Why PDP will sweep 2023 polls in Abia – Ikpeazu

BONIFACE OKORO, Umuahia

As the 2023 general elections draw closer, Governor Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia State says the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) which is the ruling party in the state would cruise to victory in a landslide at the polls.

Ikpeazu said PDP would record the feat on account of lack of opposition in the state and based on his legacies.

He was categorical that there was no opposition in Abia as candidates of other political parties standing for elective positions, particularly that of the governorship position were “dregs” with no electoral value picked from PDP’s dustbin, a remark that has drawn the ire of the opposition in the state.

The Governor who spoke during the flag off of campaigns for the 37 PDP candidates standing for the Governorship, National and State Assemblies for the 2023 general elections at the Township Stadium in Umuahia on Thursday, November 24, 2022, entertained no iota of fear that the opposition would scratch up any wins in the 2023 polls in the state.

The event was graced by the PDP G5 Governors, otherwise christened Integrity Group, made up of Nyesom Wike (Rivers State), Samuel Ortom (Benue State), Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi (Enugu State), and Seyi Makinde (Oyo State).

Party faithful thronged the venue of the flag off ceremony in colours that could compete with the rainbow in the belief that “Abia is PDP, and PDP is Abia.” This is because since the dawn of the current democratic dispensation, PDP has held sway in Abia, producing all the governors that have ruled the state: from Chief Orji Uzor Kalu, followed by Chief T.A.Orji, to the incumbent, Dr Okezie Ikpeazu.

Believing in the invincibility of PDP in Abia, Ikpeazu told the crowd that apart from PDP, the opposition was peopled by mushroom political parties

“There is no other political party in Abia state apart from the PDP. I have seen some few individuals that are jostling for various offices in some small mushroom parties, some of them we’ve not heard about it before until late days.

“Incidentally the candidates of these small parties were shopped from the dustbin of the PDP. We have a big dustbin where we throw away relegated and recalcitrant people.

“They (opposition parties) went there and picked a few dregs; individuals without consequence at all and of zero electoral value. That is why, today, we are sure and confident that all our candidates in the PDP will win elections clearly and squarely,” Ikpeazu said.

The other game changer that would swing victory to the PDP, the Governor said, was his performance since he assumed office in 2015.

He reeled out the legacies of his administration to include road infrastructure, establishment of Enyimba Economic City, among others, adding that his leadership has laid a solid foundation for the take off of a more prosperous Abia.

“We have a list of things we have done in all spheres of human endeavors. We are going to bequeath for the first time, a 30-year developmental plan for Abia State. This was not there before. We are going to bequeath a master plan for Aba, Umuahia and Ohafia.

“We are also going to bequeath an industrial plan. We are bequeathing roads that will last, at least, 30 years and we think the incoming administration will build on that,” said the Governor who also built the first ever flyover in the state around Osisioma axis of Aba.

During the event, the PDP unveiled its 37 candidates vying for various positions and handed over the party’s flags to them. Among the candidates were the Governorship candidate, Prof. Uche Ikonne and his running mate, Barr. Phillip Okey Igwe.

However, the Governor’s remarks have not gone down well with the opposition in the state.

Though many of them have preferred to remain silent and prove their mettle during the polls proper, the Governorship Candidate of All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Prof Greg Ibe, has lashed out at Ikpeazu, accusing him of hiding behind performing governors of the G5 to cover to sell Abia PDP to the electorate because of his alleged non-performance.

In a statement in Umuahia, Ibe enjoined Ikpeazu to wake up from his purported “state of deceptive illusion and face the hard facts of abysmal performance in all sectors.”

”I have read with pity, uncomplimentary comments credited to Governor Ikpeazu during the recent campaign flag-off in Umuahia Township Stadium which unfortunately turned out to be a circus of rented performers deceptively attired in PDP colours. As reported in the media, the governor was purported to have said that no other political party exist in the state since, according to him, other parties have no electoral value.”

Prof Ibe alleged that Ikpeazu was afraid of losing the forthcoming election to a “resurgent APGA,” which was why he was embarking on the frivolous escapade of “flying in successful governors from other states in a futile attempt to leverage their respective profiles to shore up his dwindling image as a way of covering the massive spate of woeful and abysmal performance in the governance of Abia.”

”Someone ought to tell Governor Ikpeazu to stop hallucinating and playing the ostrich by waking up to the reality of the fact that Abians have moved on from the dark ages of near collapse to the promise of a new Abia where things work and where no one or community will be left behind, as currently championed by APGA through many social intervention programmes in the health, education, infrastructure and social welfare sectors,” Ibe said.

He added: “The Governor should be advised to stop wasting scarce resources by flying in other state governors, since there are no roads for them to come into Abia through, just for the deceptive purpose of using their good performance in their respective states to manipulate Abians to vote for PDP.

“In the spirit of name dropping, the banners of these governors who have performed well in their states are now being used to decorate the streets of our state as if pictures win elections. It won’t work this time. Our people are wiser now and know that Abia is safer in the hands of APGA since I have showed my love for the state by investing heavily here and proved sufficiently that I am better positioned to protect, preserve and prosper the state.”