He said it point blank, that he never believed in the proposed Imo Charter of Equity which he described as a ruse and has been deceptively mismanaged by the State political leaders in 1998/1999 under the enclave of PDP political leadership structure.
The former Commissioner for Information, Tourism and Public Utilities in the State, equivocally said that even though he’s a frontline member of APC in Amaimo ward of Ikeduru LGA of Imo State which is in Owerri Senatorial zone, that as a political scientist that he fore sees Owerri Senatorial zone people leaning on the tenets of the Charter of Equity as being beggarly and must retrieve their political steps to achieve the reality ahead of 2027 governorship primary and election.
“You know, there have been this issue of charter of Equity which made the Owerri people to claim that it’s their fundamental rights to produce 2027 governorship candidates. By the way, I’m from Owerri Zone . The Charter of Equity made the Owerri people to claim that His Excellency, Senator Hope Uzodimma has promised them 2027 governorship ticket, and immediately I heard that, as a visionary politician, I issued a press statement, granted interviews that the Charter of Equity is a ruse after all. And I also made it very clear to all of them who believed in the issue of the Charter of Equity.
“I also informed that Owerri people believing in that Charter of Equity,it’s like being beggarly, that I don’t believe in Charter of Equity, however, if the State still want to believe in Charter of Equity, for upholding of equity and natural justice they should leave it for Okigwe Senatorial Zone.
” I recall that the issue of Charter of Equity came out of a meeting of PDP leadership during the time of late Senator Evan Enwerem, Chief I.D. Nwoga etc. Then under PDP governorship primary, late Chief Humphrey Anumudu of Obazu Mbieri in Mbaitoli LGA of Owerri Senatorial Zone came first in the then 1998 primary of PDP, in the name of upholding equity instead of giving the ticket to Anumudu as the winner of the gubernatorial primary, the leaders conspired and gave the ticket to Chief Achike Udenwa of Amaifeke Orlu, as he came fourth asking Anumudu to exercise patience that after Achike it will be the turn of Owerri zone and he would be pacified.
“That was the beginning of Charter of Equity in the State, but based on immense political pressures he seamlessly handed over to Okigwe Senatorial Zone through Chief Ikedi Godson Ohakim using supplementary election as a leeway even though Sir Martin Agbaso of APGA and a native of Umudibia Emekuku in Owerri North LGA of Owerri Senatorial Zone was perceived to have won the first election.
” However, Ohakim was expecting to get the second tenure but the dream was truncated by Owerri people using people like Chief PC Onuoha of Ahiazu Mbaise and Professor Anthony Anwuka of Oguta among others that convinced Owelle Rochas Okorocha of Ogboko in Ideato South LGA of Orlu Senatorial who wanted to run for House of Representatives under PDP then to cross over to All People’s Grand Alliance, APGA and promised him the governorship ticket”.
Ajumbe pointed out that some political leaders of Owerri Senatorial zone held a meeting and took Okorocha to Chief Ralph Uwazuruike of MASSOB/ BIM ( Movement for the Actualization of Sovereign State of Biafra/ Biafra Independent Movement) for he has soft spot for APGA to his private residence along Okigwe Road Works Layout and convinced him to endorse Okorocha’s gubernatorial ambition with APGA ticket, which he accepted.
The political strategist also informed that before Uwazuruike accepted to endorse Okorocha he asked him if he has the financial capacity to prosecute the governorship election, Okorocha answered in affirmative.
Ajumbe further said that Okorocha as an intelligent opportunist, immediately pleaded that Uwazuruike should take him to late Dim Chukwuemeka Odimegwu Ojukwu for his blessings, acceptance and endorsement.
“That was how their journey to Ojukwu, the Ikemba Nnewi started, by that time people like, Chief Peter Orji,(Big Do)
was number one choice for APGA. Infact he has already emerged as APGA governorship candidate for Imo State.
“However, after the agreement with Ralph Uwazuruike, they went to Enugu and meet Ojukwu and Uwazuruike used his influence that prompted Ojukwu to further endorse Okorocha’s candidature as Imo State gubernatorial candidate of APGA, Ojukwu endorsed him.
” After the meeting with Ojukwu, Uwazuruike quickly called meeting of State APGA critical stakeholders in his ancestral home, Okwe in Onuimo LGA. It was in that meeting that Okorocha was finally adopted as the party’s governorship flag bearer and people like Peter Orji and his supporters vehemently opposed and protested against that, Uwazuruike bluffed them, and further told them to leave the party if they don’t want the change, and that was how Rochas got the APGA governorship ticket, and that was how Ralph Uwazuruike supported him”.
Ajumbe equally recalled that it was two political leaders from Owerri and one from Orlu Senatorial zones that started the move to defeat Ohakim and his second tenure agenda.
He noted that the opposition employed campaign of calumny, propaganda and religious falsehood that Governor Ikedi Ohakim beat up and humiliated a revered catholic priest from Umudim Atta in Ikeduru LGA, Rev. Fr. Eustace.
“Which was a blatant lie.I remember I went to one remote village in Ohaji where the said father Eustace was a resident Priest.I traced him, I went there, he said he didn’t even see Ohakim that day. The issue was further orchestrated by the Catholic church as they started using Ohakim’s name in derogatory manners. How he beat a reverend father.And the thing continued and you know our people and their interest in the christian religion.
” The propaganda was so bad to an extent that despite refutals, everybody believed, it was true when it was not true, at all. It’s very unfortunate that the same Owerri Senatorial Zone that was the architect of rubbishing Ohakim and his second tenure constitutional rights, there by truncated a perfected zoning arrangements now wants Charter of Equity to start with them. We are all educated, we know equity entails that where there are two things and we are two, you take one I take one. Therefore, if you deny Okigwe Senatorial Zone from completing their tenure as equity demands, how then do you think you can get your own ?.
“Equity is likened to, if we’re 3 owning a cow and the cow is killed, we are 3 zones, the first will take, the second will take and the third should be equally allowed to take.Any person who want to come to equity, must come with clean hands.
“Now you don’t want that zone to fully participate in the sharing, probably because they are made of only 6 LGAs out of 27, while Owerri Senatorial Zone has 9 LGAs.My Owerri Senatorial Zone forgot so easily that Okigwe is closer to Orlu zone than Owerri zone. Okigwe will simply go to Orlu, and Orlu man will simply run for that governorship and win. What we are running is democracy.
“Now the governor recently has made it very clear and he’s absolutely very sincere about it, hence he has openly said, he is only interested in a capable person that will continue his administration’s legacies, and where the person comes from doesn’t matter to him. The truth is now obvious that the perceived Imo State Charter of Equity has been shattered.We are henceforth, going back to democracy.
“In view of this, am calling on Chief Tony Chukwu, (Onweghi Ihe Kariri Chineke) because there was an altercation between Chukwu who’s from Ehime Mbano in Okigwe Senatorial Zone and some Owerri political leaders, who were few months ago hosted for a dinner by Chief Leo Stan Eke (Iyi Atata Mbaitoli) at his Lagos Victoria Island residence. Chief Tony Chukwu was bold enough to tell Owerri people to cede the State capital to Okigwe Senatorial Zone. He bluntly said, give us the State capital and take governorship of the State, or vis versa.That means, that his request is impossible. It shows that he definitely wants the governorship to come from Okigwe Zone.
“Now that he has heard the new political sing song of the Governor Uzodimma, am calling on Chief Tony Chukwu to come out and tell us which of the options does he and his people wants, ahead of 2027.In all honesty, it is time now for Tony Chukwu to make his choice, do you want capital or do you want governorship ? If he wants governorship, this is the time for him to boldly come out and say what Okigwe Senatorial Zone wants. If they said they want governorship, we will then give them condition, Owerri zone will definitely give their own condition, that’s, if you want governorship you must value Owerri zone. Simply.
“We will sit down and agree, so Okigwe needs governor, Okigwe wants to complete it’s tenure of four years, because what I will not accept is a situation where an Okigwe man will run for eight years. Any Okigwe man who wants to run, must write an undertaking with Owerri zone that the person will not go for second tenure.What Okigwe needs is only one tenure and only that will earn my total support to them.
“Mathematically speaking, if Okigwe Zone with their 6 LGAs could merge with Owerri zone 9 LGAs that gives us 15 LGAs.Definitely as a politician I know that Ohaji/Egbema and Oguta LGAs in Orlu zone will join us. I also know that Nkwerre and Nwangele LGAs of Orlu Senatorial Zone will equally follow us. It will be a seamless political deal. If you think that Owerri zone will make it without Okigwe, I tell you it is a mirage and politically impossible.
“It’s an obvious truth that neither Owerri nor Okigwe zones extraction can enter Imo State Government House without firm support of each other, it’s simply a filthy lie. Because for you to run for governorship, you must emerge from party primary. If you count the number of aspirants we have heard so far coming out from Owerri Zone they are many as against Okigwe and Orlu Senatorial Zones.
“As far as they say it’s Charter of Equity, it must go to Okigwe Zone. But if it’s true democracy, it can go to any zone including Orlu” he advised.
