From: GEORGE ONYEJIUWA, Owerri

Ahead of the 2019 governorship polls in the state, a group,  the Imo Equity Movement says that it will be the turn of the Owerri Senatorial zone to produce the next governor of the state.

The group is being speared-headed by business mogul, Dr. Uzoma Obiyo.

This was even as a former member of the House of Representatives and an APC chieftain in the state, Hon. Uche Onyeagocha, has warned that any political party in the state that failed to pick its candidate from Owerri zone in 2019 would not enjoy the support of the people of the zone.

Dr. Obiyo, who stated at the inaugural meeting of the group, held on Monday, at his country home in Ugiri-Ike in Ikeduru council area of the state, noted that despite the fact that Owerri zone parades men and women who are eminently qualified to man the saddle, the zone has remained the political weeping child of Imo State having only governed the state for just one year and ten months.

According to him,  “The message is very simple and clear because it is going to the turn of Owerri zone to produce the next governor of the state in 2019 and that is not negotiable. The zone have men and women with  the capacity to govern the state and so this movement is ostensibly to drive this message home which is for equity and fairness.

He added, ” If you take a look at the governance of the state you will discover that Chief Sam Mbakwe from Okigwe zone and the first executive governor of the state governed the state for four years and three months and Chief Ikedi Ohakim also from Okigwe had also ruled the state for four years between 2007 and 2011.

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“Now Chief Achike Udenwa from Orlu zone was there for eight years between 1999 and 2007, and again Chief Rochas Okorocha from the same Orlu zone will be completing his eight years as a governor of the state in 2019. But the Owerri zone had only held the office during the time of Chief Evans Enwerem for only one year and ten months. So, we are saying that for equity and fairness that it the turn of the Owerri zone in 2019 and in this movement we have people from Orlu and Okigwe zones”.

Speaking in the same vein, Onyeagocha pointed out that the issue of zoning the next governorship of the state to the Owerri Zone was not negotiable and warned that any of the political parties that fails to pick its gubernatorial candidate from the zone will certainly lose the election as only parties that chose their candidates from Owerri zone will get their support.

He continued, ” The last time that a person from the Owerri zone emerged as a governor of the state was in 1992 which was twenty- five years ago in the person of late Chief Evans Enwerem who only spent just one year and ten months and anybody who is supporting a candidate from Okigwe or Orlu will not succeed because the people of Orlu and Okigwe already know that it is the turn of Owerri Zone and I want to warn that any of the political party that fails to pick its gubernatorial candidate from Owerri zone has already failed because they will never get the support of the people of the zone”.

The former federal lawmaker dismissed the statement in some quarters that the governorship position would no longer be zone but must be on merit, noting that if it were to be on merit, Owerri zone has enough qualified persons from each of the nine local governments that makes up the senatorial district.

” Some people are now saying that there would be no more zoning of the governorship position in the state that it would now be on merit and even at that each of the nine local governments in the zone have enough qualified persons both men and women who have distinguished themselves in the their fields of endeavour. But those who are saying that no more zoning have not told us why the Governor, his Deputy or the Speaker of the State Assembly are not from the same zone?  But any party that refuses to pick its governorship from Owerri zone whether it is APC or PDP or whatever party have already failed that is our simple message.”