Ikpeazu urges Saraki-led consensus-building initiative to ‘unite to save Nigeria’

[From BONIFACE OKORO, Umuahia]

Abia Governor, Okezie Ikpeazu has expressed his strong personal commitment to the genuine initiative towards coming up with a consensus Presidential Candidate for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Governor Ikpeazu said he expects that such a candidate must have the capacity to rescue the country from its present predicament where, as a result of insecurity, human life has lost its sanctity and life has generally become insecure and brutish.

The Governor who gave the assurance while addressing the Press after a closed door meeting with some presidential aspirants on the platform of the PDP, also charged the aspirants to forge a common from and forget about the regions they come from so that PDP would win at the centre in 2023 in its resolve to save Nigeria and the masses.

The governors who were at Ikpeazu’s Umuobiakwa country home in Obingwa Local Government Area of Abia State to consult with the Abia Governor on the possibility of a consensus Presidential candidate for the PDP included the Governor of Sokoto State, Rt. Hon. Aminu Tambuwal, Senator Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State, a former Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, Dr. Mohammed Hayatudeen and other PDP Stakeholders.

The Governor said that the visit has rekindled his hope for the emergence of a new Nigeria under the PDP.

He described the move as very commendable, altruistic and one borne out of a desire to forge an alliance that could rescue the country beyond selfish interests.

The Governor urged all Presidential aspirants on the PDP platform, irrespective of region, to come together for the common interests of the Nigeria masses.

Earlier, a former Senate President and also a PDP Presidential aspirant, Dr Bukola Saraki, said that they were already working towards coming up with a consensus Presidential candidate for the party who has the capacity to address the prevailing insecurity.

He said that the party was driven by determination to turn the country around and expressed optimism that the PDP would emerge victorious in the forth coming general elections.

Fielding questions by journalists on why former Vice President Atiku Abubakar was not on the trip, Saraki explained that he (Atiku) was fully part of the mission and receives full briefings on their mission.

In a related development, Abia State governor, Okezie Ikpeazu, has identified insecurity and political feuds as factors that impede peace and development.

Receiving a delegation of the leadership of the State Traditional Rulers Council and the Chairmen of the 17 Local Government Areas Traditional Rulers Councils in his Country Home at Umuobiakwa in  Obingwa Local Government Area Tuesday, the Governor informed them that the Osisioma flyover in Aba, one of the signature projects of his administration, would be inaugurated on May 29, 2022.

Ikpeazu also asked the monarchs to read and internalize the 1981 Abia Charter of Equity and properly explain same to the youths so that they would not clutch into the document to foment trouble in the state in the build up to the 2023 general elections

Describing the atmosphere of peace and security in the State as God’s special gift to him as Governor and the people of Abia State, Ikpeazu stated it clearly that no development can take place in any environment where there was insecurity and unending political feud.

Governor Ikpeazu noted that the ranking of Abia State as the third highest in the country in the attraction of foreign direct investments by the National Bureau of Statistics was a clear evidence that peace and socio-political stability were clear enablers of development.

He urged the royal fathers to continue to preach the virtues of peace in their domains and further challenged them to read and digest the Abia Charter of Equity of 1981 and help explain its philosophical foundations to their various communities and advise youths from their communities to avoid being used as instruments of confusion.

He used the opportunity to inform the Royal Fathers that on the 29th of May 2022, five major infrastructural projects, including the Osisioma Flyover will be commissioned that day and assures them that the Royal Fathers will be part of the events of that day.

He assured them of his readiness to look into the issues they have raised, noting that Royal Fathers in the State have been catalysts of peace and development, and as such were deserving of all attention from his administration.

Earlier, the Chairman of the State Traditional Rulers Council, Hrm Eze Joseph Nwabeke , had told the Governor that the Royal Fathers came to see him to show their solidarity with him and thank him for the numerous works he was doing across the State. They also used the opportunity to request the Governor to intervene in some issues that affect their offices for optimal performance.

The Ezes asked for the return of their quarterly meetings which held in different Senatorial districts of the State.

Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Rt Hon Prince Christopher Enweremadu, was part of the meeting.