Governor Hope Uzodimma has expressed delight over the cordial relationship existing between the leaders of the autonomous communities in Owerri, saying their desire to come together in the interest of their area will make his work easy for him.
He also assured them that he will not disappoint their expectations as far as implementation of the Charter of Equity is concerned. “I will enforce it. I won’t disappoint your expectations,” the Governor said.
He spoke on Sunday when he met with leaders from Owerri Municipal, Owerri North, Ikeduru and Mbaitoli local government areas of the State at the Sam Mbakwe Executive Council Chamber and at Agbala respectively.
The leaders from Owerri North, Owerri North, Ikeduru and Mbaitoli were led to the meeting, among others by APC chieftains – Chief Charles Amadi, Chief Henry Amadi and Dr. Macdonald Ebere – who brought some of their leaders, hitherto core opponents of the APC, to plead loyalty to Governor Hope Uzodimma.
They confessed that the leaders they brought to meet with the Governor were the greatest opponents the APC used to have in their areas, and as new converts, the coast is now clear for the Party and Governor Uzodimma to sweep the votes in their place.
Part of the reasons they said the leaders have resolved to join the APC and work for the Governor’s reelection on November 11 is because of the Charter of Equity whose implementation will favour Owerri zone after the Governor’s second term.
At the Central School Agbala field where Nzuko Owerre General Assembly made up of 47 autonomous communities in the Owerri Federal Constituency of Owerri North, Owerri West and Owerri Municipal came together to support and endorse the Governor for a second term in office.
They also unanimously upheld the Imo Charter of Equity as the best way for Owerri zone to produce the next Governor of Imo State by 2027.
In an address read by the National President of Nzuko Owerri, Hon. Dan Ikpeazu, they commended the elders of Imo State for drafting the Charter of Equity, saying “it is a solution to the rancour and bickering that have attended to the leadership and power transition in the State over time.”
Ikpeazu said the meeting is non political and that all the communities are united in making the Charter of Equity a success and “to leverage on the opportunity offered by the Charter of Equity to position Owerri Federal Constituency for legitimate claim to power any time soon.”
They noted that Governor Uzodimma has good intentions for Owerri Federal Constituency considering the number of infrastructure the area has benefitted from since his assumption of office.
They used the opportunity to call on their sons and daughters to come out en mass on November 11, 2023 and ensure that Governor Uzodimma is voted maximally in their respective polling unit.
They noted that they cannot achieve their developmental goals if they continue to appear hostile to any administration.
Governor Uzodimma commended them for uniting “to see the light” and “joining in the positive move to peaceful transition of power in the State from one zone to the other.”
He said that “politics is about reciprocity” and that “the activities of Owerri Federal Constituency in the recent days are in tandem with the foremost document of Imo Charter of Equity which is the only way of getting power peacefully anywhere in the world.”
The Governor said power is got via diplomatic engagement and not by confrontation because
“Power is a lion, you negotiate to get power.”
Governor Uzodimma assured them that having made the diplomatic outing, he is convinced that they are ready to take power and enjoined other Federal Constituencies in the State to toe the line of Owerri Federal Constituency to achieve same objective.
“Leadership is not easy. Though everybody wants to be a Governor, Imo State is looking for leaders who must be a men of vision with strategy to translate vision into practical reality. Again, a leader globally speaking must be innovative, have vision and mission with entrepreneurship that will create wealth and prosperity for his people.
“To lead, one must lead the people and be ready for the people, conceive, design, implement and ensure you realize the idea.”
He thanked the Owerri Federal Constituency leaders for their initiative, noting that in “the past years, the State has lost a lot of lives to unknown gunmen, violence that is avoidable and with this initiative the time has come for political stability in Imo State so that after this dispensation every political Party must go to Owerri Federal Constituency to look for a candidate.”
“The same applies to Okigwe zone and the next turn of Orlu zone so that brothers will know their brothers, and sisters will know their sisters, politics of kill and bury will stop and the entire State will be happy as political stability is assured and guaranteed in Imo State.”
He thanked the leaders for organizing the programme and that he is with them always and urged them to continue with the message of cordial relationship and come out on November 11, 2023 and vote their consciences now that they know that “the Charter of Equity is about the people and the way to go.”
Earlier in his welcome remarks, the Chairman of the occasion, Prince Lemmy Akakem welcomed the Governor and his entourage and expressed gratitude to the Governor for his benevolence to Owerri Federal Constituency, saying that he is not only their Governor but a friend of the Constituency.
He told the audience that the Governor has done so much for them in the areas of infrastructure and political appointments and that he has a heart of humility and passion for Owerri people and promised that they will reciprocate his kind gesture through the polls on November, 11 2023.
Unanimously, the leaders of the Federal Constituency who spoke – Hon. Ernest Ibejiakor, Hon. Noble Atulegwu, Dr. MacDonald Ebere and Sir Jude Ejiogu – all agreed that come November 1, the Governor will be re-elected and that Owerri will show that they are ready to take over by the number of votes that will be counted and credited to the zone in support of the Governor.
At the meeting with the leaders from Owerri North, Owerri Municipal, Ikeduru and Mbaitoli in Government House, those in attendance spoke with one voice – to get their different communities to cast their ballot for the Governor in such a way that he would be glad.
Governor Uzodimma reiterated that he was happy with the development in the Councils under review and thanked the leaders for keying into the Charter of Equity.
The Deputy Governor, Prof Placid Njoku, the Chief of Staff, Barr Nnamdi Anyaehie, the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Chief COC Akaolisa, among other political appointees attended the meeting with the Governor.