The issue of which zone between Okigwe and Owerri will produce the next Governor of Imo State after Orlu Zone has taken another dimension as a new political group, Owerri Zone Peoples Mandate (OWZOPEM), was birthed over the weekend.
The new group is championed by Prof. Vitalis Orikeze Ajumbe, Capt. David Mbamara, who is now designated as the Chairman of the new group, and Chief Mike Nwachukwu, who is designated as the Chairman of the Strategic Committee of the group.
In a communique raised after their first meeting held in Owerri on Saturday, June 29, the group resolved to set up a high-powered committee tasked with reaching out to Okigwe Zone through Okigwe Global Elders Forum and Orlu Zone through Orlu Political Consultative Assembly (OPOCA). They stated that the major aim of reaching out to Okigwe is to avoid a clash of interests in their respective quests to produce the next Governor of the state.
The communique further stated that the group will write to the people of Ohaji/Egbema regarding their decision to remain in Imo State following the agitation for creating Orlu State. They also commended Governor Hope Uzodinma for the good works he is doing in the state and his support for Owerri Zone to produce the next Governor of the state.
The aims and objectives of the meeting were contained in a communique issued to journalists, which included a resolution to communicate as soon as possible with those championing the cause of Okigwe Zone, particularly the Okigwe Global Elders Forum led by HRH Eze Oliver Ohanweh, to reach an understanding with them and avoid a clash of interests of the two zones in their respective quests to produce the next Governor of the state.
