Chief Vitalis Orikeze Ajumbe is a household name in Imo State politics. He hails from Ikeduru LGA in Owerri Zone, Imo State. He is a former state chairman of the All Nigerian Peoples Party (ANPP) for eight years, former governorship aspirant under the Progressive People’s Alliance (PPA), and former campaign chairman for Bukka Abba Ibrahim for president. He was chairman, management committee of the Imo Broadcasting Corporation (IBC) Radio and TV, Commissioner for Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) and Pensions, Commissioner for Information, Tourism and Public Utilities, a member of the Child Adoption Review Committee, and the chairman of the Pensions Verification Committee, among others. In this interview, Ajumbe speaks on the charter of equity and the 2027 governorship election, noting that Owerri Zone and the Catholic Church should apologize to Ohakim for the lie that he beat a Reverend Father. He asserts that the charter of equity favours Okigwe Zone, not Owerri Zone, to produce the governor in 2027. Excerpts:
Please tell us about yourself for the purpose of this interview.
Thank you very much. My name is Vitalis Orikeze Ajumbe. I am from Amaimo in Ikeduru Local Government. I am from the Owerri Zone, where some people are agitating for the governorship come 2027. I am a one-time state chairman of the ANPP for eight years when ANPP was the second largest political party after the PDP in Imo State. I took my party members to Zamfara State, where ANPP was dissolved to form APC. So, if I am talking about Imo politics, I am talking from the point of knowing it very well. I am also a one-time national publicity secretary of the PPA. I was also the chairman of the presidential campaign organization of Bukka Abba Ibrahim when he ran for president in 2007. But because of Buhari’s interest at Eagle Square, all the aspirants withdrew for him. Otherwise, Bukka Abba would have gotten the ANPP ticket at that time. So, when you see me associating with the North, you can now know how because it was through Bukka Abba that I went into Northern politics.
Back home, I think you ran for governorship at a time.
Yes. I did, but I was talking about my romance with Northern politicians and their politics.
I want you to bring it home.
Here in Imo, I ran for governorship under the PPA in 2015. I was also the deputy governorship candidate for the ANPP. When I came out to run for governor under PPA, we agreed that Orji Uzor Kalu should run for president. All of us know Orji very well. So, my calculation then was that Oji running for president, would try to deliver Imo and Abia. That was why I ventured into it. But, towards the tail of the journey, he had a meeting with Ohanaeze Ndigbo, who came to his house in Abuja. He invited me to come to Abuja, and I went to Abuja accordingly, but I didn’t know why he wanted me to be in Abuja until the meeting was over. He just told me that Ohanaeze Ndigbo was paying him a courtesy call. I didn’t know he had already arranged with them, agreeing to withdraw from the presidential contest. So, before television cameras, he said: “Well, you are the people I want to represent. If you people want me to withdraw, I will withdraw”. You see where my aspiration died. That was how I now joined Rochas Okorocha. He sent his deputy, Prince Eze Madumere, to come to me. That was actually the time Ohakim was running for another term n office under another party. It was in 2015, right? Ohakim was running for governorship, and Rochas was also running for his second tenure.
Are you a member of the Imo State Elders Council?
I am not a member of the Imo State Elders Council, but unfortunately, the council has been politicized. Maybe only those who are close to the governor were considered to be eligible. Because in the actual fact, at my age of 64, and my knowledge of Imo politics, I am supposed to be a member.
Do you think that the elders council can take a position that can be binding on the whole of Imo State?
I don’t think so, and it is not possible for them to do so. It is not written anywhere that they should do so. Whatever position they take has to do with the way they take it. Their position cannot be binding on Imo State. We are running a democracy and not an autocracy.
From your perspective, could you tell us a brief story about how the charter of equity came to be and why we are where we are today?
There hasn’t been anything called the charter of equity in the true sense. The charter of equity you hear about nowadays is something that was created by the PDP in Imo in order to solve their internal problems. They would tell you that the charter of equity was a pan-Imo thing, but that is not the case because at the time it was rumoured to have started, those who started it did so because of their selfish interests. At that time, Senator Evan Enwerem (may his soul rest in peace) was running for the Senate. Other people like the late Humphrey Anumodu from Owerri Zone were running for governorship. Enwerem and Anumodu were both from Owerri Zone and the same federal constituency. But the dilemma was how the PDP could produce both a senator and a governor from the same ederal constituency. The PDP leaders from Owerri Zone agreed that the governorship should move to Orlu Zone even when Anumodu was said to have won the primary election. They told him to wait for the next time. and they took the person who was said to have come fourth or fifth in the primary election and made him the candidate. They did all that in order to pave the way for Evan Enwerem because he had told them he would be the Senate President, which he later became. It was because of their personal interests in making Enwerem the Senate President that made them do what they called the charter of equity. Besides, it’s a PDP thing. At the time, we had the ANPP and other political parties. The so-called charter of equity was not binding on other political parties who also fielded candidates for that election. But it was unfortunate that they denied Anumudu that opportunity to be governor.
At what point did that arrangement collapse?
The arrangement is still under the PDP. The former Governor Ikedi Ohakim was also in the PDP at the time. So, we can talk about how the so-called charter of equity collapsed under the PDP, not under Imo State, after the end of the Achike Udenwa administration. According to them, they had agreed under the PDP’s charter of equity, that the next zone will take the governorship, which means the PDP and the governor would decide which zone would take the next turn. At that time, they said that the governorship should go to Okigwe Zone. In the end, Ikedi Ohakim became the governor under the PDP’s charter of equity, and he was supposed to serve for eight years, the same way Udenwa served for eight years for Orlu Zone. But our people in Owerri Zone manufactured fiction, what I may call propaganda against Ohakim.
They said he flogged a Reverend Father. I personally went to see the Reverend Father they claimed that Ohakim flogged, Reverend Father Eustace Okere at Ohaji, where he was serving. When I asked him whether it was true that Ohakim flogged him, he ssid it was a lie; that Ohakim never flogged him, that he didn’t even see Ohakim. But my annoyance is, why did he keep quiet all this while an innocent person was being persecuted for what he did not do? It was the church that carried the lie. Before you knew it, the Catholic Church had sung a song about “Onye ahu kuru father ihe, o gaghi achi onyi ozo”, meaning the man who beat a Reverend Father will not govern us again. The church started and spread it like wildfire. It started from Owerri Zone. Our people of Owerri Zone are the people who did all of that, and I can even mention names. Someone like the late Chief P. C. Onuoha was among them. All the aspirants from Owerri stepped down for Rochas. So, what I’m trying to say is that Owerri people scuttled Ohakim’s second term, and they need to apologize. They gave their support to Orlu to undermine the interest of Okigwe and scuttle what they called the charter of equity. So, that charter of equity collapsed in 2011. They may have considered that Okigwe is a smaller place with six local governments, and what could they do? But one thing they failed to know is that Okigwe is closer to Orlu, and Orlu is more aligned to Okigwe than Owerri. We didn’t allow Okigwe to finish their tenure of eight years. We threw Okigwe out. That’s how the charter of equity got scuttled.
Now, after scuttling the charter of equity, you are coming again for it. You vomited something, and you want to lick it again? You now say that the elders council said this, His Excellency said that.Yeah, His Excellency can say anything to win a second tenure. After saying that, what happens? If you believe in the charter of equity, you will go back to where you scuttled it in 2011; that is, Okigwe taking it again to complete their tenure. It could be any person. And that person must swear. Regrettably, nowadays, political oath-taking doesn’t work anymore. I have heard of aspirants who swore before the Blessed Sacrament and knelt down and swore before the Archbishop Obinna that they would do one term and ended up doing two terms. So, I don’t know which juju they will use for the person from Okigwe to swear that he would do only one term. But there is only one person who has the constitutional limitation to run for only one term. That person is Ohakim.
Some other people from Owerri also think that if Imo people want to get the charter of equity right, it should return to the point where it collapsed – somebody like Ndaa Bob Njemanze.
Ndaa Bobo advised the people of Owerri Zone to align with Okigwe Zone if they want to realize their own governorship ambition. Yes. I agree with Ndaa Bobo in toto. I also agree with Chief Mike Nwachukwu, who has also been speaking out on this issue. Our people in Owerri Zone are chasing shadow. You see, when this interview comes out, they will attack the person and not the issue. They will call me names, even though I don’t care. They will not look into the matter to see whether what we are saying have substance. Ndaa Bobo made it very clear how Owerri will realize the governorship. If Owerri wants to base their argument on this charter of equity, they should mend fences with Okigwe. It is either Owerri apologizes to Okigwe for what they did in 2011 or Okigwe says: “Ok, Owerri Zone, there is no problem; we have forgiven you, we are now supporting you”. Without Okigwe, Owerri will not make it. And if Okigwe says, “No, support us since we have only four years”, it is also good. The Owerri Zone can accept it because four years is not a long time. Before you knew it, it was over.
It is very simple. That’s what I think it should be. Otherwise, the constitution empowers you to run from any zone. All this issue about zoning is not constitutional. It’s an arrangement, and if the constitution empowers you, and you think that you have what it takes to challenge any other aspirant from any zone, you should come out and run. If I am going to run, if there’s no other person capable of running, and I am out to run, I am going to run not because I am from Owerri Zone, not because it’s a charter of equity, not because it’s my right. I will run because I have what it takes to run. I am competent and qualified to challenge any other candidate from any zone. But if you hinge the contest on the charter of equity, you are being beggarly. And if you want it to be a charter of equity contest, you must go back to 2011 and start it there. That’s the way I see it.
There have been arguments and counter-argument on this issue. And for somebody like you, a leader of note from Owerri Zone, to take the position you are taking, do you think your people will listen to you?
Well, there are reasonable people in Owerri Zone whom I believe will listen to me. There are reasonable people in Owerri Zone who think the way I think, who think the way Ndaa Bobo thinks, who think the way Mike Nwanchukwu thinks, who think the way many others who are afraid to speak out are thinking. And at last, it will happen the way the three of us proposed it. The Owerri Zone will never smell government house without a quid pro quod with Okigwe Zone. It can never happen. If they want to think the other way, let them do so. Let them put in their money and lose it. This is if Orlu Zone will not come out again and run for governorship. I have heard that a lot of them have started hosting meetings to discuss the 2027 governorship election. I have heard of Uche Nwosu and so many others. That is their right, and you can’t stop them. The constitution did not say that Orlu Zone should not run. If Orlu Zone has somebody who is better than any other person, who can defeat any other candidate in Owerri Zone and who will give us good governance, let the person step out and run. In America, while George Bush Snr was a president, two of his children were governors in different states, and when he died, one of his children became the president of America. I heard his other son is also an aspirant in the November election. So, is there anything wrong with it? What we need is good governance because the charter of equity can breed mediocrity.
You mentioned the roles the church and some people in Owerri Zone played in removing Ohakim in 2011, especially using the false allegation that he beat a Reverend Father. Are you worried that despite compelling evidence that Ohakim did not beat the Reverend Father, the church has not apologized?
I am worried that the church has not apologized even after having found the truth. We all go to church, and the church preaches forgiveness and fairness – do unto others what you would want them do to you. The church preaches that you should seek forgiveness when you offend someone. Particularly, the Catholic Church preaches confession of sin. If you go to church to confess, those who started the false allegation that Ohakim flogged a Reverend Father when he did not do so and others who played one role or the other in it, should also confess. If they have done the confession secretly, as somebody told me, that one of the leaders of that group has confessed, then it should be made open. Let the whole of Imo people hear it. It should not be a secret thing.
That was why I was happy when I went to Enugu with Ohakim some years ago on the invitation of Reverend Father Ejike Mbaka, who composed the song against Ohakim. He is the person we can say has somehow apologized, even though he was also the person who did the song. But in his own way, he apologized in front of everyone during a Sunday church service, and it was recorded in video, and the video went viral. Let those in Owerri also apologize.
Some people in Owerri Zone argue that the zone hasn’t produced a governor since 1999. Is this claim accurate in your opinion?
That is not correct. Owerri Zone has produced governors. Our zone produced Evan Enwerem. So whatever happened to him will not be seen to mean that Owerri Zone has not produced a governor. Owerri Zone produced him, but the army took over and sacked him. Owerri Zone also produced Ihedioha. He stayed in the office for about seven months. Mistake on his part or mistake from wherever and he lost it, it means that Owerri Zone produced governor for two times. Ihedioha was removed by the court, not Imo people. However, Owerri has been producing deputy governors who stayed. Owerri produced Ada Okwuonu, Jude Agbaso, Eze Madumere, Placid Njoku, and Chinyere Ekomaru. Okigwe Zone has produced only one deputy governor. Deputy governors are sworn in alongside governors. They were voted on the same day. What it means is that for all these years that Orlu Zone has been in government, it has been Owerri Zone producing the deputies. Even the Ohakim administration had the deputy from Owerri Zone. It means that Owerri Zone has been in power all these years since 1999, and they have been ruling with Orlu Zone in joint-tickets. They cannot come out now to claim marginalization. It is Okigwe Zone that has been marginalized.
You see, we should do this politics with conscience. Many people don’t have a conscience. They are only interested in what benefits them. I don’t care what people will say after the interview. If anybody wants to challenge me openly, I will accept the challenge. I know they will abuse me for my honest opinion. They will abuse me the way they are abusing those who are saying the truth. But that will not give them what they want. The major thing is for people to do the right thing at all times. Let me say it here without mincing words, I am ready to support any Owerri candidate who wants to run on the basis that he is qualified, not on the charter of equity. If you are claiming a charter of equity, I will not support you. I would rather come out and run, not based on the charter of equity. But the caveat I have here is that if Ohakim, for example, is running, if they charter the equity goes to Okigwe, and it is given to Ohakim to run, I will not run.
You have talked about this a bit, but let us discuss it a bit more. What do you think went wrong in 2011 that cost Ikedi Ohakim his re-election as governor, paving the way for Okorocha to step in?
The lies against Ohakim sponsored by very influential people and spread by the church were quite heavy at the time. They didn’t say that Ohakim wasn’t performing well as governor. Ohakim was doing well as governor, and everyone saw it. They couldn’t have said that he was not doing well. So, they chose the blackmail and used religion to remove him. It was unfortunate that the Catholic Church played into the hands of some desperate politicians.
Some leaders in Owerri Zone are going about holding meetings trying to convince people for the 2027 governorship. Does it mean they don’t understand these issues?
Maybe they don’t understand the issues. I have been around, and I understood the issues. Don’t mind those people who are talking. You can’t be living in London and then fly in to be a governor. People like us are people who are qualified to be governors. As of now, the only aspirant I am hearing his voice and reading writeups about his ambition is Ohakim. Mention one person from Owerri Zone who says he wants to run. You can’t hear about any person. All of them are afraid to come out and say “I want to run”.They are all waiting for when the governor will handpick them.
But Ohakim himself has not said he wants to run for the 2027 governorship.
Yes, Ohakim has not said that he would run, but the body movement has shown that. If he goes to Ohaji to talk, we will know, and we will find out one or two lines there. You know we are into politics. We will know that he is showing interest. The boys who are now talking against Okigwe Zone, we also know why they are talking. But if Ohakim is running, well, that would be good for Imo State, too. That’s all I want to say. But in Owerri Zone, no person has come out to say “I want to run”, apart from myself, based on some conditions.