As the All Progressives Congress (APC) prepares to conduct its primaries in Imo State, multiple party insiders say the exercise is already being shaped by quiet but intense calculations around the 2027 governorship succession, with Owerri zone at the centre of emerging permutations.
The primaries, scheduled to hold imminently, are expected to follow the party’s entrenched consensus model, a mechanism that has consistently defined candidate selection under the leadership of Governor Hope Uzodimma.
Sources familiar with internal deliberations told this newspaper that beyond immediate contests, the bigger political question dominating discussions is who succeeds the governor in 2027, with party leaders weighing zoning considerations under the Charter of Equity.
At the Imo APC State Congress held in Owerri, where a new state chairman and executive committee members emerged, Uzodimma reaffirmed the party’s commitment to the Charter of Equity, declaring it remains “fully in force” as a guiding principle for power rotation.
The Charter, an informal but influential arrangement among the state’s three geopolitical zones, has continued to shape expectations around equitable distribution of key political offices.
A senior party source said the consensus option—long deployed by the governor to manage internal contests—will again be decisive, not only in the primaries but in positioning potential successors ahead of the 2027 governorship race.
The source added that the Charter of Equity will not only guide the governorship calculations but will also be a critical factor in determining candidates for the House of Representatives and the Imo State House of Assembly, as the party seeks to maintain balance across constituencies.
“There is a strong likelihood that Owerri zone will produce the next governor,” the source said, noting that consultations within the party have increasingly tilted in that direction.
Corroborating this position, a political analyst, Kissinger Ikoku, recently wrote on Facebook that available indicators suggest the governor may settle for a successor from Owerri Federal Constituency.
Ikoku further projected that such a choice could favour a relatively fresh contender—someone who has not previously contested the governorship—signalling a possible shift from recycled candidacies.
Another analyst, Uche Okwu, said if the Owerri Federal Constituency scenario materialises, the party would be compelled to rebalance other tickets to maintain zoning equilibrium.
Okwu argued that under the Charter of Equity, it would be politically untenable for both the governorship and senatorial tickets to emerge from the same federal constituency.
“In that case, the senatorial candidate is likely to come from blocs such as Mbaise, Ngor Okpala, or Mbaitoli/Ikeduru (Mbaike),” he said.
Party insiders say these calculations are already influencing alignments ahead of the primaries, with aspirants and stakeholders adjusting strategies to fit into the broader succession matrix.
While no official position has been announced by the party, the convergence of consensus politics and zoning considerations suggests that the outcome of the primaries may offer early signals of the APC’s 2027 governorship direction in Imo State.
