2023: Vote for Ikonne, not renegade apprentices, Ikpeazu tells Abians

…Says I look forward to handing over to Ikonne

…Urges Abians to face 2023 with hope

From Boniface Okoro, Umuahia

Abia State governor, Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu has launched a fiery campaign for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state by urging Abians to vote for all the party’s candidates in the forthcoming general elections.

Ikpeazu specifically enjoinedAbians to cast their gubernatorial ballots for the PDP Governorship Candidate, Prof. Uche Eleazar Ikonne and not those he referred to as renegade apprentices who recently left the ruling party in the state.

The Governor, in his New Year early morning statewide broadcast on Sunday, January 1, 2023, warned the people against making any mistake in choosing their next governor, noting that it would be disastrous to give the job of administering Abia to renegade apprentices when the master (Ikonne) was still in service. He was emphatic that with Ikonne on the saddle, Abia would be in safe hands.

Referring to the 2023 general elections and its implications for the state, Ikpeazu said:

“I am aware that we will be going into the general elections in February and March to vote for various offices. As Governor, I am father to all and will ensure that we provide a level-playing field for all politicians to conduct their activities within the bounds of the law. I will also continue to reiterate my call to all political actors not to overheat the polity and engage in actions inimical to the peace of the State.

“Let me, at this juncture, inform Ndi Aba that the Peoples Democratic Party remains your best vehicle for sustainable development. I therefore implore you to vote for candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party at all levels in the coming elections.

“PDP still remains the party to beat in Abia State and Abia is indisputably a PDP State. With Professor Eleazar Uche Ikonne at the helm of affairs, I have no doubt that Abia is in safe hands and I look forward to handing over to him on May 29, 2023.

“In any case, the candidates of the other political parties were also members of the Peoples Democratic Party until recently. Abians know better than to give a serious job to renegade apprentices when the Master is still very much in service.”

The Governor also used the opportunity of the broadcast to explain his desire to go to the Senate, stressing that his goal would be to attract federal presence to the state.

He said: “Beloved Abians, my original post-Governorship plan was to return back to the classroom after my tenure and pursue my passion for academic impartation. In furtherance of this cause, even while serving you diligently as Governor, I have found time to author and co-author a number of Academic Journals and books in my field of Biochemistry.

“However, from my vantage position as Governor, I have seen the limitations of a Governor within the Nigerian Federal set-up and how a strong Federal Government support is required for meaningful progress to be made by States. I know the handicaps I faced, especially in Aba, because I did not get critical federal Government support for some of the major problems of Abia State because those who ought to have helped us attract Federal Government attention were engaged in an endless war of attrition with the same Federal Government that should have helped us.

“It is for this reason that I have accepted the call of my people of Abia South Senatorial Zone to go and represent them at the Senate. It is my desire to assist my successor to galvanize critical support for Aba and Abia State. 

“Aba is a Special Economic Zone for Nigeria requiring Special Federal Government intervention and it is my desire to work with the Federal Government as the Senator representing Aba to attract those critical interventions necessary for the exponential growth of the city and the State in general.

“This is why I am contesting and I have no doubt that I will win because I enjoy your unquantifiable support.”

Ikpeazu urged Abians to look forward to good tidings that would unfold in the state this year and go into the New Year with hope.

“I have no doubt about it. 2023 shall be a good year for Ndi Abia. We are God’s Own State. God will continue to keep us and preserve us and bless our endeavours. Welcome to 2023 and I wish you all a truly rewarding year,” he said.