Ohaji communities reject plan to include them in proposed Orlu State

Twenty-five autonomous communities in Ohaji, Imo State, have firmly rejected a proposal to incorporate them into the planned Orlu State being championed as part of efforts to create an additional state in Nigeria’s South-East region.

In a strongly worded letter addressed to Senate President Godswill Akpabio, the communities, under the umbrella of the Ogbako Ohaji People’s Forum, declared their opposition to being merged with the Egbema community or any arrangement that would place them under the proposed Orlu State.

The letter, signed by the Forum’s National President, Fidelis Enya, and Chairman of the Committee on State Creation, Johnbosco Ben, along with other community leaders, noted that while they support the broader push for equity in Nigeria’s state structure, they reject any attempt to forcibly annex their land and people.

“We recognize the legitimate demand for an additional state in the South-East to address long-standing regional imbalances,” the letter stated. “However, we, the people of Ohaji, categorically reject any attempt to merge us into the proposed Orlu State or any political entity bearing that name.”

The communities, with an estimated population of nearly 400,000 and spread across seven INEC wards, argued that their inclusion in the plan was without consultation and lacks both historical and cultural justification.

Describing the move as “disrespectful” and “politically manipulative,” the Ohaji leaders said their current placement in the Orlu Senatorial Zone was already a mistake that should not be compounded by a new state creation.

“Our presence in Orlu Senatorial District has always been an aberration — the result of political greed and opportunism,” the letter continued. “We have no cultural, social, or traditional ties with the Orlu people. The alliance has been inconvenient and forced.”

Reaffirming their identity and preferred political alignment, the communities insisted on remaining within Imo State, citing shared religious values, proximity, and long-standing boundary relationships with other parts of the state.

They concluded with a firm declaration: “Ohaji is not for sale and not available for any political experimentation. We support a new state for the South-East, but we will not be part of Orlu State under any circumstance — now or in the future.”