Imo guber: Charter of equity causes ripples across zones

Ori Martins

The Imo Charter of Equity said to have been conceived, prepared and promoted by the leadership of Imo State Council of Traditional Rulers, rather than providing the expected unity and rancour free atmosphere it was designed for, has actually sparked off waves of disagreements, discord and mutual suspicion in the three geo political zones in the state.

Not too long ago, the the executive of the council of Imo traditional rulers came up with the idea of drafting a document it called Imo Charter of Equity which stipulates that henceforth Imo would be having all its governirship slots being rotated among the three geo political zone in the state.

Certainly, what infuriated most people in the state was slogan that the Imo Charter of Equity was articulated to allow the serving governor, Senator Hope Uzodimma, complete his second tenure and thereafter, in 2027, the charter takes effect starting off in Owerri Zone.

This preamble as presented by the framers of the charter forced out public opprobrium on the traditional rulers who are championing this charter of equity.

“Let us be honest for the sake of propriety. How can a right thinking man urge Governor Uzodimma to continue in office after Orlu Zone has occupied the Imo State Government House for 20 years in 24 years.

“For the sake of your readers who are not from Imo and who may not know what is happening here in Imo, let’s properly educate them. Former governor Achike Udenwa ruled for eight years – he completed his two terms. Senator Rochas Okorocha was also there for two terms, and now, Senator Uzodimma has been the governor since 2020 and will complete his tenure on January 15 next year. In all, Orlu Zone has reigned for 20 years, Okigwe four years and Owerri seven
months.

“If in actual fact you are talking about charter of equity which means fairness, will you encourage Uzodimma from Orlu Zone to be voted for in the November 11, 2023 governorship election? The answer is an emphatic no”, Mazi Nwadike Onwuegbula from Isiala, Mbano Local Government Area, submitted.

A woman who deals on babies and ladies wares along the ever bubbling commercial lane of Douglass, Mrs Lucy Njoku whose business name is Madam Super Stores faulted the charter on the grounds that it was shrouded in secrecy.

According to her, “I do not have any problem with the now controversial Charter of Equity but, I have questions to ask. One, who are the signatories to this charter. Two, when was submissions made or collected? Three, I am from Owerri Mbaise in Owerri Municipal, who represented me when this draft now called charter was packaged.

“I mean, from my autonomous, to my ward down to the LGA., to my business body as a trader and my constituency, who represented me since I was not consulted. Are my lawmakers there and all that? As far as I am concerned there are many of us with this line of argument, the entire process that produced the trending Imo State Charter of Equity is faulty and any faulty document is built on a shallow foundation, hence it cannot stand”.

Yet, the media aides of the Imo State Governor have been defending the charter as one of the best things to have happened to the political evolution of the state in recent times.

Collins Ughalaa is a media aide to Uzodimma on media and publicity. He noted that the introduction of the charter would automatically end the struggle for power every four years in the state. Ughalaa argued that the accusation and counter accusation which had trailed which zone was the most suitably qualified to produce the governor in every election year would be a thing of the when the charter becomes fully operational. He noted that the charter would ensure sanity, provide decency and discipline as well as order and tranquility in subsequent governorship election in the state.

Comrade Ikenna Onuoha serves as a media adviser to the former national secretary of PDP who is also the candidate of the party in the November 11 election. Onuoha and the Divine Mandate Movement, DMM, are fully in support of the charter but insist it must start with this November 11 election if it must make meaningful impact that is sustainable.

In a release recently made available by the DMM Campaign Organization, Onuoha noted that it was only Imo State out of the five states of the South East that has yet to observe the principle of rotation governorship which is the hallmark of charter of equity. He pointed out that all of Enugu, Anambra, Ebonyi and Abia states have been practicing the principles of charter of equity hence there is less rancour during electioneering and election itself.

With this, the atmosphere is turbo charged and the heatwave still rages on Imo State Charter of Equity.What is remarkable here is, all the three geo political zones are well represented and balanced in terms of the visibility of the parties” candidates for the November election. For instance, APC’s Uzodimma hails from Orlu, PDP’s Samddady is of Owerri Zone just as Senator Samuel Anyanwu comes from Okigwe Zone.

What’s more exciting about the charter but still calls for concern is that each of the three zones lay claim to the draft favouring them if really equity is involved. For instance, Okigwe Zone otherwise known as Imo North says its ward, Chief Ikedi Ohakim was chased out of power by the combined forces of Owerri and Orlu in 2011 and so, in this 2023, the charter of equity must commence from the side.

On the other hand, Owerri has been crying that since the creation of Imo State it has ruled for a paltry 24 months – not even up to a tenure. To this effect, the Imo East Senatorial District is of the opinion that 2023 is its turn, not this 2027. And Imo West also known as Orlu Zone is pointing at the fact that “you cannot force out a serving governor just because of a mere charter of equity”, thus Uzodimma must go for second tenure for the equity to commence 2027.

Which way shall Imolites go?