By Onyearugbulem Onyeikegbulem
Last week, the apex socio-political cum cultural body in Orlu zone, Orluzurumee, issued a lengthy statement in which it addressed the twin issues of Imo Charter of Equity and the 2027/28 governorship succession. The head and tail of that statement, however, was that Orlu zone has endorsed neither Owerri zone nor Okigwe zone to produce the successor of the incumbent governor, Senator Hope Uzodimma, who is a son of Orlu zone.
Before stating that position, which it described as “principled neutrality”, the body made reference to a recent meeting, on August 14 2026, between representatives of Owerri and Okigwe zones, wherein the former sought the support and understanding of the latter for its aspiration to produce Uzodimma’s successor in 2028, but which meeting ended “without an identifiable consensus or mutually acceptable resolution”.
Arising from that stalemate, therefore, Orluzurumee in its statement noted that “it would be premature, irresponsible and politically unwise for Orlu zone to rush into declaring support for either of the two zones while the two principal claimants themselves have not arrived at a satisfactory understanding”
A juxtaposition of Orluzurumee’s stance and the earlier stalemated meeting between Okigwe and Owerri zone leaders – which some analysts have described as the “Ehime Mbano fiasco” – brings up the most realistic, up–to–date state of affairs on the matter of which of the two zones – Okigwe and Owerri – should produce the next governor of Imo state after Uzodimma’s tenure.
Before now, the posturing of some of the so-called leaders in all the three zones – that is, Orlu inclusive – obfuscated the matter, leaving their followers confused. For instance, a few weeks prior to the stalemated meeting at Ehime Mbano, the Imo Elders Council rose from a meeting to announce that the council had finally agreed that Owerri zone should produce the next governor. The following day, a delegation of the council, led by its chairman, His Royal Majesty, Eze Cletus Ilomuanya, headed to the government house, Owerri, to imitate the governor of its resolution and was actually received with fan fair.
Yet, less than three weeks after, that group of Owerri zone leaders, which styles itself as Owerri United, went for the ill-fated meeting in Ehime Mbano; and wait a minute, with six cows, a basket of kolanuts, assorted drinks and cash of five million naira!
Of course, the people asked: “what is happening?” If the Imo Elders Council, which has arrogated to itself the powers of determining which zone should produce the next governor – and, indeed which particular individual – had taken a decision in favour of Owerri zone, as Imolite were told, what did the so-called Owerri United go to do in Ehime Mbano on August, 14?
Even long before the purported endorsement by the Imo Elders Council, the posturing of key Owerri leaders was that the matter had become a fait accompli’; that it was a done deal that the zone will produce Uzodimma’s successor; and they even bragged that the governor had made a “firm promise” to that effect.
As a result, they rebuffed every counsel to engage Okigwe in a dialogue to arrive at a mutually acceptable position. Even the governor, himself, who they claimed had made a promise, relentlessly admonished Owerri leaders to endeavor to carry their Okigwe counterparts along. But all that fell on deaf ears.
Meanwhile, the leaders of Okigwe zone, themselves, remained unequivocal on their stand that the zone should be allowed to do just one more term of four years to bring it on par with Orlu zone which will be posting a total of twenty four years by the time Governor Uzodimma completes his tenure in January 2028. Even so, they have also remained emphatic that Okigwe zone’s turn was truncated in 2011 with the initiative, collaboration and connivance of key Owerri zone leaders and that as such, Owerri zone cannot be so rewarded after deliberately effectively visiting the entire state with such a perfidy that disrupted the much cherished Charter of Equity.
To underscore how determined the zone is in pushing its position, a key leader in the area and, indeed, a well-known political player in the state – names withheld – was once quoted as saying that for Okigwe to accede to Owerri zone’s request, the state capital will have to be relocated from Owerri to Okigwe! Even though for some observers the matter is not as simple as that, the message in that statement could not be lost on anybody. Needless to say, it was the same message that was merely repeated at the August, 14 meeting that was repeated but couched in a different language.
Either taken together or separately, the significance of the outcome of the Ehime Mbano meeting and the recent statement by Orluzurumee is that on the matter of which zone produces the next governor, it is yet morning on creation day. In other words, contrary to the posturing of our Owerri zone leaders, it is not yet a done deal. A lot of work is still left to be done.
More importantly, both the Ehime Mbano outing and the Orluzurumee statement go a long way in restoring the sanctity of what was fast becoming a trivialization of a very serious matter. With these recent developments, the rest of the good people of Imo state – that is outside the so-called leaders who prefer to wallow in self-delusion – can now look forward to a better approach to the matter of how best to restore the truncated Charter of Equity.
Coming to Owerri zone in particular, our people can now approach the matter better equipped with a clearer picture of how the highly critical segment of the state – Orlu zone – feels about it, at least for now. They are also saved from the emotional trauma which their leaders, knowingly and unknowingly, inflict on them. A passage in the Orluzurumee statement is perhaps worth reproducing here: “Months ago when certain positions favourable to Owerri zone appeared to emerge from discussions involving prominent leaders of Okigwe, Orluzurumee cautioned that a pronouncement of that nature, by itself, should not be interpreted as an automatic transfer of the political support of the entire Orlu zone. The position remains unchanged”.
What Orlu zone is saying here, through Orluzurumee, is that it is not enamored by the apparent endorsement by a few Okigwe sons of the Owerri zone ambition. While encouraging the two zones to continue to engage each other, and that the door of Orlu zone is open to consultations, dialogue and persuasion, the statement noted that “… the door of premature endorsement is firmly closed”. Is anybody listening?
The point, therefore, is that our leaders in Owerri zone should come down from their high horses and adopt a more realistic approach on the matter. They should not only be merely consulting, they should also be more proactive. They should by now be seeing the clear message and on their own prepare to make the necessary sacrifice and concessions.
After six years of grandstanding, all we got was “COME BACK tomorrow” in Ehime Mbano and “NO ENDORSEMENT YET” from Orlu. By now it should be clear. We should start looking at 2031/2032 instead.
Barrister Onyeikegbulem
Writes From Avuvu in
Ikeduru L.G.A.
