Professor Ukachukwu Awuzie, a former Vice Chancellor of the Imo State University, Owerri, and former President of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), in this interview with Stanley Uzoaru in Owerri, expresses concerns over claims that the Imo Charter of Equity started with the election of Chief Achike Udenwa as the governor of Imo State in 1999.

On the 10th of March 2025, Governor Hope Uzodimma met with a delegation of the Imo Harmony Project (IHP). During the meeting, the governor, among other things, told them to go and agree on who succeeds him from Owerri zone. What do you make of that meeting?

First and foremost, I have some little challenges. Because I have heard Barrister Willie Amadi talk about that visit and about the Imo Harmony Project. He said that he was responding to somebody who talked about their visit. It is noteworthy that the governor told the Imo Harmony Project that the group wasn?t an inclusive one and that he had to bring in more people to attend the meeting. I was expecting Barr Willie Amadi to say that the inclusivity involved Orlu and Okigwe people, but all he talked about was the many small political groups in Owerri. When you say Imo Harmony Project, if you want to say we are a harmony group, it means all people from the three zones in the state will be members. The group shouldn?t be for only Owerri Zone. But when you say that you are seeking harmony amongst yourselves, that?s a different subject. If you say Imo Harmony Group, that name, ?Imo,? means that you?re harmonizing the people of Imo State politically. You cannot harmonise Imo without Orlu and Okigwe zones. So I have a problem with even the name of the group. If you say it is Imo Harmony Group, then we would say that you are trying to harmonize the whole of Imo. And the question is, who are you to harmonize Imo without involving our people of Orlu and Okigwe zones?

Apart from that, anyone who has something serious to discuss with the governor can see him. If I have something I?m looking for, which has to do with my people from the Isu nation, we will go to see the governor and say, ?This is what we want.? There?s nothing wrong with it. It is a visit, and they are not the only group that has visited the governor. The governor has a way to respond to issues, and he responded to the Imo Harmony Project appropriately. He is the father of all. So if your children come to see you, you must respond to them. That was what happened.

Let?s talk about the charter of equity. The original charter of equity started with Chief Achike Udenwa from Orlu zone in 1999, then moved to Okigwe. Shouldn?t fairness mean ensuring that Okigwe finishes its tenure before considering a fresh rotation?

No, no, no! Let?s just get it right first. As I was telling you a few minutes ago, I also listened to Barr Willie Amadi talk about the Chief Achike Udenwa era. He talked about Owerri Zone donating the governorship position to Chief Achike Udenwa in 1999. That is falsehood. Nothing like that ever happened. You know, we have a saying that if a falsehood is allowed to gain root, it may become the truth. Chief Achike Udenwa, at that particular election, was the person the state wanted. The fact is that when the PDP finished their primary election in 1998, Chief Achike Udenwa was declared the winner of the primary election. The leaders of the PDP looked at the votes cast and who had the largest votes and who made the spread. Chief Humphrey Anumudu (now late) had the largest votes, but Chief Achike Udenwa had the largest spread. The party wanted to win the election with the man who had the largest spread because that is what counts in an election.

When they talk about the Imo Harmony Project and how the presumed charter of equity started with Owerri zone donating the governorship to Orlu zone in 1999, who led the people who donated to the late Engineer Ezekiel Izuogu as the flagbearer of the APP? Barrister Willie Amadi has not told us the people who were in the APP from Owerri and Okigwe zones at the time, who also donated the ticket of the APP to Engr. Ezekiel Izuogu. Do they also remember that I was a leader of the Alliance for Democracy (AD) and that Nze Prof. Mark Odu ran for the 1999 governorship under the AD? He is from Owerri zone, but he contested the 1999 governorship election and could have won. So, what are we even talking about? Does it mean that Orlu and Okigwe donated the governorship to Nze Prof. Mark Odu to run for the election? We have to get our facts correct at all times.

This idea that the charter of equity was donated to Chief Achike Udenwa is not true. By the way, the election was keenly contested, and Chief Achike Udenwa won narrowly, not because Owerri supported him. Chief Udenwa even won at all because the governorship elections were held before the presidential primary. And we were told then, that if we delivered our candidates in the South-East under the PDP, the South-East would get the presidential ticket. We hoped that Chief Alex Ekwueme would have gotten the presidential ticket. That was why, at the end of that election, all the five Southeast states were PDP, but we were disappointed that we did not get the promised presidential ticket at the end of the primary election. The PDP decided that it would be Obasanjo from the South-West, whereas all the governors in the South-West emerged from the AD. So when you say that you donated the 1999 governorship to Orlu zone. That is a lie. What happened was the PDP?s strategic plan to win the election, not zoning or charter of equity.

As of 1998, the big politicians in Imo State were in the APP, not the PDP. Big politicians like Chief Arthur Nzeribe, Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, Chief Evan Enwerem, Chief Ifeanyi Araraume, and so many others were in the APP. So, were they in a meeting with the leaders of the PDP where it was discussed to donate the governorship to Chief Udenwa and Orlu Zone? With the way the election went, either Engineer Izuogu or Nze Prof. Mark Odu could have won the election. I have not heard anyone from Owerri zone mention that. Nze Prof. Mark Odu from Owerri zone, an Mbaise man, was a candidate in the 1999 governorship election under the AD. Senator Arthur Nzeribe and the other big politicians were not in the PDP but APP and couldn?t have been in a meeting where it was decided that the governorship should go to Orlu. The PDP just strategized on how to win the election and also to impress their leaders In Abuja over the presidential ticket promised to the South-East and Chief Ekwueme. On their own, the leaders in the APP strategised that the best way to win Chief Udenwa in the election was to field Engineer Izuogu from Orlu Zone. The PDP just looked at a strategic move by the party leaders (Chief. I.D Nwoga and Senator Emeka Echeruo) to win the election, and the other leaders of the party accepted it. Those who went for that meeting were PDP leaders, and it didn?t involve those in APP or those in AD. So there was no charter like that. It was a strategi? move made by the leaders of PDP to win the election.

Even if we agree without conceding the facts that Owerri zone donated the governorship, where were they when the governorship went to Okigwe zone? If they were the people who were donating it whenever they wanted, why can?t they donate it to themselves? Why did they not take it after Achike? Let me give you an example of a presumed charter of equity and how it has been practised in other states. In those states where they claim that the charter of equity is working, is there anywhere they had a charter of equity written down and they had a meeting and agreed on a chapter of equity? It was the application of conscience and sense of fairness and justice. That is what is going on In those states. And most of those states they mentioned where zoning is working, they have consistently been in one party, not like Imo, where they have been in a flux of government, coming from one party to another one.

In Enugu State, it has been the PDP from Chimaroke Nnamani to Sullivan Chime, to Gburu Gburu, to the current governor, Mba. If you go to Ebonyi State, it has moved from Sam Egwu to Martin Elechi to Dave Umahi before he jumped the boat and joined the APC. They are all of the PDP. If you go to Abia State, it has also moved from the first person there, Orji Uzor Kalu, to T.A Orji and Okezie Ikpeazu. They are all in the PDP, and it?s only now that it has been broken. If you go to Anambra State, APGA has retained the state since the first PDP governor, Chinwoke Mbadinuju, because of the Ojukwu factor. So, in those states, which they cite as examples, they have consistently been in one political party, and they have been in control of government, and therefore, were able to do it based on their conscience, not a written document.

But in Imo, Chief Ikedi Ohakim came in under PPA and moved to PDP, and they tried to displace him in 2011 and brought in APGA. APGA came in with Rochas Okorocha. From APGA, he decamped to APC, and he wanted to bring a successor by force, but Owerri people, under a group called G8 in APC resisted it and said, ?No, you can?t replace yourself with your son-in-law.? This group adopted Senator Hope Uzodimma, who just decamped from PDP to lead them. That was how Senator Hope took the ticket of the APC for the 2019 governorship election. It was done by the Owerri people who were there. Because they supported Senator Uzodimma, that was why they gave him one of their cerebral Professors to be his running mate. So what are we talking about? Shouldn?t they have donated it to themselves? They would have insisted on producing the governor in 2019. Was there nobody from Owerri zone who was interested in the 2019 governorship election in APC? Why did they not support their own to be the governor?

In all of this, the point is that Orlu has gotten the governorship multiple times, but it is not of their own making. Indeed, it was Owerri people who patronized Orlu to become governor after Chief Ohakim, with Agbaso and the G8. And they might do it again. So, if we want to talk about justice, we must look at what happened in 2011 and situate our motion forward from there so that we can restore justice and have peace. Four years is not too much. This is why we must detail the draft charter of equity moving forward. We must sit down and work it out. Since we didn?t get it right in the past and we want to start with one that is documented, we must go into detail, with men of honour, integrity and selflessness, sitting down to fine-tune it.

Some Orlu politicians argue that because Rochas Okorocha and Hope Uzodimma were not products of the charter of equity, Orlu should still produce the next governor. But isn?t it true that Achike Udenwa started this cycle of charter of equity, and Orlu has held power for the longest time since 1999?

When we talk about Nze Prof. Mark Odu, who contested the 1999 governorship election, with which charter of equity did Engr. Ezekiel Izuogu win the primary election of the APP? When Willie called I.D. Nwoga, the chairman of the party in 1998, did he call any person in APP who came to discuss the charter of equity? There is no evidence that Owerri gave the PDP the largest votes for Chief Achike to win the election. If you had conceded the governorship to Chief Achike Udenwa for two terms, why did the late Humphrey Anumodu vie for election in 2003?

With Okorocha serving as a governor for eight years, Hope is also serving as governor for eight years, Udenwa served for eight years; is it right that anotherr Orlu son to succeed Hope Uzodimma in 2027?

Thank you very much. Let me tell you something: I?m a member of Orlu Zone Council of Elders. In fact, I?m the vice president, working with Professor Francis Dike (SAN) as my President. I?m also a member of the Imo Guild of Elders, which is chaired by Ndaa Paschal Dozie (may his soul rest in peace). We have leaders from the three zones of the state. We were meeting at Ndaa Paschal Dozie?s place. It was there that we said we would not support anyone from Orlu Zone to be governor in 2019.

The truth is ? and you can verify it ? that even when our brother Senator Hope came to us at the Council of Elders in Orlu, our president told him that we had already endorsed Rt. Hon. Emeka Ihedioha for the 2019 governorship election. That it didn?t work out well for Ihedioha was not of our own making. So we had believed in rotation of the office of governor even without any written charter of equity but our conscience and sense of justice. But now that we are insisting on this draft chapter of equity as the basis for whatever we are going to do, we then have to sit down and talk. We must get everything documented.

So, they have changed the game by this shout about the charter of equity. But let me tell you the truth, Barrister Willie Amadi is not a good ambassador for promoting the cause of Owerri zone. Because, one of the things he said in his radio interview on Zanders FM, Owerri, was a direct insult to all of us in Orlu zone. He said God is angry with all of Orlu; that we have been there for 24 years without improving Orlu or doing any significant thing for Orlu. That means that he has condemned even the eight years of Senator Hope Uzodimma, which he has not completed. Willie Amadi claims to be the spokesperson for the Imo Harmony Project, but as far as I?m concerned, he is doing more harm to the image of the group and whatever they want to achieve, by his statements.

You said that Orlu zone cannot wait for another 24 years?

Yes. How can we wait? We can wait for 12 or 16 years, but we can?t wait for 24 years. If you allow someone from Owerri zone to emerge as the governor based on their claim to the charter of equity and the support of the governor, will we be able to remove him after four years if he is not doing well? Assuming we can, and based on a sense of justice, if we allow another person from another party but from Owerri to become the governor, shall we allow him to do a second term if he does well? If we would, then Owerri zone would have had 12 years. Ditto Okigwe zone. That means it will take 24 years before it goes to Orlu. Will Orlu be ready to wait for 24 years? This is why we have to do more work on the draft charter of equity.

Owerri zone should answer the question of whether they were instrumental to the removal of Chief Ohakim and the coming of Senator Rochas Okorocha in 2011. If you were at the Dan Anyiam Stadium the day Okorocha was sworn in, you would have noticed how Chief Martin Agbaso walked in as the kingmaker and godfather. He didn?t hide the fact that he brought in Okorocha, and that was why he gave Okorocha his younger brother as deputy governor. Can we now be able to remove a governor from Owerri zone after four years or before four years? If we do that and another person from Owerri steps in and stays for eight years that would be 12 long years. If it moves to Okigwe zone after 12 years in Owerri, they will now be talking about another eight years, making it 20 years. If we go on like that, we will be waiting for 24 years, and Orlu is not ready to do that. I?m speaking my mind, and I am saying that the charter of equity is a hoax, and it needs to be renegotiated. We have one now, but we have not discussed it yet. The discussion on the charter of equity will bring the rebagaining, which must start on the premise of justice, which means starting with the Okigwe zone.

Do you believe that Orlu?s best strategy now is to respect the charter of equity by now supporting Okigwe to complete their tenure to avoid political tension and maintain peace in our state?

Look, I have said this before. I said the easiest way to go about it is to allow the Okigwe zone to complete their tenure. I said that if Okigwe wants to bring somebody, the charter of equity is the shortest cut. They will just present somebody for four years, and they will have to assure us that they will not go for a second term. Once we agree on that, we put it down so that we know that after four years, it will go to the Owerri zone.

You said you believe in justice?

Yes. At the Orlu zone Council of Elders, our position is that the governorship election is open for Okigwe and Owerri, and they should sit down and talk. We are not a part of the announcement by the governor to hand over power to the Owerri zone. Our position is that Orlu zone should not run for the 2027 governorship election.

2027 presents another opportunity to correct the past. What would be your message to political leaders in Imo State on the importance of keeping agreements and respecting fairness in leadership?

Agreements? We haven?t had one before. But now that we have a draft, we can queue into it. It was just a strategy by the incumbent governor to facilitate his winning his second term because it has not yet gotten the buy-in by most Imolites, and that was why I told you earlier that we haven?t discussed it yet. The Imo Council of Elders was appointed by the government, and I?m a member. To what extent do we carry our constituents along in decision-making in the council? Issues of this magnitude needed to be thoroughly discussed at all levels of the populace before agreement.

Once we agree that the charter of equity must be built on justice and fairness, we will keep to it. You can?t shave a person?s head in his absence. If you want to get an agreement that is going to be holistic and binding on Nd?Imo, we must have a more robust debate and discussion. We must look at the details and agree.

But if it?s a matter of conscience, people acting according to their conscience, that?s fine. We would like to act according to our consciences, in fairness and justice. But as of now, there was no agreement on the charter of equity in 1998. (Weekend Sun)

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