When General Murtala Muhammed created Imo State in 1976 out of the old East Central State, Owerri was chosen as the capital, not out of sentiment or privilege, but for clear, strategic reasons. It was geographically central, culturally neutral, and administratively accessible. Owerri had long been an important administrative outpost, tracing back to colonial times when it served as a key British district headquarters. It was the hub of Shell’s early oil operations from the 1930s, operating from what is still known today as Shell Camp. Owerri was a natural choice, a capital city waiting for official recognition.
But that decision, rational and unifying as it may have seemed, planted a seed of silent resentment. In the decades that followed, a quiet bias took root and grew, one that now stalks the political landscape of Imo like a ghost, whispering that the people who host the seat of power must never occupy it.
Owerri became the capital, yet it has never been supported like it supports other zones to govern. It was designated to house power, but not to hold it. Government buildings rose, roads were built, institutions established. Yet, Owerri sons and daughters were kept at arm’s length from the real levers of political leadership. The capital hosted the government, but its soul and control were shipped elsewhere.
Since Nigeria’s return to democracy in 1999, the Owerri Zone has not once produced a governor. Not once. Orlu Zone has dominated the scene, producing three governors across nearly 22 years. Okigwe has had a full term stint. But Owerri? It remains the only zone yet to truly taste the fruits of leadership in Imo’s Fourth Republic. And every time a credible, widely-accepted candidate rises from Owerri Zone, a wave of contrived underground opposition follows, laced with ridicule, spurious lame and dumb arguments, and suspicious roadblocks.
Suddenly, it is no longer about merit, competence, or vision. Instead, we’re told Owerri people are “too elite,” “too fragmented,” or “already privileged” because the capital is located there. These are not arguments born of logic or justice, they are excuses rooted in fear, envy, and an entrenched political status quo.
Ask yourself: In which other South-East state is the capital city zonally punished for simply being the capital? Do Enugu, Awka, Abakaliki, or Umuahia suffer such political penalties? Are the people of those capital zones told they “have enough already”? The notion that Owerri should not produce a governor because it is the capital is both absurd, dumb, daft and dangerous. No truly democratic society should normalize such a warped metric for leadership eligibility.
The narrative against Owerri is not new, it has been nurtured over time with strategic intent by a new self serving and greedy political class. The zone is labeled “elitist” while the real political entrenchment flourishes elsewhere. It is accused of lacking grassroots unity, yet its sons and daughters have served the state and nation with distinction, Late Senator Evan Enwerem, Captain Emmanuel Ihenacho, Chief Martin Agbaso, the late Humphrey Anumudu, Rt Hon. Emeka Ihedioha, Amb. Kema Chikwe, Senator Chris Anyanwu, and many more.
In 1992, Owerri Zone briefly held the governorship through Evan Enwerem. That chapter was tragically cut short by the military. By 1999, during the dawn of the Fourth Republic, Owerri won the PDP primaries, but in a gesture of goodwill and zonal balance, the zone stepped back and allowed Orlu to take the first shot at democratic leadership. It was an honourable act, one we now look back on with mixed emotions. That single gesture has snowballed into decades of political exclusion.
In 2007, Martin Agbaso won the April 14th election, but as INEC prepared to announce the election results, his momentum was undercut by a scandalous electoral betrayal by few political buccaneers from Okigwe who conspired to stop the announcement and cancel the election. In 2011, Owerri’s fragmented field of candidates became a tool of political sabotage, delivering victory yet again to Orlu. And in the last two election cycles, 2019 and 2023, Owerri contenders were once again either controversially dislodged or rigged out, not for lack of vision, but for being from the “wrong” zone in their perception.
Let it be clear: the call for an Owerri Zone governor in 2027 is not a cry for charity. It is not borne out of desperation, entitlement, or sentiment. It is a call for balance. A call for equity. A call for justice long denied. The argument is not that Owerri must govern because it is owed, it is that Owerri deserves to govern because it has earned it.
A state cannot claim to be progressing when one-third of its population is systematically excluded from the highest office. We cannot continue to build a society on the fault lines of manipulation and exclusion and expect peace and unity. Imo is blessed with gifted people in every zone, but true unity only comes when every zone is allowed to play its part, not just host the stage.
Owerri is not begging, it is rising. It is standing tall with dignity, demanding a place at the table it helped set. If democracy means representation, if justice means inclusion, then Owerri Zone must take its rightful turn.
Let the greed for power give way to the grace of fairness. Let the tired, lame and dumb excuses cease. Let the sabotage stop. Imo cannot continue to recycle power while leaving the heart of the state politically orphaned.
Let 2027 be the year when the capital becomes more than a backdrop, when Owerri Zone leads, not because it is the capital, but because it is capable, ready, and long overdue.
By Hon. Chima Nnadi-Oforgu (Duruebube Uzii na Abosi)
OBLONG MEDIA UNLIMITED 
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