*Guber Aspirants From Orlu, Okigwe Warm Up
- *They Are Wasting Their Time, Says OZAC President
Despite Owerri zone being favoured by the Imo Charter of Equity to produce the next governor of Imo State in 2027, some governorship hopefuls in Orlu and Okigwe zones are warming up to participate in the gubernatorial election in 2027.
In all election cycles in Imo State since 1999, all three geopolitical zones fielded governorship aspirants and candidates.
Orlu and Okigwe zones have produced more state governors than Owerri zone.
Orlu Zone, since 1999, has produced three state governors who have been on the saddle for 20 years and would extend to an extra four years by the time the current governor, Senator Hope Uzodimma, completes his second term in 2027.
Orlu and Okigwe zones, at various fora, had made it clear that there is no law that prevents their sons and daughters from taking part in the guber contest.
Various groups in these zones have sprung up to lend credence to these claims, with the Orlu Political Consultative Assembly, OPOCA, insisting that governorship candidates from Owerri zone in the 2023 governorship election should withdraw their legal cases in court. against their son, Governor Uzodimma, if Owerri zone would get their support for the guber race in four years time.
Aside from the posturing of these groups, this newspaper gathered that about three top members of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in Orlu Zone are preparing to vie for the governorship ticket of the APC.
One of them had failed in his bid to pick the APC governorship ticket in 2019.
In Okigwe zone, some leaders of the zone, despite support for the Charter of Equity, contend that they will not stop any of their sons from joining the governorship race in 2027.
“We will not stop any of our sons from contesting. Those who want to contest from the APC or PDP are free to do so,” said a top leader of the zone who spoke on condition of anonymity.
However, some key leaders of Owerri zone met last week at the residence of former Minister of Interior, Capt. Emmanuel Iheanacho, where they vowed to consolidate on the provisions and gains of the Imo Charter of Equity to advance the cause of Imo governorship of Owerri zone extraction in 2027.
A leading group pushing for Owerri zone governorship in 2027, the Owerri Zone Awareness Coalition (OZAC), has urged Orlu and Okigwe leaders to call on those who intend to contest from their zones, to adhere to the tenets of the Charter.
Emmanuel Okwu, President of the Coalition, who spoke to INNONEWS from London, said there is no going back from the realization of an Imo State Governor of Owerri zone extraction in 2027.
He said “We are determined. We are focused, and it is a mission we must accomplish.
“The Charter of Equity is explicit, and it is very clear that it is certainly the turn of Owerri Zone to produce the next governor of the state. We are no political slaves in Imo. We are the weeping child of the Imo political family. And we will weep no more
“Those from Orlu and Okigwe zones, who want to contest, should simply obey the Charter and not embark on a wild goose chase. They should not waste their time.
“I call on our brothers in Orlu and Okigwe to embrace the tenets of fair play and justice by backing an Owerri man or woman for governor when the time is ripe”
