Stephen Ukandu, Umuahia
The All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, governorship candidate in Abia State, Professor Greg Ibe, has told Governor Okezie Ikpeazu that “importing performing Governors from other states under the guise of Integrity Governors will not save” the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in 2023.
The Professor of Entrepreneurship said that the “abysmal performance of Gov. Ikpeazu in all sectors” would be rewarded with total rejection by Abians in 2023.
Ibe was reacting to a comment by the Governor that candidates of the opposition parties were picked from “PDP’s wastepaper bin.”
Ikpeazu who made the remark during the official flag-off of the PDP campaign in Umuahia on Thursday, said candidates of other parties were of no political relevance and constituted no threats to PDP.
But in a swift reaction, Professor Ibe who was among those who dumped PDP amid allegations of lack of transparency in the build up to its primaries, told the Governor to stop living in self denial.
“Ikpeazu should wake up from his state of deceptive illusion and face the hard facts of abysmal performance in all sectors,” Professor Ibe said.
He said: “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, 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.”
The APGA governorship candidate in a statement Friday, said “only hallucination and amnesia can make Dr Ikpeazu erroneously contend that no other party exists in the state since according to him they don’t have electoral value.”
The statement read in part: “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 exists in the state since according to him other parties have no electoral value.”
“Ikpeazu should face facts and acknowledge that it is rather the growing fear of losing the forthcoming election to a resurgent APGA that is making him embark 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.”
Continuing Ibe said: “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.”
Prof Ibe urged Abians to ignore the derogatory remarks by the Governor, and sustain their unwavering support for APGA.
