Claims about powershift in Abia State are being made by different interests, and the postulations are interesting. Leader of Ukwa-Ngwa Professionals, THEO NKIRE, drawing from equity, fairness, justice and logic, says that without Abia South producing the governor in 2015, powershift in the state would have no meaning. He speaks to Innocent Anoruo extensively on factors that support the Ukwa-Ngwa quest.
Silence of Ukwa-Ngwa Professionals on the positions of different groups on the Abia State governorship race in 2015
Ukwa-Ngwa people are united in their quest for an Abia governor of Ukwa-Ngwa extraction in 2015. This is not to say that there will not be dissenting voices. There surely will be. For example, there may be people to whom Ukwa-Ngwa interest is synonymous with self-interest. Such people are for Ukwa-Ngwa governor in 2015, provided they are the candidate. If they are not the candidate, then no Ukwa-Ngwa governor. Such people abound in every community and the Ukwa-Ngwa nation has her fair share of them. Luckily for us, they constitute a very negligible minority; but even as we speak, we are still wooing them to our side.
Ukwa-Ngwa Professionals giving up on Abia South producing the governor in 2015
I can say that Ukwa-Ngwa Professionals are at the forefront of the movement for the actualisation of the dream. We lead the way, though majority of our members are from Abia Central. They agree that what is fair is fair. They understand it and they agree that power should shift to Abia South. Such is the nature of our struggle. We believe in fairness, justice and equity. We cannot give up.
Opposition of many Ngwa people to the governorship being zoned to Abia South Senatorial District
They are not many. They are very few; a negligible few. To be fair to them, quite a good number of those who at first were fizzled by the announcement are now back in our fold. They now understand that it is only fair for power to shift to Abia South. As the days go by, we shall continue to plead with them and I am confident that before the party primaries, we shall all be singing with one voice again.
Senator Nkechi Nwaogu’s aspiration
As far as I am concerned, she is an Ngwa woman in and out anyday, anytime, anywhere. Nwaogu is not from Abia South; she is from Abia Central, and there lies the problem. But when the time comes, she will be the true Ngwa daughter that she is. She is not just our daughter; she is also our wife, married to Dr. Nwaogu, a highly respected Ngwa son, the first Igbo man to earn a Ph.D in Polymer Science.
Abia Charter of Equity, which pre-dated creation of Abia State, being relevant to 2015
The beauty of the charter is that it is eternal; it is forever. It is founded on equity, justice and fairness. So it can never grow old. This is because a cardinal principle of justice is fairness, and as you know, equity follows the law.
Abia Charter of Equity and 2015 contest
There may be a thousand interpretations of the charter, but only one can be correct and that is the interpretation that calls for equity in the distribution of government business equally between Aba and Umuahia; between old Aba Division and old Bende Division. That is the only interpretation that works.
Workings of the charter
Well, here is how. Abia State, as we know it today, is made up of three zones: Abia North, Abia Central and Abia South. Power went to Abia North in 1999 and Oji Uzor Kalu took the slot. Eight years later, in 2007, power shifted to Abia Central and Ochendo took it. Now tell me; what is wrong with power shifting to Abia South in 2015? In all honesty, is this not the natural progression of things? Is this not how things work in real life? From North to Central to South? Will a shift from Umuahia North (Ochendo’s local government area) in Abia Central to Isiala Ngwa North or Isiala Ngwa South or Osisioma also in Abia Central be powershift? I do not think so. To me, that would be so much motion but little movement.
It will be stupid of me to say that my brothers from Isiala Ngwa, who dispute the shift from Abia Central to Abia South, are unreasonable. No, they are not being unreasonable. They are well within their rights to say so. They are not against the charter. Their argument is that the charter talks of two zones – Aba and Umuahia; not three – Abia North, Abia Central and Abia South. They argue it is the turn of Aba (Ukwa-Ngwa) and that they, being an integral part of Ukwa-Ngwa, should not be zoned out. Indeed, that they should take first; Isiala Ngwa being the first among Ngwa local governments. Great reasoning! Unassailable pontification! And what is the argument on the other side?
We have come a long way from the days of Dr. Jaja Wachuku and his brother, Michael Okpara. Abia may be made up of two peoples, the old Bende and the old Aba; but the reality on the ground is that there are three political zones in Abia today and political offices are best distributed along those lines. It may be painful to my brothers from Abia Central to tell them that Ochendo has taken their slot; but that is the gospel truth.
The second point that must be made is that this is not an Ngwa affair. It is not even an Ukwa-Ngwa affair. We are here talking about the office of Governor of Abia State. If it were an Ngwa affair, of course, Isiala-Ngwa would take first. Ngwa people are the offspring of a man called Ngwa, who had three sons: Ukwu, Nwoha and Avosi. History has it that upon arrival in the present Ngwaland, they first settled in Umuolike near Okpuala Ngwa. From there, they moved first north and then south to populate what is today known as Ngwaland. This is why Okpuala Ngwa is to this day the traditional headquarters of Ngwa people. This is why many Ngwa people in the other five local governments of Aba North, Aba South, Obingwa, Osisioma and Ugwunagbo can still trace their roots to one or other of the three foremost sons of our great progenitor, Ngwa.
So, ideally, Isiala Ngwa should take first, if the office of governor was ours to give. That is what our tradition demands. Indeed, the office is beyond what we as Ngwa people can give. This is why we plead with our older brothers from Isiala Ngwa to show that magnanimity and candour that only first sons are blessed with to their younger brothers in Abia South. Abia South shall not forget. To answer you directly, the zoning to Abia South is in line with the charter; though the zones may change, the principle of equity, fairness and justice remain inviolate!
Zoning encouraging mediocrity
Those who say so do not know the stuff of which Ukwa-Ngwa people are made. Here is a short list of what we offer Abia people and indeed, the Nigerian people: Enyinnaya Abaribe (two-term senator of the Federal Republic, Chairman of Senate Committee on Information, former deputy governor, former university lecturer), Emeka Wogu (Minister of Labour, lawyer, former member of Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission, former Chairman of Aba South Local Government), Acho Nwakanma (former deputy governor, former House of Assembly Speaker, former deputy speaker), Friday Nwosu (Ngwaland’s indefatigable fighter for justice, lawyer, public advocate and public speaker), Okezie Ikpeazu (who cleaned up Aba within weeks of his appointment as Director, Abia Environmental Agency in charge of Aba), Uche Nwankpa (Chairman, House of Assembly Committee on Education), and Uche Nwankpa (former local government chairman and adviser to the governor).
However, there is a general perception among our people that he is running.
It is also important that I mention two gentlemen whose interest in the race has only recently been made known. Ambassador Okey Emuchay, who, until recently, was Nigeria’s envoy to South Africa, and Chief Mac Wabara, former Chief Executive Officer of Hallmark Bank.
Governor Orji in support of Abia South producing the governor in 2015
Governor Theodore Oji is a gentleman. He is solid in his resolve to support Abia South. There are no doubts about his determination to ensure equity, fairness and justice in this matter. Those who doubt his resolve are unfair to him. As recently as August 27, during the Abia Day celebrations, he repeated his support for Abia South to produce the governor in 2015 in line with equity, fairness and justice. We salute his steadfastness.
