Professor Ukachukwu Awuzie, a former President of Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, has picked holes on the current Imo Charter of Equity, describing the document which seeks to institutionalize the rotation of the office of the governor in Imo State, as lacking the necessary content to solve the problems of the state squarely, hence not aligning with the visions and dreams of the founding fathers who initially proposed it for the state.

Addressing a press conference on the matter in Owerri on Saturday, Professor Awuzie, however, advocated for a new Charter of Equity to address the challenges of the state holistically, including infrastructural and developmental inequalities in the state. The initiative, though not new, he admitted, but chided its current version proposed and adopted by the Imo Council of Elders as being a single item programme centred only on the rotation of the governorship position among the three zones of the state without also incorporating modalities for enforcement and implementation. 

Professor Awuzie, who was also a one-time Vice Chancellor of Imo State University, IMSU, said that unless a new Equity Charter was carried out to address the critical areas omitted in the document, including subjecting it to public debate which would promote general input, acceptance and compliance, the document may not be able to make meaningful and sustainable impacts in meeting the yearnings and aspirations of all sections of the state.

His statement: "The Charter of Equity, a welcomed development in political evolution of Imo State, was aimed at ensuring harmony, peace, even development, justice, fairness in the governance of the state. The Charter, though hurriedly designed and hence lacking in comprehensiveness, was expected to be congruent with the visions and dreams of the founding fathers of Imo State. The founding fathers had agreed that Imo State must be governed based on a set of principles and guidelines which they had articulated and christened the Imo Charter of Equity.

"Yet, the leadership of the Imo Council of Elders and the Imo State administration must be commended for coming to accept that it is only through ensuring social justice, equity, and fairness in the distribution of constitutionally provided for political positions; the location and of government projects/infrastructures, that this Charter can be implemented to create value for the generality of Imolites.

"However, the current version of the Charter of Equity, needs to be given content and rendered all-encompassing to guarantee justice and fairness to the populace of the three geopolitical zones of the state. To achieve this objective, securing a collective buy-in into the programme by Imo people remains imperative. Also, to effectively operationalize and sustain the tenets of this Charter, a critical appraisal of its content, the nexus between its inherent facets and the contributions towards the attainment of set objectives is required.

"The current Charter of Equity appears to be solely the product of interactions amongst the members of the Elders Council and, between the Council and the present Government. As such, its content were not subjected to any public debate, discussions or hearings. Therefore, it can be considered elitist and excluding all interest groups involved in advancing the state's development. Furthermore, it has been described in certain quarters as a product of the All Progressive Congress (APC) and hence partisan."

He described as unhealthy and inequitable the current locations of infrastructural and developmental projects which he said favoured Owerri Zone against that of Orlu and Okigwe, and added: "It can be seen that Orlu and Okigwe Zones do not boast of any significant federal presence in terms of educational and healthcare-related establishments. Is the Imo Charter of Equity not expected to ensure that future federal government projects due to Imo State be sited at Orlu or Okigwe through its contents or is this not part of Equity?

The elder statesman, accompanied by Engr. Benjamin Ehirim, Barrister Hycent Mbachu and Engr. Nnawuihe Nwauwa, also faulted the absence of inbuilt implementation and enforcement framework, as well as stating clearly which zone comes first in the rotational sequence being proposed, disclosing that this was capable of triggering misunderstanding between Owerri and Okigwe zones. 

He, therefore, advocated for a new and holistic Charter of Equity that guarantees in words, letter, spirit and content, equity to all sections of the state, urging against limiting the exercise to the position of the governor only, but to other key positions and infrastructure. Accordingly, this would help to eradicate fears of marginalization and palpable injustices existing against some groups and clans in the state like the Isu Clan (Nwangele, Isu, Njaba and Nkwerre) which he said should be considered for the office of the Secretary to the State Government as the Clan has not occupied any sensitive position in the state.