Why the Zoning Agreement in Isi-uzo Should Not be Broken

By Anayochukwu Agbo

Even among thieves, they say, there is honour. But in Nigerian politics, integrity is the first casualty of vaulting ambition and imperialism. In the Igbo traditional village democracy with its republican flamboyance, trust and integrity, communities respect agreements with other communities and their representatives in inter-community collaborations reflect this philosophy, a break of which may lead to war.

The five communities that make up Isi-uzo Local Government Area – Ikem, Eha Amufu, Mbu, Neke and Umuero – share cultural and blood affinities. Known as Igboise, they have always intuitively shared what comes to the Council with mutual respect and contentment. This harmony was carried into the zoning of political offices in the Local Government since 1999 and has been working seamlessly, until May 24.

It came as a shock to the other four communities in Isi-uzo when the All Progressives Congress, APC, announced that an Eha Amufu aspirant had been chosen as the party’s candidate for the coming Local Government election. 

This was more astonishing because the incumbent Chairman, Obiora Obeagu, who is rounding up his second term, is from Eha-Amufu. 

First, Francis Ede, an aide of Chijioke Edeoga, gubernatorial candidate of Labour Party in the 2023 election and the APC candidate for Enugu East/Isi-uzo Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives for the 2027 elections, was announced as the chosen one. 

There was an uproar. Then suddenly, the ticket was switched to Brendan Ani, a business man and a said benefactor of Edeoga.

Another uproar followed. Both men are from Eha Amufu. Both are close associates of Edeoga who has already been given the House of Representatives ticket by the party.

Two wrongs have been executed to make one right by might. Instant disharmony, discord and animosity erupted to disrupt the peace, unity and affiliation that existed among the communities.

So obviously, Governor Peter Mba may have got the wrong briefings. But nothing is settled until it is settled right. The Federal House ticket given to Edeoga is widely believed to be a compensation for his loss of the gubernatorial seat to Mba in 2023. Having been a member of the House from 1999 to 2023, it was thought Edeoga should have been compensated with the Senate ticket for Enugu East that has been held by the Nkanu axis since 1999. 

The present Senator, Kelvin Chukwu, an emergency replacement for his brother who was murdered in the buildup to the 2023 election, is very anonymous in the Red Chamber and the constituents felt he should be replaced by a vibrant voice. But Chukwu got the nod. 

Surprisingly, the incumbent Representative, Professor Paul Nnamchi, unarguably the best federal lawmaker from Enugu State, was rather denied a second term and the ticket given to Edeoga. Both men are friends but in politics, the jungle is neutral and all’s fair in battle. 

Both men were in Labour Party where the Peter Obi tsunami swept the polls in 2023. Both men recently decamped from LP; Nnamchi to APC and Edeoga to PDP, from where he joined the entourage of Mba to APC. In denying Nnamchi the ticket for a second term, despite his sterling performance in the Green Chamber, Mba was said to have been guided by the zoning agreement between Enugu East and Isi-uzo who share the federal constituency. 

Enugu East had served one term under PDP before Nnamchi dislodged the party with LP in 2023. In other words, he completed the second term of Enugu East. That was the argument. That is how sacrosanct the zoning is seen to be. 

Isi-Uzo stakeholders were said to have visited Governor Mba and urged him to uphold the zoning agreement in his choice of candidate. They also visited the elders and stakeholders of Enugu East and reminded them to respect the zoning agreement. And they did.

Back home in Isi-Uzo, a mutation occurred. Shockingly! The same Edeoga who got House of Reps ticket on the argument of zoning, felt no scruples about disrupting the zoning relay in Isi-Uzo chairmanship election. It is argued that the chairmanship ticket was an additional reward to the Reps ticket, which was considered too low for the governorship seat he lost.

Be that as it may, Edeoga could, and should have, chosen any of his political associates from Isi-Uzo Central to fill the position and maintain the political and communal harmony in Isi-uzo, if indeed Isi-Uzo has been parceled out to him as additional payoff for political karmic burdens.

In politics, decisions are arrived at through consensus. Problems are solved by emotional crowdfunding to give all stakeholders a sense of belonging. It follows that if there was an overriding reason for the zoning formula to be reset it should have been re-negotiated among the parties to the agreement. The hypodermic needle manner the imposition was hoisted on the people and so-called stakeholders is a setback to the gains of democracy since 1999. 

It is a call to anarchy and recriminations. Already, the once serene local government is on fire following the imposition of Brendan Ani, who is alleged to have substantially contributed to Edeoga’s campaign fund in 2023.

Before now Isi-Uzo has had council chairmen who delivered popular governorship candidates of the ruling party in the state not minding their town, development centre or ward. Osita Ogene, Eha Amufu Ward One, as chairman, delivered Gov Chimaroke Nnamani in 2003 and delivered Gov Sullivan Chime in 2007. 

Prof Sam Ugwu of Ikem Ward Two, delivered Gov Chime in 2011; while Augustine Nnamani of Neke Ward One delivered Gov Ugwuanyi in 2015 in one of the fiercest electoral battles in Enugu State. 

In 2019, Dr Benji Edeoga of Amaede, Eha Amufu Ward Four, delivered Gov. Ugwuanyi's second tenure. 

In 2023, Obiora Obegu from Eha Amufu Ward Three as chairman could not deliver Gov Peter Mba as PDP lost to Labour Party through the Peter Obi tsunami. Obegu could not even deliver his polling booth let alone the entire local government despite his coming from Eha Amufu.

This breakdown shows that the birth place of a local government chairman does not necessarily determine how the votes sway; rather, it is the performance of the governor.

Chizoba Ugwueze, Councilor representing Ikem Ward One in Isi-Uzo Legislative Council, captured the anomaly in graphic details: “I write with deep concern as a son of Isi-Uzo to express my disappointment over how the zoning/rotation of the LGA chairmanship has been handled.

"Isi-Uzo LGA has three development centres for a reason: Isi-Uzo Central, Eha-Amufu, and Amanyi. The spirit of zoning and rotation was meant to give all three centres a sense of belonging, equity, and equal stake in leadership. That spirit is now under threat.

“The facts are clear: Eha-Amufu produced a chairman for four years and completed a full tenure. Power was then handed over to Amanyi, but that tenure lasted only two years before Eha-Amufu took over again. Since then, Eha-Amufu has held the seat till date, and now ahead of the coming LGA election, the ticket is being zoned back to Eha-Amufu again. This is not rotation. This is exclusion.

“What has Isi-Uzo Central Development Centre done to deserve this? We are not strangers in Isi-Uzo. We are stakeholders. We contribute to the growth, votes, and peace of this LGA just like every other centre. Denying Isi-Uzo Central the chairmanship while one centre keeps returning breaks the trust that holds us together. It creates division, resentment, and the feeling that some sons and daughters of Isi-Uzo matter more than others.

“I appeal to our leaders, stakeholders, and party elders: let justice and equity prevail. Honor the zoning arrangement that our fathers agreed on. Allow Isi-Uzo Central Development Centre to produce the next chairman. This is not about fighting Eha-Amufu or Amanyi; it is about fairness. When every centre is carried along, Isi-Uzo wins. When one centre dominates, Isi-Uzo bleeds.

“Please, let the coming election correct this imbalance. Let Isi-Uzo Central Development Centre have its turn. That is the only way we can build a united, peaceful, and progressive Isi-Uzo LGA that we will all be proud to call home,” he concluded.

According to Dr Davidson Nnamani, a committed member of the APC from Ikem Ward One, Edeoga may have misled Gov. Mba into taking that decision. 

“Gov Mba has done well across board and should win votes not minding where the chairman comes from. Imposing an obscure Brendan Ani from Aguamede, a farm settlement of Amede that had previously produced Dr Benji Edeoga as chairman, will be putting a knife into what held Isi-Uzo together. And things will fall apart.

“Eha Amufu Ward One has produced council chairman while Ikem Ward One, the host community of the local government headquarters, and Umuero, who make up Isiuzo Central, are yet to produce a chairman. And now it is their turn to do so, Edeoga is scheming unfairly to return it back to Eha Amufu. This is an aberration with far-reaching implications for the local government area and the local communities.”

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He argues further, “If, however, there is an overriding argument for the ticket to remain in Eha Amufu, after Obegu’s two terms, it should go to Eha Amufu Ward Two, Umuhu, which like Ikem Ward One, has not produced a local government chairman since 1998. The other three wards have taken their turns in Ogene, Dr Edeoga and Obegu of Ward One, Four and Three respectively. In fairness, it should reach all the wards before any ward should take a second slot.”

It is being canvassed that voting strength may have swayed the Governor’s decision. But Nnamani says this does not follow: “This is a deceitful and wrong narrative, an afterthought. Isi-Uzo generally vote party and candidates, not the birth place of the council chairman.

Gov Mba should not be deceived by Nicodemuses that abound in Isi-Uzo to truncate the zoning agreement surviving on rotation for the past 27 years of democracy. It will have a backlash and open the flanks to other parties in the election. It is not late to correct the mistake as the Governor is known for his fairness and peaceful disposition to issues.”

Professor Chidi Odo, a United States based professor of criminology, said it is an eye opener. “This narrative highlights the high-handed approach by Edeoga and his cohorts. The level of partiality meted by the Edeoga’s political group on the people of Ikem is intolerable.”

According to Dr Martin Okwor, the electoral advantage being canvassed by the Edeoga group is baseless. “Barr Obegu had only three votes in his polling unit in 2023 gubernatorial election. Also in the 2023 election the total registered voters for Isiuzo was 80,433. From the above, Eha Amufu has a total of 39,199 registered voters or 48.7 percent; while the rest of Igboano Isi-Uzo has 51.3 percent. The 60 percent voters claimed by Eha is not true.”

Chijoke Edeoga’s role in this development comes as a disappointment to most Isiuzo people. In 2023, they showed an uncommon solidarity with him in Labour Party, despite being a then core PDP Area Council, a support that cost Ikem Ward One its member of the Enugu State House of Assembly. If conscience plays any role in politics, this sacrifice should be enough for him to support Ikem Ward One to produce the chairman. It would have been the first opportunity for Edeoga to show that the whole local government is his primary constituency by selflessly supporting Ikem Ward One to take their slot.

The wild celebrations that accompanied this heist suggested an imperial conquest. A subjugation of justice by a whim of the political fortune wheel. So what will Edeoga tell his supporters in Ikem that made him use the very first opportunity at his disposal to cheat the host community of the local government secretariat? 

Can the people still be confident that he is their brother and would protect their interests at the House of Representatives, if he denied them of their entitlement back home? Where is the statesmanship of a man who has been in the corridors of power for over 30 years only to return home to play an intra-ethnic card and disrupt decades of camaraderie among closely linked communities?

The level of marginalization meted by Edeoga and his political group on the people of Ikem highlights his high-handedness and selfishness. There is still time for him to make amends by apologizing for the error and reversing the ticket to Ikem Ward One or in the least, Umuero ward. Anything in the contrary confirms Edeoga as an archaic despot whose empire crashes not longer than held.

Anayochukwu Agbo is the General Editor of Tell Magazine.