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From Uchenna Inya, Abakaliki
A social-cultural youth organisation in Ebonyi State, Ezza Ezekuna Youth Assembly (EEYA), has called for an end to the zoning formula in the state for the governorship seat.
The group said the state should rather replace zoning with competence, and credibility for a person to occupy the number one seat in the state.
The group stated this in Isu Achara, Onicha Local Government Area of the state, at the weekend, when they endorsed the governorship candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Ifeanyi Odii.
Addressing a mammoth crowd of the youth organisation and stakeholders of the PDP at the event, National President of Ezza Ezekuna Youth Assembly, Comrade Sunday Orogwu, said the purported rumpus zoning and charter of equity in the state has raped democracy and the economy of the state.
Orgowu argued that since the state was created in 1996 by the late General Sani Abacha and categorised into two blocs, Abakaliki and Afikpo, by its founding fathers, Abakaliki bloc has held the governorship position for 19 years, whereas Afikpo bloc has held the position for only eight years.
He said this accounted for why Ezza Ezekuna Youth Assembly is rooting for Chief Ifeanyi Odii for the 2027 governorship race.
“The purported rumpus zoning and charter of equity in Ebonyi State has done us more harm than good. It has raped our democracy and economy.
“We recall that Ebonyi State has founding fathers, saints and martyrs who laboured and paid the prices of Ebonyi State before it was created by late Gen. Sani Abacha on October 1, 1996, after 39 years of continuous struggle.
“These founding fathers have an oral covenant of how the governorship position should be rotated. So Ebonyi State foundation was laid on oral covenant.
“It is pertinent to note that Ebonyi State has 13 local government areas; Ohaukwu, Ebonyi, Izzi, Abakaliki, which is Ebonyi North central senatorial district, Ikwo, Ezza South, Ezza North, and Ishielu, which is Ebonyi central senatorial district, which make up Abakaliki bloc, while Afikpo bloc include; Afikpo, Edda, Ivo, Ohaozara, and Onicha local government areas, which make up Ebonyi South senatorial district.
“The issue-in-chief is that our founding fathers had a covenant that at the commencement of the government of Ebonyi State, if the capital is cited in one bloc, the other bloc should take the first executive governor.
“The oral trust was built with mutual and moral trust; at the end, capital was cited at Abakaliki bloc. Now, instead of the first executive governor to come from Afikpo bloc, Abakaliki, in vicious circle of political skullduggery in their cahoots, conspired and hijacked it through military influence of late Walter Aye Feghabor, the first military administrator of Ebonyi State.
“The Afikpo bloc wept like an orphan, hence, “if the foundation of a thing is destroyed, what can the righteous do?
“When Dr. Sam Egwu completed his eight years (1999-2007), Abakaliki bloc still, in their cahoots, hijacked it and zoned to Ikwo, in the name of Chief Martin Elechi from Ebonyi central senatorial district in the same Abakaliki bloc.
“At the completion of his eight years from 2007 to 2015, the same Abakaliki bloc, in the cahoots of their political chicanery, hijacked it again because Governor Martin Elechi, in People’s Democratic Party (PDP), fingered and sponsored Chief Edward Nkwegu, under the platform of the Labour Party (LP), to contest for governor of Ebonyi State, but, at the end, Chief David Umahi emerged, with the aid of his Afikpo bloc brothers and God-fearing Abakaliki people who showed sympathy, influenced by the “family of the then President of Nigeria, Goodluck Jonathan.
“Governor David Umahi from Ohaozara in Ebonyi State led from 2015-2023, completing his eight years. Then, instead of the Abakaliki bloc to show love, peace, understanding, and harmonious co-existence of the Ebonyi people and our founding fathers, to the Afikpo bloc, allowing them continue for the next eight years, then they conspired and robbed Chief Ifeanyi Odii, who contested under the platform of PDP and won free and fair, because Ebonyi people gave him the mandate”, he said.
Orogwu said the endorsement of Odii for the 2027 general election by the Ezza Ezekuna Youth Assembly, was done in the spirit of no retreat, no surrender, backward never, forward ever.
He urged the people of Ezza clan to behold and uphold Odii, describing him as their Messiah.
