Emmanuel Ugwu-Nwogo writes that efforts of the Founding Fathers of Abia State to make power rotation less contentious may pay off handsomely
Politicians nursing ambitions for elective positions and hoping to actualize same in the next general election no longer have much time left. While many think that 2023 is still too far to start expressing ambitions openly, in private the ground work is burgeoning because ‘there is no time left’. Therefore the underground realm of politics is already bustling with activities. Consultations, calculations and deft maneuvers for strategic positioning are going on. This scenario is playing out in Abia North zone where there is huge expectations that power rotation would shift to and the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) would most likely give its governorship ticket to a person from that zone.
But nothing is settled yet as to where the next Abia governor would come from . The raging debate centres on the application of the Abia Charter of Equity in the zoning of the governorship ticket. The clamour, especially in the ruling PDP, is that the compass should point to Abia North. It was from this part of Abia that the rotation of the governorship seat started in the short-lived Third Republic when Dr. Ogbnnaya Onu was elected Abia Governor in 1993. By sheer providence the rotation restarted from Abia North in 1999 when the present democratic dispensation was birthed. Senator Orji Uzor Kalu, after serving two terms of eight years moved power down to Abia Central from where he handed over to Senator Theodore Orji. The apparent successful rotation of power in Abia cannot necessarily be attributed to design, even though the movement of power has consistently followed the expected downward direction. It has been moving southwards from the north to the delight of stakeholders in the Abia project.
After Senator Orji’s eight years sojourn in Government House Umuahia he handed over the baton to Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu from Abia South zone. This power transition has completed the power rotation cycle in Abia. It has inadvertently thrown up a hot debate as to which direction the pendulum should swing. This dilemma is largely affecting the ruling party as the main opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) has distanced itself from the issue of zoning since it is still struggling to taste power in Abia.
So, the big question now is whether or not PDP would take the starting block to Abia North in 2023. Politicians from Abia North have continued to insist that power rotation should return to where it started. But their counterparts from the Ngwa component of Abia Central argue that since the compass has been pointing south since 2015 it should naturally move to Central before going north. To the Ngwas in Abia Central it doesn’t matter their kinsman, Governor Okezie ikpeazu has been in Government House since 2015 and would round off his eight years in office in 2023.
Nonetheless, the power rotation debate appears to be swinging strongly in favour of Abia North starting the rotation once again. But the issue of which part of the zone should get the governorship ticket still has to be sorted out. Four out of the five local governments – Isuikwuato, Ohafia, Umunneochi and Arochukwu – that make up Abia North are laying strong claims to the PDP governorship ticket. Only Bende local government is considered out of contention given that it took the shot when power rotation started from the Abia North in 1999 with Senator Kalu, who hails from Igbere in Bende local government, emerging as governor. Going by the order of rotation as depicted in the arrangement of the letters that form the name ‘Abia’, Isuikwuato remains the only district yet to take its shot at the coveted governorship seat. Historically the name Abia was derived from the amalgamation of the first letters of the districts that came together to form the state. These include Afikpo (A), Bende (B), Isuikwuato (I) and Aba (A). Before Afikpo district was excised from Abia to form part of Ebonyi State in 1996 it had already taken its turn of producing a governor. Dr Ogbonnaya Onu from the area was elected governor in 1993.
Those still.alive among the Founding Fathers of Abia State, have elected to be the guardian of the power rotation principle and have thrown their weight behind Isuikwuato. In July 2021 the fathers after a meeting in Umuahia issued a statement advising that the rotation principle should continue to follow the order of arrangement of the letters in Abia. They were unequivocal that “Isuikwuato should be supported in 2023” to produce governor. In the statement entitled, ’Abia State politics 2023: In the Spirit of the Charter of Equity’ the founding fathers acknowledged that Abia politicians have not been applying the power rotation principle in the real sense of it, but the rotation has, however, been moving in the right direction all along. They noted that all the component parts of Abia, at inception, accepted equity and equality of all the zones as basis for power sharing hence the need to adhere to it. But the founding fathers emphasized that in as much as power rotation is good for harmony and peaceful co-existence as well as for rancor free polity, it should always go with merit. According to them, the choice of a governorship candidate should be based on “merit, veritable track records of achievements in public or private capacity, integrity, and the ability to take critical decisions at critical times”.
If the ruling party eventually settles to take its governorship ticket to Abia North, Isuikwuato appears to be in a pole vault position to come out as favourite to grab it. Political actors from the area are already bracing up for the expected political development. Presently three prominent personalities from Abia North are known to have their eyes on the PDP gubernatorial ticket. They are Senator Emma Nwaka, Professor Greg Ibe and Mr. Chris Odinaka Igwe. Each of them is said to have explicitly or implicitly expressed his political ambition and has been “doing the necessary things” to smoothen their respective paths in the quest to become the standard bearer of the ruling PDP.
Senator Nwaka is a well known name in Abia politics. He was elected Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in the short lived Third Republic midwifed and later truncated by then military President, Gen Ibrahim Babangida. Calm and calculated, Nwaka has built a reputation devoid of controversies and boisterous posturing. This has earned him deserved respect among his fellow politicians, giving the leeway to move in high echelon of the political circle. When the opportunity came for him to become the state chairman of PDP in Abia in 2010, Senator Nwaka made good use of it to the delight of the party faithful. He not only united the fractious party he inherited but also extended and entrenched its roots across Abia. Nwaka was so confident of the job he had done in Abia PDP between 2010 and 2015, leading it to win governorship elections consecutively in 2011 and 2015, hence he boldly came up with the slogan that ‘Abia is PDP and PDP is Abia.’
This slogan has remained a mantra as the party has maintained its grip on power even after Nwaka had passed on the baton of party leadership to successors. Senator Nwaka, who runs a thriving legal practice in Abuja, strongly feels he has what it takes to pilot the affairs of Abia State come 2023. His unassuming demeanor has not in any way depreciated his political value both at the state and national level. Behind the smooth veil hides a strong character that can take tough decisions when situations demand as he had done in the past. The national leadership of PDP considers Senator Nwaka a political asset. His name not surprisingly has popped up among the 34 member PDP 2021 Zoning Committee headed by Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State. When the chips are down Nwaka could tap into his experience, political connections and networks to sway the dangling 2023 governorship ticket of Abia PDP to his side. He is regarded as a son in whom the king makers of Abia PDP are well pleased.
Professor Greg Ibe, Founder/Chancellor of Greg University Uturu (GUU), a fast rising private ivory tower, has maintained a noticeable presence in Abia’s political scene in recent years. He started showing signals of his interest in the governorship seat since 2015 but has managed to bottle up his ambition due to the power rotation arrangement in the ruling PDP. The multi-talented and well known business executive, entrepreneur, educationist and philanthropist has been bidding his time and waiting for the right opportunity to strike. He has not made any pretensions that 2023 would be the right time for him to fight for the governorship seat of Abia. Fondly called “Mr. Fix it” by his admirers, Prof Ibe has continued to tell anyone that cares to listen that he possesses the practicable ideas to take Abia out of the backwaters of underdevelopment.
On his part, Mr. Chris Odinaka Igwe, the Group Managing Director of Chrisnak Group of companies has not hidden his interest in marching into the government house Umuahia. The Umuogele Amuda Isuochi born billionaire, whose business interests spans oil and gas, shipping, real estate, among others, had been silently building his political structure in recent years. He put it to good effect in 2019 when his junior brother, Hon. Okey Igwe was elected a member of Abia State House of Assembly, representing Umunneochi state constituency on the platform of PDP. The GMD of Chrisnak would further test the formidability of his political structure when he wrestles with other political heavy weights for the PDP governorship ticket come 2023. Though he largely concentrates on his business empire, the senior igwe politician has never removed his eyes from Abia politics and is a familiar name in Abia PDP circle and Abia in general due to his philanthropic activities with his Chris Odinaka igwe Foundation.
It is expected that other guber hopefuls may still emerge from Abia North by the time the coast becomes clear that PDP would zone its 2023 governorship ticket to Abia North. Stakeholders and pressure groups are pushing very hard, consulting extensively and lobbying across zones to make it happen. The old Isuikwuato declared its intention of producing the next governor of Abia in August 2019, barely two months into Governor Okezie Ikpeazu’s second and final tenure in office. The district, popularly known as the ‘land of generals’, comprises Isuikwuato and Umunneochi local governments and together with Bende, Ohafia and Arochukwu constitute Abia North senatorial district. The Isuikwuato clamour for governorship seat was concretized at a stakeholders of meeting at the palace of the traditional ruler of Isuikwuato, HRH Eze Ezo Ukandu where a select committee of the Isuikwuato District Welfare Association (IDWA) ratified a communiqué issued after the stakeholders meeting.
In the five-point communique read to journalists by the secretary of IDWA, Hon. Obinna Ekekwe, the group said that come 2023 it would be the turn of Isuikwuato District to produce the person to occupy the topmost political office in God’s Own State. The association stated that the clamour of Isuikwuato District was in line with the Abia charter of equity which stipulates that the rotation principle should apply in the sharing of key political offices in the state. It explained that Isuikwuato as represented by the letter ‘I’ in the acronym from which Abia got its name has not occupied the office of governor unlike other component old divisions, namely Afikpo (A), Bende (B) and Aba(A) that combined to make up Abia when it was created in August 1991. The group therefore appealed to other political blocs in Abia to show understanding and support the aspiration of Isuikwuato District in order to deepen the principle of equity under which Governor Ikpeazu emerged from the Ukwa/Ngwa which comprises the old Aba Division.
Specifically IDWA contended that with all the senatorial zones, Abia North, Abia Central and Abia South having each occupied the governorship seat since the inception of democracy in 1999 the power rotation should again start from Abia North. The group further demanded that the governorship position should be zoned to Isuikwuato as old Bende component of Abia North had already had a fair share of producing two governors (Orji Uzor Kalu and Theodore Orji) after the old Afikpo was removed from Abia North and joined to Ebonyi State.
“The Abia State gubernatorial seat should be drafted by all parties to Isuikwuato District, in the spirit of Abia Charter of Equity. We supported Afikpo mount the rostrum of power. We worked wholesomely and tirelessly for Bende to take their slots. We even disabled our sons for Aba Division to assume power in the spirit of good conscience,” the group said.Indeed the people of Isuikwuato have continued to bemoan their lot in the sharing of top political and non political positions in Abia hence IDWA have been lamenting that the people of Isuikwuato “are being highly marginalised in the Abia project”. According to the group, no person from Isuikwuato District has occupied any top office in Abia, including office of governor, deputy governor, house of assembly speaker, secretary to the state government, chairman civil service commission, head of office, chief judge, among other top positions. The Isuikwuato District Welfare Association therefore reminded other components of God’s own state that the Abia project stands on four legs and for that “our District must be respected and honoured in the political architecture of Abia state” to strengthen the super structure and give every section a sense of belonging.
While still seeking the support and understanding of other co-owners of Abia , the people of the old Isuikwuato District are not leaving anything to chance. They have started shopping for governorship aspirants and have, in fact , asked indigenes to start preparing for the next governorship contest. At the break of 2021 a consultative meeting of stakeholders was held at the country home of Senator Emma Nwaka at Amaokwe Amiyi, during which the stakeholders further laid out their strategies for the governorship quest. “We encourage our illustrious sons and daughters who have the clout, pedigree and reach, to aspire and present themselves for the 2023 gubernatorial contest,” the stakeholders said in the communiqué issued after the meeting. To actualise their “noble objective,” the stakeholders instituted and empowered Isuikwuato District Welfare Association (IDWA) “to champion, galvanise and co-ordinate all efforts towards realisation of Abia State governor of Isuikwuato District extraction in 2023.”
The Isuikwuato stakeholders pointed out that qpower rotation in Abia State has gone full cycle with the tenure of Ikpeazu, who is from Abia South Senatorial district hence the next Abia State governor should come from Abia North Senatorial district. “We strongly appeal to all well-meaning brothers and sisters from the old Bende and Ukwa/Ngwa political blocs to support and work to actualise this just aspiration,” the Isuikwuato stakeholders said. They also urged all registered political parties intending to field gubernatorial candidates in the 2023 elections “to zone and elect their flag bearers from among the indigenes of Isuikwuato istrict.” The stakeholders of Isuikwuato stated that the clamour of the IIsuikwuato people for Abia governorship is a just cause which should be considered and supported by other parts of Abia State. “We believe strongly that conceding the 2023 governorship slot to Isuikwuato district will enhance equity, peaceful co-existence, political stability and social harmony in God’s own state,” they said.
Even with all the efforts being made to actualize their collective aspiration the people of Isuikwuato District are under no illusion of the possibility of their ranks getting broken when the chips are down. To avert any sabotage the stakeholders barred indigenes from accepting to play second fiddles to governorship candidates from other areas. “We state categorically that anybody from Isukwuato district who decides to play a spoiler’s game by accepting the deputy governorship position would be declared persona non grata”.
Isuikwuato District is not alone in the agitation for power shift to Abia North. Ohafia Clañ is also involved and as a matter of fact, wants the governorship pie. The Ohafia people believe that power should return to Abia North with the next governor emerging from the area. The cause is being championed by a socio- political pressure group, the Mben Political Assembly(MPA). In October 2019 the group came to Umuahia the capital city and declared that the power rotation principle should not be jettisoned as it has engendered stability in Abia polity. President of MPA, Dr. Eme Uche Onuh, who addressed journalists at the press conference, said that the people of Ohafia were not only canvassing for Ikpeazu’s successor to come from Abia North but also for such a person to emerge from Ohafia clan. He noted that it was by “divine arrangement” that power rotation as espoused in the charter of equity has continued to run a natural course as all the three senatorial zones have each occupied the governorship seat since 1999.
