THE EQUITY HYPOCRISY OF OWERRI ZONE: A HISTORY OF PRIVILEGE DISGUISED AS OPPRESSION – SIXT-MEDIA LANE

THE EQUITY HYPOCRISY OF OWERRI ZONE: A HISTORY OF PRIVILEGE DISGUISED AS OPPRESSION

Debunking the Myth of Owerri Zone’s Exclusion in Imo’s Political Power Play and Its Unearned Monopoly on Power, Infrastructure, and Appointments

By Chukwudi Okoro, PhD (Oxford),
Development Economist and OKP Scholar in Governance

As Imo State approaches the momentous 2027 governorship election, one word echoes louder than the rest: equity. But equity is not a chant to be weaponized when convenient. It is not a slogan crafted for political expediency or a banner raised only when it suits a particular region’s agenda. Equity is a moral code, a covenant rooted in fairness, justice, and mutual respect. It demands honesty, balance, and inclusion.

So we must ask the hard but necessary questions. Who among Imo’s three senatorial zones has sacrificed the most? Who has waited the longest without bitterness? Who has remained unwaveringly loyal despite visible neglect and systemic exclusion? And who, despite enjoying decades of access to power, influence, and strategic institutions, still attempts to wear the robe of political victimhood?

This is the bitter paradox of Owerri Zone—a region that has stood at the center of administrative power and privilege since the return of democracy, yet continues to shout “marginalization” with righteous indignation. Such cries are not just misleading; they are a calculated distortion of the truth. They insult the intelligence of Ndi Imo and make a mockery of the principles of justice and equity. What we are witnessing is the hypocrisy of privilege disguised as oppression by Owerri Zone.

Since the return of democratic rule in 1999, Okigwe Zone, a region grounded in humility, democratic discipline, and service, has remained the most politically marginalized in the state’s rotational leadership arrangements. Okigwe has produced only one governor—Dr. Ikedi Ohakim, who served from 2007 to 2011. Before that, Chief Ebere Udeagu from the zone held the position of Deputy Governor from 1999 to 2007. Together, that accounts for just twelve years of executive presence for Okigwe Zone over a span of twenty-eight years.

In stark contrast, by 2027, Owerri Zone will have held the position of Deputy Governor for twenty consecutive years. From Lady Ada Okwuonu between 2007 and 2011, to Sir Jude Agbaso from 2011 to 2013, to Prince Eze Madumere who served from 2013 to 2019, followed by Prof. Placid Njoku from 2020 to 2023, and currently Lady Chinyere Ekomaru, the chain of succession has remained unbroken. Furthermore, the governorship was briefly occupied by Rt. Hon. Emeka Ihedioha, also from Owerri Zone, in 2019. It is therefore disingenuous for anyone from a zone with two uninterrupted decades of top-tier political representation to claim exclusion or marginalization.

True political power is not only measured in titles. It resides in influence, in the number and significance of appointments, and in control over institutions that shape policy and distribute opportunity. On this front as well, Owerri Zone’s dominance is staggering and beyond denial. Among the eight statutory commissions in Imo State, Owerri Zone has chaired four: the Civil Service Commission, the Judicial Service Commission, the State Boundary Commission, and the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB). Okigwe Zone, on the other hand, has chaired only one—the Imo State Independent Electoral Commission (ISEC) in the person of Joseph Obi, from 2008 to 2011. Tellingly, this was when Dr. Ikedi Ohakim was the governor of the state. Such a lopsided allocation of leadership positions is not a reflection of equity. It is a structural and deliberate exclusion.

At the federal level, the imbalance becomes even more damning. Since 1999, Owerri Zone has produced no fewer than four critical federal statutory appointees, including a Federal Commissioner in the Revenue Mobilization, Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC), a Federal Commissioner, Public Complaints Commission in the person of Willie Amadi, the National Human Rights Commission, and the Fiscal Responsibility Commission. Okigwe Zone, by comparison, has produced just one Special Adviser to the President and a Minister briefly in 2007 when Dr. Ikedi Ohakim was the governor of the state, in the person of Charles Ugwu. Senator Echeruo was also an Ambassador to Germany but died in office in 1999. Since then, not even one permanent secretary or a chairman of any national commission. This is not a coincidence. It is not a minor oversight. It is a systemic blackout—comprehensive, sustained, and damaging.

If one needs further proof of the structural inequity in Imo State, one only has to look at the distribution of educational institutions and physical infrastructure. Owerri Zone has become the academic and infrastructural capital of the state. It proudly hosts the Imo State University (IMSU), the Federal University of Technology Owerri (FUTO), the Alvan Ikoku Federal College of Education which has now been upgraded to a full-fledged university, the Federal Polytechnic Nekede, the Nigeria Police Academy Ihiagwa, the Federal College of Land Resources Technology (FECOLART), and the Imo State College of Nursing and Health Sciences. These institutions are not just symbols of prestige; they are economic engines that attract federal subventions, generate employment, stimulate urban development, and offer direct and indirect political power. To add to this, Owerri Zone houses the state’s administrative headquarters, ministries, and key agencies, further amplifying its grip on resources and opportunities.

Okigwe Zone, by contrast, has been left to languish on the periphery. The only state-owned tertiary institution in the entire Okigwe Zone is the College of Education founded in 2010 by Dr. Ikedi Ohakim when he was the governor of the state. The institution was later renamed the State Polytechnic Ehime Mbano, which was swiftly scrapped by Ohakim’s successor, Owelle Rochas Okorocha, in 2011. A Federal University of Agriculture, long proposed for the zone, has remained a mere talking point—no site, no structure, no implementation.

But thanks to Senator Patrick Ndubueze ,  Senator representing Imo North (Okigwe Zone), Distinguished Senator Hope Uzodinma CON, the Executive Governor of Imo State, Rt. Hon. Ben Kalu CON, Deputy Speaker House of Representatives, and President Bola Ahmed Tinubu GCFR for their recent efforts to bring this long-piped dream into reality. There seems to now be some light at the end of the tunnel.

Even more distressing is the Okigwe Regional Water Scheme, a mega water project by Ohakim’s administration, which was commissioned by the late President Musa Yar’Adua, but was completely dismantled and all the equipment carted away when Ohakim was overthrown in 2011 in a civilian coup d’état.

For more than sixteen years, Okigwe Urban, the symbolic capital of the zone, has been without public electricity. This once-vibrant town has been plunged into utter darkness, literally and figuratively. Schools have shut down. Families have fled. Businesses have collapsed. And insecurity now roams freely.

The situation is so dire that even high-level political meetings of Okigwe leaders are now held in Owerri because the zone lacks the basic infrastructure and safety to host its own sons and daughters.

This is not just neglect. It is betrayal. It is the systemic erasure of a people from the map of political and developmental relevance.

And yet, in the face of this calculated sidelining, Okigwe Zone has not turned to violence or threats. There have been no protests, no ultimatums, no incendiary, inflammatory, belligerent, bellicose, or bombastic rhetoric from the people of Okigwe. Instead, the people have remained calm, law-abiding, and politically faithful. They have shown up election after election, with their votes and their goodwill.

In the 2023 governorship election, Okigwe Zone, despite having six local government areas, delivered over 28% (115,124) votes to seal the reelection bid of our current governor, Distinguished Sen.

Hope Odidika Uzodinma CON, while Owerri Zone, with its nine local government areas, returned just 9% (98,600) votes. Needless to accentuate that this shows the level of commitment of Okigwe Zone as a zone that wants equity and fairness.

Okigwe gave more, not because it was favored, but because it believed in a system that has done little to repay its loyalty. What more proof of civic maturity and commitment can a people offer?

Now, as 2027 draws near, Imo State stands at a crossroads. This election is not just another routine transfer of power. It is a moral reckoning.

It is the moment when Imo must look itself in the mirror and decide whether to reward loyalty or continue to pamper entitlement. The Imo Charter of Equity, if it is to mean anything at all, must now speak clearly and loudly for Okigwe Zone. It must no longer be invoked selectively. It must no longer be twisted to serve the interests of those who have held power the longest.

This is not a request. It is not a political negotiation. It is a righteous and overdue demand. The facts are plain. The evidence is overwhelming. The conscience of justice calls out for correction. Let no one continue to twist this truth. Let no one pretend not to see the injustice. Let no one sustain this quiet but corrosive political apartheid against Okigwe Zone.

Okigwe Zone has sacrificed. Okigwe Zone has served. Okigwe Zone has waited. Now, Okigwe Zone must lead. This is not charity. This is not compensation.

This is justice, pure overdue, and undeniable. Okigwe Zone has very qualified individuals who will meet all the requirements recently announced by the governor for his successor.

Okigwe has competent individuals who will not only sustain and consolidate the achievements recorded so far, but will even deepen governance and provide the dividends of democracy to all Imolites.

Let 2027 therefore be the year Imo confronts its contradictions and its double standards. Let it be the year when truth finally trumps sentiment, when unity defeats deception, and when equity is honored in action and not just in words.

And to those who preach equity from thrones built on two decades of uninterrupted power and privilege, we say: history is watching. Posterity will judge. And the people will remember.

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