ABIA CHARTER OF EQUITY AND THE CONTROVERSIAL ZONING ARRANGEMENT BY CHIEF .T.A. ORJI LED ADMINISTRATION OPEN LETTER TO GOVERNOR T.A. ORJI OVER THE CONTROVERSIAL ZONING ARRANGEMENT AND ABIA CHARTER OF EQUITY. His Excellency Chief T.A.Orji Excellency Governor of Abia State We make bold here to restate that this is not borne out of any desire to join issues with you, nor any one else(NO, NEVER), but it is necessitated by my quest to contribute to an on going debate, aimed at benefiting Abians. We have watched with keen interest the upswing of debates for and against Zoning of the Governorship Slot in Abia State, come 2015. We have particularly noted the publications in the Daily Sun Newspaper of 5th December, and the Nation Newspapers of 6th December respectively, by the People of Isuikwuato and Umunneochi LGAs (otherwise called ISUIKWUATO DISTRICT), of the State, detailing strong reasons why the Governorship slot come 2015, should be zoned to them, amongst other agitations. While one is tempted to adopt the stand of the good people of the District, I feel stronger standing on a higher ground and digressing a bit from their position. I do so by enunciating the following reasons why the Governorship slot in the State should and ought not to be zoned for any reason, but should be thrown open (AS USUAL) for the best Candidate to emerge. B. HISTORICAL INSIGHTS Lest we forget, Abia State since creation on August 17, 1991, had always elected their Chief Executives through keenly contested elections, by all zones in the State. It has always been an all inclusive race. I shall elucidate further with the tables below: TABLE 1. (1991 PARTY PRIMARIES IN OLD ABIA) CONTESTANTS PARTY PLACE/ZONE OF ORIGIN REMARKS Christopher NRC Ohaozara, Afikpo Zone, WON Ogbonnaya Onu * NORTH Gershon Amuta NRC Isiala Ngwa South, Ukwa LOST /Ngwa Zone SOUTH Chris Ogbonnaya NRC Arochukwu, Old Bende LOST Ukpabi Zone CENTRAL Lambert Nmecha NRC Ukwa East, Ukwa/Ngwa LOST 1 ABIA CHARTER OF EQUITY AND THE CONTROVERSIAL ZONING ARRANGEMENT BY CHIEF .T.A. ORJI LED ADMINISTRATION Zone, SOUTH Augustine Alaribe SDP Isiala Ngwa South, Ukwa/ LOST Ngwa Zone, SOUTH Empire Ndukaku SDP Umuahia, Old Bende, LOST Kanu CENTRAL Sam Igwe Eke SDP Bende, Old Bende, WON (SAMEK) * CENTRAL From the above fiercely contested primaries, Ogbonnaya Onu of NRC and Sam Igwe Eke of SDP emerged. On December 14, 1991, Abians trooped out and voted for the two candidates. Dr Onu was declared elected the following day, and sworn in on January 2nd, 1992. Dissatisfied, the late Chief Sam Igwe Eke went to the Tribunal, and in mid April 1992, the Electoral Tribunal sitting in Umuahia, nullified the declaration of Dr. Onu, whilst calling for a re-run in four (4) Local Government Areas. On Appeal, the Court of Appeal sitting in Port-Harcourt unanimously upheld Dr Onu;s appeal, and validated his return as Governor. , it was a keenly contested election, which saw the participation of all the zones in Old Abia. It was never ZONED in any way. Dr Onu ceased to be Governor on November 17th, 1993, following the military putsch by the Late General Sani Abacha, which truncated democratic structures, and sacked the Ernest Shonekan led Interim National Governor (ING). Secondly, following the excision of the Old Afikpo Zone, from Abia to Ebonyi State, and in the prelude to the 1999 return to Civilian Administration, the following scenario emerged: TABLE 2, (1999 PARTY PRIMARIES IN NEW ABIA STATE) CONTESTANTS PARTY PLACE/ZONE OF ORIGIN REMARKS Orji Uzor Kalu * PDP Bende, (NORTH) WON Chris Ogbonnaya PDP Arochukwu, (NORTH) LOST Ukpabi Iboko Imo Iboko PDP Bende, (NORTH) LOST Dan Nwankwo PDD Obingwa (SOUTH) LOST Ike Orika PDP Umunneochi, (NORTH) LOST Sonny Iroeche PDP Umuahia North, (CENTRAL) LOST Vincent Eze APP Umuahia South, (CENTRAL) WON Ogbulafor* 2 ABIA CHARTER OF EQUITY AND THE CONTROVERSIAL ZONING ARRANGEMENT BY CHIEF .T.A. ORJI LED ADMINISTRATION Chuku Nwachuku APP Isiala Ngwa North, LOST (CENTRAL) Max. Nduaguibe APP Isiala Ngwa North, LOST (CENTRAL) Onyeka Amadi AD Ohafia, (NORTH) LOST Okoroafor Max. Nduaguibe * AD Isiala Ngwa North, EMERGED (CENTRAL) On January 9th 1999, Orji Uzor Kalu (PDP), Vincent Ogbulafor (APP) and Max Nduaguibe(AD) slugged it out, and Orji Uzor Kalu was declared winner by INEC . Dissatisfied, Ogbulafor of APP went to the Election Tribunal. In between, an OUT OF COURT SETTLEMENT was brokered by a group led by PRINCE B.B. APUGO. Kalu was later sworn in as Governor of the State, while Ogbulafor, in the spirit and letters of the settlement, was appointed first Minister of Economic Matters by President Obasanjo, and subsequently National Secretary and National Chairman of PDP respectively. Dee, you know as much as I do that this was not achieved by ZONING, nor was it accomplished through any amorphous/exclusion intended CHARTER OF “EQUITY” Thirdly, in 2003, the following scenario emerged TABLE 3. (2003 PARTY PRIMARIES IN ABIA) CONTESTANTS PARTY PLACE/ZONE OF ORIGIN REMARKS Orji Uzor Kalu * PDP Bende, (NORTH) WON Austin Akobundu PDP Ikwuano, (CENTRAL) LOST Enyinnaya ANPP Obingwa (SOUTH) WON Abaribe* Henry Ikoh ANPP Ikwuano, (CENTRAL) LOST Dan Nwankwo ANPP Obingwa (SOUTH) LOST Onwuka Kalu* APGA Ohafia(CENTRAL) EMERGED Henry Ikoh* UNPP Ikwuano(CENTRAL) EMERGED After the Primaries, came the main election. Again, it was contested amongst Orji Kalu (PDP), Enyi Abaribe(ANPP), Onwuka Kalu(APGA), and Henry Ikoh (UNPP). In another keenly contested election, held on Holy Saturday, April 19, 2003, Orji Uzor Kalu of PDP was declared re-elected by INEC. Dissatisfied by what he described as gross irregularities in the 3 ABIA CHARTER OF EQUITY AND THE CONTROVERSIAL ZONING ARRANGEMENT BY CHIEF .T.A. ORJI LED ADMINISTRATION election, my good friend, Enyi Abaribe filed a Petition at the Tribunal seeking some declarative and ameliorative reliefs. In a horse trading that involved pecuniary and ethnic interests, the then ANPP, was believed to have traded their Senatorial mandate in exchange for the Senate Presidency, which was offered to their son, who AS AT THAT TIME was widely believed to have lost the Senatorial Election. While no pun is intended here, nor do I mean to re-enact the Dan Imo /Wabara saga, but mention certainly must be made of the notorious fact that for Abia North’s Governorship won on merit to stand, Abia South (the Ukwa La Ngwas) were given the Number Three Slot in the Country. That in itself is not how best to MARGINALIZE a people. I make bold to restate that the above horse trading was achieved long after elections to Abia Governorship of 2003, was CONTESTED, WON and LOST. It was not achieved through ZONING. The fourth case that supports competition was in 2007, when the current occupant contested and won the Abia Governorship, even from a terribly disadvantaged position. Preceding the main election, the following scenario played out: TABLE 4. (2007 PARTY PRIMARIES IN ABIA) CONTESTANTS PARTY PLACE/ZONE OF ORIGIN REMARKS Onyema PDP Umuahia North, (CENTRAL) WON Ugochukwu * Iheanacho Okezie PDP Obingwa(SOUTH) LOST Orji Okey Nwadiuko PDP Isuikwuato(NORTH) LOST Emeka Atuma PDP Ikwuano (CENTRAL) LOST Capt Ogbonna PDP Isuikwuato(NORTH) LOST Chinonye Macebuh PDP Isuikwuato(SOUTH) LOST Isiguzoro PDP Obingwa(SOUTH) LOST Theodore Orji* PPA Umuahia North (CENTRAL) WON Henry Ikoh PPA Ikwuano (CENTRAL) LOST Ikechi Emenike * ANPP Umuahia North (CENTRAL) EMERGED Uzodimma APGA Umuahia North (CENTRAL) EMERGED Okpara* After the primaries where Governor T.A.ORJI emerged from the PPA, Onyema Ugochukwu from the PDP, Ikechi Emenike from the ANPP, and 4 ABIA CHARTER OF EQUITY AND THE CONTROVERSIAL ZONING ARRANGEMENT BY CHIEF .T.A. ORJI LED ADMINISTRATION Uzodimma Okpara from the APGA, the unfortunate events which culminated into your loss of freedom took place. Yet you contested and won election even in detention. The rest as they say is now history. But suffice it to say that you did not become Governor by ZONING, or through any suborn arrangement(s). Your victory came through sweat and sacrifices. If you could win election even in incarceration, I wonder why some people who in the last few years have emerged overnight multi-millionaires, are so afraid of throwing their hats in the ring, and contesting the Gubernatorial Election, even from the comfort of their cozy and newly acquired mansions. Why suddenly resorting to this sordid emotional blackmail called Zoning and exhuming an outdated, unworkable, unused and unusable document called Charter of Equity? Sir, Your re-election in 2011, which I shall classify as the fifth scenario, saw another stiff competition between you (now as PDP Candidate) and the following Candidates and Political Parties: TABLE 5. (2011 PARTY CANDIDATES IN ABIA) CANDIDATES PARTY PLACE/ZONE OF ORIGIN REMARKS Chris Alozie PPA Obingwa, (SOUTH) EMERGED Akomas* Paul Ikonne* ACN Aba North (SOUTH) EMERGED Reagan Ufomba* APGA Isiala Ngwa North EMERGED (CENTRAL) Bob Ogu* ANPP Isiala Ngwa (CENTRAL) EMERGED Sir, I am not in a hurry to forget that even your PDP Candidacy was challenged by Ikechi Emenike up to the Supreme Court, same way that your victory was challenged at different stages of the Tribunals/Courts. So nobody remembered ZONING or CHARTER up until now. C. ABIA CHARTER OF WHAT EQUITY? Sir, kindly bear with me a little further as I subject this Charter, to critical analysis, in line with current democratic norms. 1. Ours is a political engagement that supports participatory democracy. It is defined as Government of the People, by the people and for the People. It is an all inclusive game, devoid of exclusionism. It is a DEMOCRACY for all, and not an 5 ABIA CHARTER OF EQUITY AND THE CONTROVERSIAL ZONING ARRANGEMENT BY CHIEF .T.A.