Abia State Governor, Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu, has said the governorship candidates of the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) Mr. Alex Otti, and All Progressives Congress (APC), Mr. Uche Ogah, are not grounded on the political firmament of the state, describing them as those who lack basic sense of social justice and equity.
Ikpeazu, who is also the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the next Saturday’s governorship election in the state, said this when he inaugurated the 3.8kilometre Umuode road in Osisioma Ngwa Local Government Area of the state, adding that his opponents (Otti and Ogah) can’t comprehend the scale and scope of what his administration has done for the development of the state.
“Our opponents can’t just comprehend the scale and scope of what we are doing quietly. They are not on the political firmament of our state, and they do not exist. How can those who lack basic sense of social justice and equity want to run for the position of a governor in a state? We will not allow them to destroy the understanding of equity and justice which our fathers signed in the Abia Chatter of Equity at the creation of our dear state.
“The Abia Charter of Equity stipulates that governorship seat of the state will rotate among the three senatorial districts of the state-Abia North, Abia Central and Abia South.
“Abia North governed from 1999 to 2007 when Chief Orji Uzo Kalu was governor. After his eight years tenure, he handed over to Abia Central from 2007 to 2015 with Senator Theodore Orji in charge. I came in 2015 for Abia South, and going by the provision of the Abia Charter of Equity, Abia South should be supported by Abia North and Central to complete their term of eight years.
“No one zone is more Abian than the other zone. Abia belongs to all Abians, and we from Abia South will not allow anyone to deprive us our right,” he stated.
It should be noted that Ogah hails from Isiukwuato Local Government Area in Abia North while Alex Otti hails from Arochukwu Local Government Area in the same North, where former Governor Kalu also hails from.
In what appears to be singling out Otti who hails from Arochukwu and chose a running mate from Ohafia, another local government area in Abia North, Ikpeazu said: “One of my opponents is from Arochukwu, a local government area in Abia North, and he went to Ohafia, another local government area in the same Abia North, and picked his running mate. Meanwhile, Arochukwu and Ohafia Local Government Areas is one federal constituency with a seat in the House of Representatives.”
So, what will this opponent of mine tell the rest 15 local government areas in the state? That is why I said they lack basic sense of social justice, equity, and we will not allow them to destroy our states.”
In a related development, Prof. Mkpa Agu Mkpa, who is a former Commissioner for Education in the Orji Kalu (1999 to 2007) administration and former Secretary to State Government (SSG) (2007 to 2015) in the Theodore Orji administration, has called on his Abia North brothers, Ogah and Otti, to abide by the provisions of the Charter of Equity, which he argues favored the zone when Kalu governed the state for eight years of two four-year terms.
Professor Mkpa, who was also a former Vice Chancellor of the Abia State University said: “Equity in Politics is all about sharing political power among the three zones of the state. Our charter of equity has to be binding on anyone who wants to run gubernatorial election. It is not optional to be obeyed. It is only greedy people and those who do not respect agreements that would disobey equity.”
