A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Prof. Vitalis Orikeze Ajumbe, has called on Chief Tony Chukwu to come out openly and address Imo people on his position between choosing the Imo Governorship and retaining the state capital in Owerri.
Ajumbe made the call during a phone chat with newsmen on Tuesday, July 1st. He stressed that if the Imo Charter of Equity must be adopted, then the next governorship seat should be zoned to Okigwe Zone.
It will be recalled that Chief Tony Chukwu, a prominent leader from Okigwe Zone, had earlier suggested that Owerri Zone should relinquish the state capital in exchange for producing the governor in 2027.
“But if not, then any zone is qualified to occupy the governorship seat simply because we are in a democracy,” Ajumbe said.
He insisted that it was time for Chief Tony Chukwu, who once argued that Imo people should either give Okigwe the governorship seat or relocate the capital to Okigwe, to summon a stakeholders’ meeting and clarify his current stance.
Ajumbe, a former member of the Presidential Think Tank under Muhammadu Buhari’s regime and ex-Commissioner for Information and Public Utilities in Imo State, emphasized that he does not personally believe in the Charter of Equity.
He, however, added that “If Owerri people believe in it, then they should give it to Okigwe Zone to run for one tenure.”
The erudite scholar explained that the Charter of Equity began under PDP leadership, where an Orlu man, Achike Udenwa, governed for eight years and handed over to Okigwe’s Ikedi Ohakim, who served for four years.
He said: “That they started from Orlu Zone and gave it to Achike Udenwa who came fifth or fourth position during the primary elections to allow for equity. Achike then had taken the turn of Orlu Zone and seamlessly handed over to Okigwe through Ikedi Ohakim who was expecting to get the second tenure.”
According to Ajumbe, it was Owerri leaders like Chief P.C. Onuoha and Prof. Anthony Anwuka who convinced Rochas Okorocha, an Orlu man aspiring for House of Representatives, to run for governor and thereby scuttled the equity arrangement.
He added that it was two people from Owerri Zone and one person from Oguta LGA who ignited the campaign against Ikedi Ohakim.
“They turned it into religion. Telling lies against Ikedi, that he beat a Reverend Father, which was a blatant lie. I remember I went to one remote village in Ohaji where they hid the Reverend Father, Father Eustace. I traced him, I went there, he said he didn’t even see Ohakim that day. It was orchestrated by the Church and they started using Ohakim’s name in derogatory manner. How he beat a Reverend Father. And the thing continued and you know our people and their interest in religion. Everybody believed it was true, when it was not true. And that helped in bringing Ohakim down and made him to lose the election,” he noted.
“Now the same Owerri people want Charter of Equity,” he said. “We are all educated. We know in equity you take two, I take two, or you take one, I take one. And if you deny Okigwe from getting two, how do you want to get your own? Equity is like if you kill a cow, we are three — the first will take, the second will take and the third will be allowed to take. Any person who wants to come to equity must come with clean hand.”
He questioned whether the reluctance to zone the governorship to Okigwe was due to the zone having only six LGAs compared to Owerri’s nine.
“My zone, Owerri, forgot that Okigwe is closer to Orlu Zone than Owerri Zone. Okigwe will simply go to Orlu. Orlu man will simply run for that governorship and win. What we are running is democracy,” he said.
Ajumbe cited Governor Uzodimma’s recent statement that he is more concerned about a successor who will continue his legacy, not where the successor comes from.
“That is, Charter of Equity has been shattered. We are now going back to true democracy,” Ajumbe added.
“I’m calling on Chief Tony Chukwu because of what he said then in Lagos in an event. Chief Tony Chukwu said, give us capital and take governorship. That his request is impossible. And it shows that he wants the governor for Okigwe Zone. Now that he has heard from the governor.”
“I’m calling on Chief Tony Chukwu to come out and tell us which one he wants. It is time for Tony Chukwu to make his choice now. Do you want capital or do you want governor? If you want governor, this is the time for you to say I want governor and we will give you condition. Owerri Zone will give you condition if you want governor and you must value Owerri Zone.”
“We will sit down and agree and say Okigwe needs governor, Okigwe wants to complete its 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 he will not go for second tenure. What Okigwe needs is only one term.”
He stressed the political math, stating, “Mathematically, Okigwe Zone has six LGAs and Owerri Zone nine, and that gives us 15 LGAs. I know that Ohaji-Egbema and Oguta LGAs will join us. I also know that Nkwerre and Nwangele will follow us.”
“If you think that Owerri Zone will make it without Okigwe, I tell you it’s a mirage. Owerri Zone will not enter into Government House without agreement with Okigwe on the way it should go.”
“Because for you to run for governorship, you must emerge from party primaries. If you count the number of aspirants we heard are coming out from Owerri Zone, they are many.”
“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,” Prof. Ajumbe concluded.
