The Owerri Zone Awareness Coalition (OZAC) has intensified pressure on All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship hopefuls from Owerri zone to publicly declare their interest in the 2027 Imo governorship race, warning that prolonged silence is politically costly.
In a statement signed by its president, Emmanuel Okwu, the group said it fully aligns with the position articulated by Mr. Innocent Onyeukwu, a seasoned journalist and columnist, in his column, Harvest, published on INNONEWS.
OZAC said Onyeukwu’s article was a direct and unsparing call on Owerri zone APC politicians nursing governorship ambitions to step out of the shadows and openly join the race.
Describing the write-up as articulate, brutally honest and timely, OZAC said it confronted a growing culture of political timidity among Owerri zone APC stakeholders, particularly the habit of waiting for endorsements before taking decisive steps.
The group said the continued absence of APC governorship aspirants from Owerri zone is not only troubling but strategically dangerous, arguing that hesitation has historically weakened zones seeking power.
While affirming its willingness to support Owerri zone governorship aspirants across other political parties, OZAC said the vacuum within the APC projects a defeatist mindset capable of undermining the zone’s long-standing equity argument.
The Coalition recalled that it has been among the groups consistently pushing the narrative that it is Owerri zone’s turn to produce the successor to Governor Hope Uzodimma, stressing that moral arguments alone do not translate into political victories.
OZAC warned that it would amount to political naivety for aspirants from the zone to sit back and expect the governor to anoint or coronate a successor from Owerri zone within the ruling party.
According to the group, although the Charter of Equity appears favourable to Owerri zone, there is no law, decree or enforceable provision stating that its implementation must commence with an Owerri zone governor.
The coalition said stakeholders in the Owerri zone APC must understand that charters, agreements and sentiments only gain strength when backed by visible contenders willing to contest power.
It advised politicians from the zone who are quietly harbouring governorship ambitions in the APC to abandon overdependence on consensus arrangements and instead present themselves for public scrutiny.
OZAC said aspirants must be bold enough to convince party members, stakeholders and the governor himself why Owerri zone should produce the next governor on the platform of the ruling party.
Reiterating its irrevocable commitment to the emergence of an Imo governor of Owerri zone extraction, the group said Mr. Onyeukwu’s column lays bare the zone’s internal shortcomings and offers a clear corrective path.
The coalition added that power is never served on a platter, noting that both Okigwe and Orlu zones are aggressively staking claims to the governorship, and vowed to continue backing credible Owerri zone aspirants across party lines in the quest for equity.
