The battle over who should represent Imo State’s Ideato Federal Constituency in 2027 has taken a fresh turn, with former House of Representatives member Rufus Omeire rejecting claims that the seat is governed by a zoning arrangement between Ideato North and Ideato South.
Omeire, the Action Peoples Party (APP) senatorial candidate for Imo West, said the zoning argument was being used to undermine the re-election bid of incumbent lawmaker Ikenga Imo Ugochinyere, who chairs the House Committee on Petroleum Resources (Downstream).
Speaking in a statement issued on Wednesday, Omeire warned that attempts to create tension around zoning could trigger an unnecessary crisis in the constituency. He insisted that voters, rather than an informal rotational arrangement, had always determined who represented Ideato.
“We don’t have zoning, and he [Ugochinyere] can’t be a product of what does not exist,” Omeire said.
The former lawmaker, who is from Ideato South, pointed to his own political history as evidence. He said he had sought a second term when he previously represented the constituency because there was no established zoning arrangement preventing lawmakers from seeking re-election.
Omeire also argued that Ugochinyere’s victory in the 2023 election further weakened the zoning argument. Ugochinyere defeated then-incumbent Paschal Obi, who is from Ideato South, despite the claims that the federal seat should rotate between the two local government areas.
The APP candidate urged constituents to consider continuity when deciding whether to retain Ugochinyere. He argued that repeatedly changing representatives after a single term could make it harder for the constituency to secure and complete major federal projects. “We have finally gotten it right with Ikenga, so he should continue the wonderful work he is doing,” he said.
Omeire specifically credited Ugochinyere with helping attract federal attention to the Ideato Bridge project. He claimed the lawmaker secured President Bola Tinubu’s approval for N26 billion before the Imo State Government approached the Federal Ministry of Works over taking over the project’s execution.
The former lawmaker’s position comes as political activity ahead of the 2027 elections intensifies. Historical records cited by Premium Times show that representatives from both Ideato North and Ideato South have occupied the federal seat at different times, a history that Omeire says does not amount to a binding zoning formula.
