Give it to my people in Owerri zone, they can be quite prolific when it comes to churning out platforms for the execution of the much cherished governorship project. By the time our “stakeholders” in the zone made the first “courtesy” call on Governor Hope Uzodimma on March 10, 2025, the delegation was drawn from at least five groups: the Owerri Zone Political Leaders Forum (OZOPOLF), the Owerri Zone Political Empowerment Mandate (OZOPEM), the Owerri Zone Alliance Coalition (OZAC), the Imo Harmony Project (IHP), Olu Owerri, Owerri Peoples Mandate (OPM) etc etc.
Each of these groups claimed – and still claims – to be the arrowhead of the struggle to ensure that the next governor of Imo state comes from the zone. By the time of the second “courtesy” call in August 2025, however, the rivalry among leaders of the different groups had become quite glaring and the battle for supremacy fiercer. At the August gathering, OZOPOLF, led by Chief Charls Amadi (Chalvon), sought to resurface from the back waters it was relegated to by the leadership of the IHP during the first courtesy visit.
At the gathering of March 10, 2025, the IHP had stolen the show. The three persons that spoke on behalf of the zone were all of the IHP led by Captain Emmanuel Ihenacho who was the lead speaker followed by Dr. Kema Chikwe and another IHP leader. Remarkably, none of the leaders of OZOPOLF, including Chief Amadi, himself, was given the chance to speak.
At the second courtesy call in August, Amadi and his group staged a retaliation. This time around, Amadi did all the talking and contrary to the expectation that he would invite any of Captain Ihenacho, Kema etc – all of the IHP – to speak, he quickly invited Chief Henry Njoku (Haritex), another prominent leader of OZOPOLF, to give a “vote of thanks”, signaling the end of the meeting.The hall erupted but fortunately, the governor intervened and directed that more people should be allowed to speak. It was only then that Ihenacho and two other fellows, notably of the IHP, were able to speak.
But the import of what took place was not lost on the people. It was glaring that Chalvon, the leader of OZOPOLF, did not want Ihenacho and others from his IHP to speak. Needless to say, that incident was an eloquent testimony of the rivalry among leaders of the various groups that are championing the Owerri governorship project. It was not surprising, therefore, that when the governor spoke, he virtually berated the so-called leaders of Owerri zone for pursuing personal ambition instead of working as a team, even as he went ahead, albeit half-heartedly, to advise Owerri zone leaders to go home and put their house in order.
But what was the response from our leaders? A few days later, one of the leaders of OZOPOLF, its Secretary-General, Kingsley Ononuju, sent out notices for a meeting with a letter headed paper reading, “OWERRI ZONE LEADERS OF THOUGHT”. Of course, not a few wondered whether OZOPOLF has changed name to Owerri Zone Leaders of Thought. Since the announcement of its birth, the latter has held several meetings hosted by Chief Charles Amadi – the leader of OZOPOLF – in his Owerri residence.
Those who attended the meetings were the same people who usually populate OZOPOLF’s meetings save people like people like
Mr. Alex Mbata who was not hitherto a regular face at OZOPOLF meetings. Given the religious alacrity with which the stalwarts of the Owerri Zone Leaders of Thought have been going about their new formation, OZOPOLF seems to have been relegated to the background, minus occasional notices given by its co-ordinators at the local government level.
The question on the lips of observers, therefore, is, has OZOPOLF been replaced with Owerri Zone Leaders of Though? In other words, is OZOPOLF dead? The anxiety was heightened a couple of months ago when a group of youths came up with what looks like a mimicry of OZOPOLF – the Owerri Zone Progressives Forum (OZOPROF). So, has OZOPOLF been replaced with OZOPROF? That was the question when Ononuju came up with a disclaimer to the effect that OZOPOLF has nothing to do with OZOPROF.
Fair enough but the situation at the moment in such that with OZOPOLF seemingly abandoned by its founders in preference to the so-called Owerri Zone Leaders of Thought, OZOPROF, its near namesake that is being propagate by a group of youths in the zone, has become the talk of town.
Still, the question critics of the entire political establishment of Owerri zone are asking is, why this proliferation? Does the zone need this avalanche of groups to cling the office of the governor come 2027/2028? Is transmuting from OZOPOLF to Owerri Zone Leaders of Thought the best response to Governor Uzodimma’s charge that our leaders should put their house in order? Are other groups like IHP, OZAC, OZOPEM etc part of the Owerri Zone Leaders of Thought? There is even the issue of nomenclature. Some of its leaders say the Owerri Zone Leaders Of Thought is mostly for politicians in the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) , leading many to question the proprietary of a “Leaders Of Thought” that is restricted to one party.
Questions, questions, questions but what is not in doubt is that this change in nomenclature has not elevated the quality of discussions on the Owerri zone governorship project. For example, the arrowheads of the so-called Owerri Zone Leaders of Thought are going about claiming that Governor Uzodimma has restated his “promise” to hand over power to the zone in 2028. Not a few observers are piqued by this claim because it has been punctured severally. Yes, the governor had at a meeting with political leaders of the zone in the days leading to his re-election reportedly expressed optimism that the renewed Imo Charter of Equity might lead to power coming to Owerri zone after his tenure but that did not amount to making a “promise” as some of our leaders in Owerri zone want the world to believe, a clear blackmail on the governor.
During the March 10, 2025 meeting with stakeholders in Owerri zone, not the slightest allusion was made to the so-called promise. Rather and contrary to the expectation that the forum would offer the governor an opportunity to re-iterate his “promise”, what he told our people was, “…Power Is Not Given Turn By Turn” and went ahead to warn our leaders against over-heating the polity through their antics .
Again at the meeting of August 2025, Governor Uzodimma even more pointedly repudiated the notion that he promised to hand over power to Owerri zone when he told the gathering that he has no powers to cede the office of the governor to any particular section of the state or to any individual. The governor went ahead to say that his successor will emerge through a democratic process and even advised that our people in Owerri zone should carry Okigwe zone along in our permutations. We now ask: in what other language do our people expect the governor to say that he has had enough of this “promise” nonsense?!
Still, our leaders are at it again. The latest talk in town is that Governor Uzodimma has clandestinely restated the promise to a leadership caucus of Owerri zone; and which informed the formation of the Owerri Zone Leaders of Thought. Poor Hope Uzodimma! Assuming without conceding that he might have restated the same optimism somewhere off record, is it not a betrayal of trust by supposed confidants to again go to town with that after he had explained severally that as a democrat, he has no powers to anoint anybody as his successor? But let’s keep the governor aside. The big question is, why are we doing this to ourselves? Why are our so-called leaders going about deceiving our people that Uzodimma has again promised to hand over power to Owerri zone? Apart from being a deceit, it is a big assault on the collective intelligence of the good people of Owerri zone among whom are some of the most knowledgeable and discerning persons in this part of the world.
Again assuming without conceding that the governor has confided in some leaders that he will hand over power to Owerri zone, is it strategic to begin to make a song and dance of it? There are feelers that the Owerri zone leaders have set in motion plans to hold rallies across the nine local government areas that make up Owerri zone. The question is, what is the planned rally for, clear two years to the next governorship election? Are we not jumping the gun and over-heating the polity which the governor had warned against?
If it is true that the governor has re-instated his so-promise, then why the stampede? Why the panic? Why are we nervous? Why do we want to pay the governor back with another round of blackmail by bringing to the open what he told our leaders in confidence? The members of the political elite in Owerri zone may well go ahead with their jamboree but the masses of the people of the zone cannot be fooled. MR OPARUGO WROTE FROM IKEMBRA IN MBAITOLI LGA , IMO STATE.
