Stephen Ukandu, Umuahia
It has been revealed that some powerful persons in the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in Abia State, wanted to use the party’s governorship ticket as access to permanent share in the state resources.
The said leaders, according to the source, offered the party’s governorship ticket to a willing candidate as condition to share the state’s allocations among them.
Governorship flag bearer of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, in Abia State, Professor Greg Ibe, who made the revelation during a meeting with the state leadership of the Christian Association, CAN, said he turned down the selfish offer, and left the PDP for APGA.
Professor Ibe explained that he preferred to dump the ruling party to becoming a caged Governor who could not willingly exercise his powers.
He said he had a divine mandate to rescue Abia from bad leadership and not to further mortgage the future of the state.
Professor Ibe denied being a puppet of former Governor Theodore Orji contrary to speculations, saying that those behind the propaganda want to incite the public against him.
He explained that he came out on his own to run for the governorship race and not being sponsored by any godfather.
Ibe disabused the minds of Abians about various propaganda being sponsored against him, saying that those who feel threatened about his growing acceptance have resorted to cheap blackmail to demarket him.
“In order to make people hate me, they lied that I am being sponsored by former Governor T. A. Orji. They even went as far as deploying money that would have been used in bettering the life of our people in funding some collaborators to go to several Courts against me. But no matter what they did, God of Ndi Abia said No!”
He also debunked rumours that he was medically unfit to govern the state, urging his supporters and Abians to disregard such unfounded rumours.
The Governorship hopeful explained that contrary to the wishes of his detractors, he had been involved in aggressive campaigns across the state.
He, however, acknowledged, that he had been under attack by some diabolic powers since after indicating interest in the governorship race.
According to him, anti-democratic forces opposed to his rescue mission in the state have been fighting to weigh him down but he thanked God for divine sustenance.
“There is nothing they have not done to stop this mission of liberating and developing our State. In desperate bid to stop me, they began spreading false rumours about me.
“They attacked my health with Juju and began to circulate evil reports that I have been amputated . They enlisted the partnership of some aggrieved politicians who went as far as falsifying someone’s WAEC certificate and alleged it was mine.”
Professor Ibe assured that his emergence as Governor, would end the woes of Abia workers and pensioners who had suffered untold hardship following backlog of salary and pension arrears owed them by the state Government.
He decried the plight of Abia workers and pensioners due to what he called “Government insensitivity.”
The APGA governorship candidate dismissed the rumour of his alleged incapacitation and amputation as sponsored propaganda by the enemies of the state who were scared by his entrance into the governorship race.
Professor Ibe also said that if given the opportunity, he would invest heavily in education in furtherance of what he had already started doing in his private capacity.
He noted that he had awarded scholarship to over 500 indigent students to study courses of their choices in his university, promising to do more as Governor.
Ibe, who also explained his free medical scheme in 17 LGAs of the State, said the free health program was used to save the lives of Abians especially during the period of multiple industrial actions by different government-owned medical facilities.
Professor Ibe further decried the condition of health facilities in the state, promising to review them if voted into power.
“Our State is decayed. Hospitals are not functioning. Civil servants and pensioners are being owed in our state. I offered free medical service to Abians in the 17 LGAs which the Abia State Government could not give to Abians.”
Prof Ibe also alleged that Abia State Government tried to eject him from his campaign office in Umuahia in a bid to frustrate his ambition.
In their responses during the interactive meeting, the Abia priests promised to work with Prof Ibe in the liberation of the State, if he wins the Abia guber.
Responding, Chairman of Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) in Abia, Apostle Emmanuel Agonmuo warned that Christians would not allow the rigging of Abia State guber polls and urged Abia electorate to elect only the best candidate.
