From Stanley Uzoaru, Owerri

Dr Theodore Okwu Ejike Ekechi, popularly known as TOE Ekechi, is a seasoned media professional, political, and community leader.

He was Commissioner for Information and Strategy in Imo State and was also appointed a member of the North East Development Commission (NEDC) in 2019.

In this interview with Sunday Sun, he spoke about the upcoming governorship election and the issues that dominate the polity, affirming that the Imo Charter of Equity is in the best interest of the Owerri Zone. Excerpts:

Let me start from the nearest, which is the 29km road the governor is constructing in your community. Not everyone knows that such a road project is ongoing in Ngor Okpala. Can you please tell us how your people feel about the project?

Well, let me start by saying that ordinarily you could take for granted what the feelings of a man who has been incarcerated for 40 years could be when in the 40th year he sees a genuine effort to get him out of that incarceration. The simple assumption would be that the man would be excited. That, ordinarily, would have been the case of our people when some few months ago I called a meeting of our people, including our traditional rulers, and announced to them that the governor has graciously awarded the road contract. Mark the word “graciously.” I do not use it carelessly. I announced to our people that the governor has graciously awarded the contract for the construction of the 29km road covering Ulakwo/Imerienwe/Umuekwune, etcetera. But because of the past experiences they have had with previous administrations in the state, in fact, beginning from the Second Republic, it was not something that elicited immediate jubilation because previous governors had come here and promised to construct this road, but did not. Rochas actually came here and promised to construct this road. In fact, he said that as he was leaving, the contractor would be mobilising to the site. Nothing happened throughout the period of his eight years in office. Before that time, Ohakim had come here and promised that one of the first major contracts he would be awarding was the Ulakwo/Imerienwe/Umuekwune Road, but he failed to do so. Udenwa had also promised to construct this road, but he did not do so. Even when our son and brother, Emeka Ihedioha, was in power, he promised that this road would be one of the key contracts that would signal the beginning of his administration, but he failed to do so. So, you could see why some members of my community would take it with a pinch of salt when I, not even the governor ,announced to them that the governor has graciously awarded the road contract. It sounded to them like it was not possible, that it was one of those election gimmicks. Unfortunately for us, the award of the road contract coincided with the last presidential and national assembly elections, and our people thought that it was an election gimmick, but eventually, the contractor mobilized to the site and work started. When the rainy season became so severe, the contractor stopped because no reasonable contractor would like to waste his resources on a fixed-cost contract. But with the rainy season gradually coming to an end, the contractor has returned to the site, and work has continued on the road. This is where people like us who are in the know of what is happening come in. In the first place, not everyone knows that the fund for the construction of this road is mainly coming from the NDDC as a counterpart fund provider. But strictly speaking, NDDC funds should be utilised to provide such services in the three oil-producing LGAs of the state. That was why I said that the governor has graciously awarded the road contract because it was gracious on the part of the governor to include the Ulakwo/Imerienwe/Umuekwune/Upe Road to be funded by the counterpart funding from the NDDC. I’m not aware that we are an oil-producing community. We have oil deposits here like some other parts of the state, but not even a litre of petrol is being lifted from this community, and there is no oil company operating here. So, people like us have a responsibility to explain to our people that this governor is

a different governor. Like my friends in Rivers and Warri would say, “this one na talk-na-do governor”. Since he came into office, I am not aware of any promise he has made and didn’t fulfil it. So, I am confident in trying to persuade the sceptics that this is a different ball game, a new beginning.  As we explain the issues to our people, they are overwhelmed. And, the fact that the contractor has started asphalting is putting a lie to the claims of the opposition that the contract is an election gimmick. We can see that there is real action on the road. To those who claim that the road contract is an election gimmick, I tell them that if in every election we have four of six kilometers of road, in the last 40 years we could have gotten our roads done up to our boundary with Rivers State and all the spurs leading to Oguike and Alatia communities. If we have a government that responds to election pressure to construct roads in our communities, it means that the government is truly a democratic and responsible government, because it would take respect for the people’s votes for a government to begin to do something to appease the people during an election period. It also puts a lie to the claims by the opposition that the governor has already rigged the election. Tell me, how could someone who has already rigged an election be bothered about responding to your pressures to construct roads and do other things for you when he has concluded plans to rig? It is only a governor who has subjected himself to the electoral process and is willing to go to the polls that would respond to those pressures. Whichever way you look at it, I think that we should put our hands together for Governor Hope Uzodimma and thank him profusely for remembering us in this part of Imo. I don’t know how others feel, but I am one of the most excited people around.

I want to take your mind back to 2018 or thereabout, when in this house a group of like minds working with you declared what is now called the Imerienwe Declaration. That declaration marked a turning point in the politics of the state at the time. Now, we have candidates from Owerri Zone running for the governorship election against the Charter of Equity. I want to know whether we should expect another lmerienwe Declaration to drive home the position of the people of Owerri Zone on the Charter of Equity?

Thank you. When you speak like this, I am tempted to respond with nostalgia because it was a nostalgic experience. Let me also add that it was in this living room that I brought together some 50 sons and daughters of Imo State, cutting across different communities and religious backgrounds. We sat here, and I gave my message, and we brainstormed, went outside in that square, and addressed a world press conference, which eventually has been named Imerienwe Declaration. As you noted, it was a turning point, and I thank God that there are men and women who are alive today who once in a while salute the courage that brought about the Imerienwe Declaration. But I want to say that the situation then and now is not the same. Prior to the Imerienwe Declaration, it would appear that the entire Imo State had been captured, conquered, as if everyone had been subjugated and subjected to some kind of indignity. It would appear that we had concluded that the state had been overrun by that administration.  There was a need for a voice to speak because there was no voice speaking at the time.  There was the need for a voice that knew what was going on to speak. Many people knew what was going on, but only a few were willing to speak and stake their political future. That was why I struck. In the present scenario, what we have is the Charter of Equity, which has been very well articulated so that anyone who has ears to hear could hear. It has been endorsed at various fora by various groups and communities. The religious body has already endorsed it. I attended an intervention meeting of the pentecostal group in the state, and they have already assimilated the idea of the Charter of Equity and were already propagating it. There is no need for another Imerienwe Declaration because the scenarios are different. Otherwise, it could appear that one is playing to the gallery. Even when Jesus Christ came with his powerful message of salvation given to him by the Father, he performed many miracles at different fora and different places and even raised the dead, yet there were still those who did not believe in him. So, it is now. There are people who will never vote for the governor no matter what you do. To this group of people, no amount of endorsement will make them love the governor and vote for him. What is left for us is to move on and leave the infinitesimal minority behind because the story is well told, articulated, and well spread. On the other hand, there are people who are countless number of people who believe that the governor will win the election with or without the Charter of Equity. If there is a loser in this Charter of Equity, the person is the governor because he has actually  constrained himself from supporting a successor from any other zone other than Owerri Zone in 2027. With all the evidence that the governor is coasting home to victory, he could have crossed his legs and said that he does not support the Charter of Equity. We should be grateful to the governor for his magnanimity in supporting the Charter of Equity, particularly when he is not the author of the Charter of Equity.

As a leader in Owerri Zone, what is your message to your brothers who are running for the governorship election against the Charter of Equity?

As for recalcitrant politicians, there is little or nothing we can do. I am aware of only two persons running for the governorship election from Owerri Zone.  There is another they call JohnJude, but I don’t know the name of his party. We attended a meeting of leaders in my LGA, and someone mentioned his name to me.  I asked to know his political party, but no one appeared to know. Meanwhile, members of his party and other political parties have collapsed into the APC, and they are working with us. We don’t reckon with him as a force, and it would be foolhardy for us to begin to chase one JohnJude and ask him not to run for governorship. It would appear as if you owe him some favours. What makes me happy is that in Ngor-Okpala, there is no division about where to vote in this election. I don’t know any traditional ruler who is standing with JohnJude. In the entire Owerri Zone, I am not aware of any traditional ruler who is standing with him or the other man from Emekuku, whose father is a member of the Imo State Council of Elders and was among those who authored the Charter of Equity. Though his father is a member of another party, he has been supportive of the governor and the Charter of Equity. Should we rather be bothered about a man who wants to make a name for himself, no matter the proportion? So, I am not worried at this point in time that we are less than 30 days to the election. We should rather focus on the goal and leave the distractions. The most important thing is that everyone in Owerri Zone has embraced the Charter of Equity.  We cannot expect to have a 100 per cent. Even Jeaus Christ did not have 100 per cent support when he was here. Nelson Madndela, who practically led the liberation of his people, never had 100 per cent from South Africans. In his presidential election, not all South Africans voted for him. The Charter of Equity is accepted, and it is popular. It has been endorsed by all who matter.

You have spoken so much about the Charter of Equity.  Could you tell me if you were to address a gathering of the opposition , how would you convince them to support the governor?

I will tell you two major reasons. The first one is a selfish reason, and I want to be honest with you. The Charter of Equity is a selfish reason in the sense that it will benefit Owerri Zone where I come from. I had wished that Owerri Zone would produce the governor of the state. I had worked so hard with some people to see that materialised, but it didn’t. I have been the president of Mezie Owerri, a socio-cultural and political organisation of the people of Owerri Zone. We have tried so hard in the past to see this dream come true, but we had always failed, for some reason. The first is that we are usually outnumbered by Orlu Zone, not by population, but by the number of local governments they have. Therefore, the number of local governments they have also affects the number of ward and delegates they have in any given political contest. In any political contest, Orlu Zone has a way of defeating Owerri and Orlu by the shere number of their local governments, wards, and delegates. If you don’t have the platform of a major political party, how can you be the governor of Imo State? You need to also know that in terms of spending, Orlu Zone may not naturally be richer than the people from Owerri Zone, but most politicians from Orlu Zone have mastered the art of politics more than the politicians from Owerri Zone. They are the ones who see politics as a vocation to invest in. Our people don’t see politics that way, and at the end of the day, a man from Orlu Zone who is convinced that he will be a governor would be willing to spend N110 out of his N100 to pursue his political dream. The average Owerri politician would barely spend N10 out of his N100. The Orlu man spends his N100 and borrows N10. It is only in Orlu Zone that you would see someone who is running for Senate or House of Representatives, and he sells the only plot of land he has in Owerri to pursue his political dream. If he loses, he packs his bags and go home. The Owerri man would do a lot of calculations and even debate it with his friends, and in the end, he would consider when his daughter would be going to the university, and you would see him withdraw from the race. All this put the Owerri man at a serious disadvantage for political contests for the office of the governor. What the Charter of Equity has done is to eliminate Orlu Zone from the governorship contest in 2027. The Owerri man would be contesting with his brother from Okigwe Zone. More importantly, the sitting governor who will be the outgoing governor in 2027 will support a successor from Owerri Zone. Who would he support? I do not know. So, for that reason, I support the Charter of Equity and for the Charter of Equity work, the governor must win. Otherwise, there is no guarantee that we would get a nomination to be governor in 2027. This is the selfish one. The other one is that whether the Charter of Equity or not, the vast majority of Imo people have agreed that the governor will be re-elected. Heaven knows that I support only a governor who is doing well. To start with, some governors are just too ordinary. When a governor pays salaries or constructs roads, why should I applaud him? These are the things he was elected to do. But when you have a governor who thinks out of the box, who does something in a different way and does them beyond what is expected of him, then I will applaud him. One of the things that attract me to the governor is the ease with which he seamlessly networks himself with the centre. I don’t know how he does it, but we have a governor who has mastered the art of networking with the centre, and he is in a position to negotiate for us. I have always told people that the allocations coming to Imo State are still there, but the governor goes the extra mile to get extra. It boosts the fortunes of the state. The governor has done so well at that. So, when you see people talk about the Owerri-Orlu Road and get excited, I think they get excited for the wrong reaons, or maybe I am the person who gets excited for the wrong reasons. Do you know why I am excited? The Federal Government had placed an embargo on state governments constructing Federal Government roads.  Even those who tried it did not get a refund. Do you know that Rochas tried to do it, but we know where we ended up with him. It took Governor Hope Uzodimma a lot of efforts to convince the Federal Government on the need to construct the Orlu-Owerri Road, but he got it done. That was at the time the Federal Government placed embargo on states getting involved with Federal Government roads, but the governor broke the jinx. I know because I am a witness, and I was part of a meeting with a minister, and I know the resistance that came. But the governor went to the powers that be and got the approval. While we were yet to settle the controversy that trailed the approval with some people up there, the governor moved again and got the approval for the Owerri-Okigwe Road, and while we were still there, the governor got the third approval. It is no small feat. All of this adds to the GDP of the state. You know that the previous governors had dreamt of upgrading the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Owerri, to the Federal University of Technology Owerri Teaching Hospital (FUTOTH). But the governor got it done. Not only that, the governor also got the conversion and upgrading of the Alvan Ikoku Federal College of Education, Owerri, to the Alvan Ikoku Federal University of Education, Owerri. If you don’t know what these mean to our healthcare and educational system, you should now know that these are great improvements in the healthcare and education sectors. While we were still talking about that, the governor got the approval for the Oguta Lake and Orashi River Development Project. Previous administrations had tinkered the idea, but it took someone who has the reach and vision to get it done. Don’t forget that he got the approval from the Federal Government that had placed an ambargo and even had an unofficial policy of not taking any project that has the potential to link us to the sea. There seemed to be an understanding that anything that has the potential to give us an international connection or anything that can give us security installations should be discouraged. But in spite of all the provocations of the unknown gunmen, the governor was able to get all the approvals from the Federal Government and got the Federal Government to set up a Naval Base in Oguta and to dredge the Oguta Lake and Orashi River. A free trade zone in the Southeast had been on the table for decades, but the governor has brought it to Imo State with the Oguta Lake and Orashi River Development Project. My local government, Ngor-Okpala, is covered in the free trade zone, and I am happy about it.