2023: Abia’s Founding Fathers Urge Parties to Obey Power Shift Principle

Emmanuel Ugwu-Nwogo

The founding fathers of Abia State have called on all political parties that want to field governorship canSdidates in 2023 to ensure that they picked their respective candidates from the old Isuikwuato District in Abia North in line with the Abia Charter of Equity that laid the ground rules for orderly rotation of power in the state.

The fathers, in a statement they issued after a meeting in Umuahia, specifically stated that the old Isuikwuato district in Abia North should be supported to produce the next governor in the spirit of equity and fair play going by the Charter of Equity.

The meeting was attended by His Royal Majesty, Eze Ezo Ukandu, Sir B.R.C.Okoro, Mr. Ekwuribe, Mr. Bernard Chukwu, His Royal Majesty Eze Nwabiarije Enogwe and Dr. Onyike James Onyike, who is the chairman of the group while Professor Nzeako was represented.

In the statement, which was entitled “Abia State Politics 2023: In The Spirit of The Charter of Equity,” the founding fathers insisted that even with the rotation principle Abia deserve to have the best man or woman to preside over its affairs.

They stated that governorship candidacy should be based on “merit, veritable track records of achievements in public or private capacity, integrity and the ability to take critical decision at critical times.”

Though the Abia Charter of Equity has remained a contentious issue over the years, the founding fathers said that Abia was lucky to have such a guiding principle, adding that it is likely the only state in Nigeria “endowed with (such) a fundamental document on good governance.

The Charter of Equity, according to the founding fathers, provided guidelines for equitable and even development of Abia State and the rotation of the position of the governor of the state according to alphabetical order of the letters of the name ABIA.

They explained that Abia was derived from the combination of the first letter of the names of the old districts that made up the state – Afikpo, Bende, Isuikwuato and Aba with power rotation following that order.

They also noted that even though all the component parts of Abia State accepted the equity and equality of all the senatorial zones as basis for power rotation it has not been strictly applied by politicians.

The Abia founding fathers attributed the decline in the principle of equity and orderly power rotation to the exit of some of the respected political actors in the state.

They lamented that “the death of Rt. Hon. Dr M. I. Okpara and Senator Jaja Wachukwu culminated in the political eclipse of Abia, and those who did not know what happened have left the state in a worrisome squalor.”

They promised that they would be working with other Igbo leaders to bring sanity to Abia politics ahead of the 2023 general election.