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Vitalis Orikeze Ajumbe, a two-time Commissioner and Imo State Chieftain of the All Progressives Party (APC), has counseled Owerri Zone to support Okigwe instead of running for the State Governorship in 2027, claiming that this is the quickest route to achieving their goal.

Speaking ahead of the 2027 governorship election, Ajumbe added that Owerri Zone should support Okigwe to finish the remaining four years of its term, which he claimed was cut short in 2011 by the rise of Anayo Rochas Okorocha, Orlu zone, in order to uphold the charter of equity, which calls for sharing the governorship seat among the three geopolitical zones.

The APC Chieftain noted that the Imo Charter of Equity was shortened in 2011 with the backing of Owerri Zone leaders, having started in 1999 with Achike Udenwa from Orlu.

“The Charter of Equity is good but that equity was truncated in 2011. At the beginning of the Charter of Equity, Orlu went first and handed over to Okigwe. Okigwe did one term, Owerri truncated it.

“They sponsored another Orlu to drive away Okigwe. Is it because Okigwe is six local governments or what…?” Ajumbe queried.

He named a few well-known Owerri Zone politicians who, in his opinion, were crucial in luring Okorocha away from Orlu Zone in 2011, even though the zone had already finished its two years, and they also persuaded him to run for Imo Governorship on the APGA platform.

Speaking further, Ajumbe disclosed that Owerri was also accused of lying about Ikedi Ohakim, the governor of Okigwe at the time, claiming that he had slapped a Reverend Father.

“Even the day we went to Fr Ejike Mbaka, he said he asked Fr Eustace, and Fr Eustace said he didn’t even see Ohakim.”

He questioned why certain Owerri elites would fabricate such falsehoods in order to extort Ohakim, who was subsequently removed from office as governor in 2011.

“That was how they destroyed the Charter of Equity. So, it is just like when your car got spoilt on the road, you have to go back to that place where you packed that car, repair it and start moving.” Ajumbe said.

Even though he is from Owerri Zone, the former commissioner claimed that he supports Okigwe Zone because he believes that an Orlu candidate could steal the show in 2027 if Owerri and Okigwe zones are unable to patch things up over what he saw as an injustice done to Okigwe Zone in 2011.

He cautioned that Owerri and Okigwe zones should not take the recent declarations of interest by some Orlu politicians to contest for the State Governorship seat in 2027 for granted.

To stop Orlu in 2027, Ajumbe urged Owerri Zone and Okigwe Zone to work closely together.

In order to avoid the “Fubara scenario,” the APC Chieftain believed that Governor Hope Uzodinma would be better off with a successor he already knew well. He also made it plain that Okigwe Zone would only need to serve another four-year term in order to correct the 2011 error.

Additionally, he insisted that after Okigwe Zone had finished her final four years, Owerri Zone would have an easier and shorter path to achieving the much-desired Governorship project.

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