Chief Charles Orie Attends Iri Ji Mbaise in Canada, Takes on Charter of Equity

By John Chukwu, Toronto Canada

1. Interviewer: Good night, Honourable. Please, inform us about your self, sir.

Chief Charles Orie: Good night. My title is Chief Charles Orie. I come from Umuokanne in Ohaji/Egbema Local Government Area, Imo State.

I’m a businessman and authorities contractor. I’ve accomplished that for a few years earlier than coming again to Imo State to function Managing Director of ISOPADEC. I left that job in 2024 to concentrate on political consultations. As a personal citizen, I’m additionally concerned in neighborhood improvement via my NGO, Chief Charles Orie Foundation. Through this NGO, we have now introduced improvement to many communities in Imo State. We’ve offered photo voltaic avenue lights to a number of communities in partnership with the NDDC, and we give scholarships to Imo State college students. We additionally assist orphanages, hospitals, and prisons in Imo State.

I stay in each Nigeria and Canada.

1. Interviewer: Why are you on the Mbaise neighborhood occasion in Canada as we speak?

Chief Charles Orie: I got here to have a good time with you and share in your pleasure and success.

Mbaise individuals are a few of Imo State’s greatest representatives overseas. Their onerous work and expertise are making an enormous distinction all over the place they stay.

From Toronto to Houston, Maryland, and lots of different cities, Mbaise professionals and enterprise individuals are constructing profitable companies and serving to their communities.

Being right here can also be a part of my ongoing talks with Imo folks overseas, who I see as one in every of God’s greatest blessings to our state. Imo State has one of many largest teams of Nigerians dwelling overseas, and we have to discover actual methods to make use of their information, expertise, connections, and sources to assist develop our state.

These talks have taken me to many Imo State teams in cities and nations throughout Europe and North America.

1. Interviewer: We’ve seen movies and messages on social media concerning the “Owerri Zone Charter of Equity” and talks in Okigwe and Orlu. What do you consider this?

Chief Charles Orie: We have just one Imo State. Dividing ourselves by the place we come from will solely maintain us again.

I consider each particular person from Imo ought to have the suitable to go for any place, irrespective of which zone they’re from. What ought to matter is ability, capacity, character, and what every particular person can supply our state, and never the place they’re from.

It’s additionally value remembering that most of the folks pushing this Charter of Equity as we speak didn’t assist Governor Hope Uzodimma’s political journey. I keep in mind, again within the days throughout President Obasanjo’s authorities (1999–2007), a few of these similar folks blackmailed Hope Uzodimma earlier than president Obasanjo/Andy Ubah ,They known as him and the remainder of us who stood by him all kinds of names. They even used their affect to have his companies with NPA and NNPC shut down. Even when Hope Uzodinma was made a BOT member of the PDP, they fought him. We have been pushed apart, and this occurred additionally throughout  each Governor Udenwa and Governor Rochas Okorocha tenure. They labelled us “Ndi Otu Hope” or “Umu Nga Hope” (mockingly, “Hope’s people”), and due to that, we did not get appointments or contracts.

This is identical sample they’ve all the time adopted. During Governor Rochas Okorocha’s time, they sang his praises and deceived him into selecting his son-in-law as successor, however the second issues obtained troublesome, they deserted him and moved on to the subsequent particular person, Emeka Ihedioha. Now they’ve moved on once more, this time to Governor Hope. These individuals are political jobbers, and so they don’t have any loyalty, solely self-interest.

Now, many of those similar individuals are shifting round Imo State pushing their very own agenda and candidates. My enchantment is easy: let Governor Uzodimma be allowed to focus and select, from amongst his personal loyal supporters, those that stood by him via all of the years he fought for political relevance. When the time is true, Governor Hope Uzodimma will select from amongst these loyal supporters.

To be particular, I consider 95% or extra of the folks now shifting between Orlu and Okigwe underneath the banner of “Owerri United,” the “Charter of Equity,” or an “elders’ council” didn’t assist Governor Hope’s election in 2019. Whether they have been conventional rulers, senators, House of Representatives members, or politicians, a lot of them labored towards our principal, and a few even labored with Emeka Ihedioha, Uche Nwosu, or Senator Ifeanyi Ararume. So I ask: what ethical standing have they got now to attempt to drive their agenda on Senator Hope Uzodimma?

Our foremost focus proper now ought to be serving to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu win in January 2027, returning Senator Hope Uzodimma to the Senate, and electing all APC candidates — from the National Assembly all the way down to the state meeting. If these conventional rulers need to be concerned in politics, they need to return to their communities, marketing campaign there, and ship assist for our candidates, and never keep in Owerri inflicting confusion.

Anyone who calls himself a pacesetter ought to go house, work for APC, and present the Governor and the occasion their outcomes after the presidential,National Assembly and state meeting elections. Only then ought to we discuss succession. This is severe enterprise, not one thing to be taken calmly. In truth, most of those so-called leaders can not even win their very own polling sales space, not to mention their ward or native authorities.

At the tip of the day, our precedence have to be unity, peace, and improvement for Imo State.

1. Interviewer: If you change into Governor of Imo State, what’s the very first thing you’d need to do in your first 30 days?

Chief Charles Orie: I have not but introduced that I’m operating for Governor of Imo State and I’ll make that announcement on the proper time. This additionally is not the time to start out campaigning, based mostly on INEC guidelines.

That stated, I consider one of many first issues to contemplate on day one will probably be to strategy the state meeting to legislate a regulation altering the colonial title of Douglas home to the title of our biggest chief and Nationalist (Chief Sam onunaka Mbakwe home)secondly I will probably be eradicating 
all taxes,levies,signages taxes and all not value,for small companies

There will probably be tax breaks for 4 years for micro, small, and medium companies, particularly these making lower than ₦500 million a yr is not going to pay taxes or any sort of Government levies.This would assist them survive, develop, and create jobs.We are going to tax large firms/oil firms can pay taxes 
You can not ask a mechanic at Avu mechanic village or a person promoting wooden at ogbo oshishi or electrician at MCC/Toronto for taxes or levy when Government didn’t present any infrastructure for them,I’ll assist them to develop, and they’re going to get pleasure from tax exemptions.

There are many different essential steps that may be taken throughout the first 30 days of an administration. However, this is not the suitable time or place to put out a full marketing campaign programme.