-Issues ‘No Candidate, No Vote’ ultimatum
Select representatives of political parties in Imo State have jointly signed a communiqué ceding the Ideato North State Constituency seat at the Imo State House of Assembly exclusively to Arondizuogu community for the 2027 general elections, warning that any party that violates the arrangement will face collective political resistance.
The Arondizuogu All Political Parties Summit, convened on May 2, 2026, deliberated on what it called the prolonged marginalisation of Arondizuogu in the representation of the constituency, noting that the community has been denied the opportunity to produce the state assembly member for over a decade. The summit stated that this exclusion has rendered the community voiceless in state-level affairs.
The communiqué, signed by convener Mazi Okey Obioha of the NRM, highlighted that Arondizuogu is currently recovering from a devastating period of insurgency and armed attacks on its indigenes, during which over 20 persons lost their lives. In this fragile recovery phase, the summit argued, the community urgently needs a strong voice in the assembly to attract state government attention, security interventions, and rebuilding support.
The communiqué noted that during the recent insurgency, help arrived far too late because the community had no elected representative to call for urgent state action, and that even after the attacks, it took a long time for relevant agencies and first responders to reach out.
The summit also pointed to the absence of basic amenities across Ideato North LGA, stating that besides rebuilt federal roads, there are no functional school infrastructure, hospitals, and notable public facilities, with what little that exists being already dilapidated.
The loss of legislative representation, the communiqué added, has severely limited development projects, government interventions, and timely emergency responses.
Arondizuogu stakeholders declared with finality that without a candidate from Arondizuogu for the Ideato North State Constituency seat in 2027, there will be no vote from the community for any parliamentary candidate, describing this as a principled stand against continued marginalisation.
The summit noted that the Mbanasaa bloc currently holds the House of Representatives seat for the area, and that in the spirit of fairness and political balance, it is only just that Arondizuogu be ceded the State Assembly seat.
The summit unanimously resolved that for the 2027 general elections, the Ideato North State Constituency seat is hereby ceded and micro-zoned exclusively to Arondizuogu community, and that Arondizuogu shall have the right of first refusal for the said seat, with no political party to field a candidate from any other ward or community within Ideato North. All parties represented agreed to abide by this zoning arrangement and shall nominate only qualified candidates of Arondizuogu origin. Any political party that violates this resolution, the communiqué warned, shall be considered an enemy of fairness and shall face the collective political resistance of Arondizuogu and allied stakeholders across Ideato nation.
The summit called on the Imo State Government, the leadership of all political parties, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), and the good people of Ideato North LGA to respect and uphold the resolution. Specifically, the state government was urged to note that Arondizuogu is rebuilding from insurgency, that there are barely functional schools and hospitals in any part of the community, and that ceding the seat is the first step towards correcting decades of neglect. “The voice of Arondizuogu shall be silenced no more,” the communiqué concluded.
