Councillors from Ideato North and Ideato South in Imo State convened an unusual joint sitting on the still-unopened Orashi Bridge last week and adopted three motions, including one that would bar former governor Rochas Okorocha from coming within five kilometres of the crossing.
The gathering took place at Umuchima on the Orlu–Akokwa federal highway, where the new bridge links Imo and Anambra. Officials sat under canopies with plastic tables and chairs while construction work continued around them. Speakers of both local government legislatures presided; a clerk recorded the proceedings.
A councillor from Ideato South introduced the motions. The first called for Okorocha to be kept outside a five-kilometre radius of the bridge or declared persona non grata because, the movers said, he failed to address worsening erosion during his time as governor. The second endorsed incumbent Governor Hope Uzodimma for the Imo West senatorial seat in 2027. The third sought endorsement of President Bola Tinubu for the next presidential election.
Members spoke in turn and the motions passed by voice vote.
Councillors argued that neglect under his administration allowed a gully to cut the road, wash away houses and part of Umuchima market, and isolate Ideato communities from the state capital for roughly seven years.
Okorocha’s government dualised the road and built an earlier bridge. According to the councillors, that structure lacked proper reinforcement gravel and cement rather than iron rods and was quickly undermined by erosion that had not been assessed before construction. The current state government later rebuilt the crossing to a higher standard.
The column notes that Okorocha is still in court contesting Uzodimma’s claim to the All Progressives Congress ticket for Imo West in 2027.
Local government councils have no constitutional power to restrict a citizen’s movement on public roads, so the five-kilometre ban has no legal force.
Outdoor legislative sittings have occurred elsewhere in emergencies, such as the 2020 New Hampshire House swearing-in during Covid-19. The Ideato session was not held under similar constraints.
The motions have no binding effect on Okorocha’s access to the road or on the court case over the senatorial ticket. The new bridge itself has not yet been opened to the public.
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