“Owerri Zone Truncated Imo Charter of Equity — Political Stakeholders Demand Restoration Before Governorship Consideration”

DDM NEWS

Imo Map

A fresh wave of political outrage is sweeping across Imo State as prominent stakeholders and political interest groups have issued a scathing rebuke against what they describe as the “brazen sabotage” of the state’s natural Charter of Equity by leaders of Owerri Zone (Imo East).

At the center of this growing storm is a fierce demand: until Owerri Zone accounts for its betrayal of Imo’s political order and allows equity to be restored, it must forfeit all claims to the governorship seat.

Political analysts and elder statesmen argue that Imo State was on a just and natural path of equity until 2011, when orchestrated sabotage—allegedly spearheaded by powerful figures from Owerri Zone—violently truncated the rotation of power that was already unfolding peacefully among the state’s three senatorial zones.

The Charter of Equity, though unwritten, had gained widespread political and moral acceptance among the people of Imo.

It began in 1999 with Chief Achike Udenwa of Orlu Zone (Imo West), who served two terms (1999–2007), and handed power to Dr. Ikedi Ohakim of Okigwe Zone (Imo North). Ohakim, by all standards, was set to complete Okigwe’s rightful 8-year tenure by 2015, after which Owerri Zone would have taken over the governorship till 2023, thereby fulfilling the spirit of rotational equity.

Instead, in what many now describe as a “civilian coup d’état,” Owerri Zone political actors allegedly conspired with federal forces and deployed a malicious campaign of blackmail, lies, and media war to oust Ohakim prematurely in 2011.

The result was a catastrophic derailment of the equity structure—plunging Imo into political imbalance and igniting over a decade of controversy, division, and stagnation.

“What Owerri Zone did was not just a betrayal of Okigwe Zone, but a betrayal of the entire Imo people,” said Chief Emeka Nnaji, a political historian and elder from Urualla in Ideato North Local Government Area.

“They weaponized the machinery of lies, aligned with outsiders, and staged an unholy coup that shattered the hope of a balanced, inclusive Imo.”

Stakeholders warn that any renewed bid by Owerri Zone to reclaim the governorship without first correcting this historical injustice amounts to rewarding treachery and institutionalizing inequity.

They insist that Owerri Zone must stand down, reflect, and support the return of power to Okigwe Zone to complete what was stolen before dreaming of any governorship ambition.

“Owerri Zone must not be allowed to sweep this under the carpet,” fumed Hon. Sylvester Duru, a youth leader from Ahiazu Mbaise.

“You cannot be the arsonist and still seek to be the fire chief. We need to clean up our mess first—only then can we talk about governorship.”

As the build-up to the 2027 Imo governorship election gathers steam, the call for restitution has become louder, more forceful, and unyielding. Groups like the Bring Back Ohakim (BBO) 2027 Organization and various groups across the State including Otu Onu Mandate have vowed to resist any political maneuver aimed at allowing Owerri to “hijack the governorship again under the guise of equity they themselves destroyed.”

The message from all parts of the state is loud and clear: “Owerri must first clean up their mess.”

Until the Charter of Equity is restored at the very point Owerri Zone disrupted it, political peace in Imo will remain elusive, and the governorship seat will remain a contested moral ground.

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