By Adadareporters
Ex-Imo Governor Dr Ikedi Ohakim has made a case for the re-election of Gov Hope Uzodimma ahead of the November 11 governorship election in the state.
Ohakim told reporters at his Owerri residence that the Imo charter of equity which started in 1998 was only truncated by 2011 by Senator Rochas Okorocha.
He said it was solely Uzodimma that could implement the charter to the fullest, having only one more term to complete his constitutionally guaranteed eight years in office.
Ohakim blamed the collapse on the lies sold to the Imo people by Okorocha that he would serve only one term as governor, as well as Okorocha’s ‘false allegation’ against him (Ohakim) that he flogged a reverend father, hence ‘the Catholics without proper investigation bought the lies which eventually truncated the charter of equity in the state’.
Quoting him, “I totally agree with the elders who drafted the current charter with the proviso that its implementation will begin after the incumbent governor, Senator Uzodimma, would have completed his second term in 2028.
“Given our experience in 2003 and 2015 – forget the aberration of 2011 – we have to take into consideration the factor of a sitting governor. It is heartwarming that Governor Uzodimma is favourably disposed to the idea of returning to the charter because it will take a sitting governor to make it work; as we witnessed under Governor Achike Udenwa and as it the case in all the states around us where power sharing is working.
“But if Uzodimma gets his second term through another round of scrambling for power among the three zones, it will again be ‘to your tents oh Isreal’. In other words, contrary to the thinking in some quarters that Governor Uzodimma might have engineered the new interest on the charter, the truth is that it will be impossible to implement it without taking his interest – as an incumbent – into account.”
He lamented the state of insecurity in South East, and Imo State in particular, adding that it ‘is nonsensical to blame Uzodimma. According to him, Uzodimma too ‘had been victims of insecurity’.
Quoting him, “As a private citizen, I move around the South East and I can say without any fear of contradiction that on the matter of insecurity, our dear state, Imo, is not worse off. That does not mean that we should give any room for complacency but we should not blackmail ourselves and act in a manner that would rubbish the collective integrity of our dear state and its people.
“I have been personally involved in several meetings on the matter of insecurity in the South East and I know that the governors are doing quite a lot. Whether we like it or not, the matter rests squarely on the shoulders of the federal government. This is why I would once again restate my position that in this highly tempestuous time, we need a governor who enjoys a good rapour with the federal authorities as Governor Uzodimma does.”
