Senator Enyinnaya Harcourt Abaribe
Ikpeazu restates stance on neutrality, as Senator Abaribe declares 2023 Abia governorship ambition
[From BONIFACE OKORO, Umuahia]
Abia Governor, Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu, has maintained his stand that he would not be drawn into or be distracted over debates on who succeeds him in 2023.
The issue was revived by Senate Minority Leader, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, when he paid homage to the Governor in his Umuobiakwa country home on the eve of Christmas.
During the visit, Abaribe was said to have intimated Ikpeazu of his desire to contest for the Abia governorship seat in 2023.
However, the Governor has reacted to media reports on Abaribe’s visit, his announcement of his ambition and his (Ikpeazu’s) response, saying that some media reports were “factually incorrect while some others carry certain misleading insinuations and needless innuendos.”
Given the development, the Governor, through his Chief Press Secretary, Sir Onyebuchi Ememanka, said it has become expedient to clarify the issue.
Ememanka, in a statement issued in Umuahia, insisted that Ikpeazu would not be drawn into the Abia 2023 succession debate as it would amount to technically abridging his tenure.
He said that the Governor would rather focus on developing the state.
The statement read:
“On 24th December 2021, Governor Okezie Ikpeazu received Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe in his Country Home at Umuobiakwa, Obingwa LGA on a scheduled Christmas visit. This visit, which has become an annual ritual by the Senator, is for all intents and purposes, a display of brotherhood and love. Senator Abaribe is not only an elder brother to the Governor but a highly respected Nigerian political leader.
“It was in the course of the visit that the Senator informed the Governor of his intention to ‘throw his hat into the ring’ when the contest for the 2023 Gubernatorial Elections in the State starts. The Senator was accompanied by some political leaders from Obingwa LGA on the visit.
“Governor Ikpeazu welcomed the Senator and thanked him for the Christmas visit. On the issue of his gubernatorial ambition, the Governor made the following remarks –
“That he believes strongly that power comes from God and that the issues around power are too important and critical that God cannot leave it entirely in the hands of men. It was this philosophy that defined his own emergence as Governor in 2015.
“That he is not thinking about the politics of 2023 now because doing so will be tantamount to a technical abridgement of his own tenure and is capable of distracting him from the serious issues of governance in the State currently. In particular, the Governor stated that he is presently occupied with ensuring that some critical road projects are dealt with, especially in Aba within this dry season window. Some of these projects, for which contractors have been fully mobilized, include the recovery and completion of Faulks Road, Port Harcourt Road, Ngwa Road, Uratta, Obohia, Ohanku, Onuma, Eziukwu-Cemetery Road, Aba Owerri Road, ABSUTH – Udeagbala Road and the Osisioma Interchange, amongst others.
“That in view of the above, it will be inexpedient for him to associate himself with the aspirations of any person at this time, a move that could send wrong signals to the rest of the State and introduce some level of confusion in the politics of our dear state.
“Finally, Governor Okezie Ikpeazu is a democrat who understands and respects the rights of every citizen to his political aspirations. He also firmly believes that when the time is right, the usual interplay of political forces on the one hand and a divine agenda on the other will put all issues around who succeeds him to rest.”
