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Tag: Okezie Ikpeazu

  • Nigeria’s unity not negotiable – Ooni of Ife

    Nigeria’s unity not negotiable – Ooni of Ife

    The Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, said on Saturday that Nigeria’s unity is never in doubt and not negotiable.

    The monarch said the strength of the country lies in its unity and diversity.

    He urged youths in the country especially those from the South East to channel their strength toward efforts that would improve the country.

    Speaking in Umuahia during a courtesy visit on Abia State Governor, Okezie Ikpeazu, the Ooni said there must be a good reason for youths to have behaved the way they did and called for dialogue between them and government find a way out of the crisis.

    He said: “There is no need for war or disunity in the country but there is need to tell the youths that disintegration will not pay, rather they should use their energy to do things that will bring out the best for the country.

    “Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) can be renamed and rebranded to Indigenous People of Brighter Nigeria, as the youths are the heartbeat of our country. I want to urge the governor to bring them in and let them know that government is behind them.”

     

  • Gov. Ikpeazu, wife underscore need for urbanisation

    Gov. Ikpeazu, wife underscore need for urbanisation

    Gov. Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia has expressed regret that the three major cities of Aba, Ohafia and Umuahia, the state capital, do not have master plans, 26 years after the creation of the state.

    Ikpeazu made the observation at a meeting organised by Vicar Hope Foundation in collaboration with UN-HABITAT Programme in Nigeria.

    He wondered how past administrations carried out physical infrastructural development in the cities without master plan.

    He said that the meeting was auspicious, considering the way and manner people abused the environment.
    “We need to preserve our environment for our generation and generations to come.

    “I believe that if you do not take care of your environment, your environment will kill you.’’

    He, therefore, charged stakeholders at the meeting to think about the environment and how to achieve a better place for human habitation.

    In her speech, the Wife of the Governor, Mrs Nkechi Ikpeazu, urged the participants to evolve the best ideas and realisable action plan that would help turn around the conditions of the cities.

    She further underscored the need for all hands to be on deck in the onerous task of “making our cities cleaner, safer, functional and more profitable to dwellers and visitors’’.

    Mrs Ikpeazu, who is the founder of Vicar Hope Foundation, thanked the UN Habitat Programme for collaborating with the foundation to organise the meeting.

    In a goodwill message, the UN-HABITAT Programme Manager in Nigeria, Mr Kabir Yari, said the essence of the event was to promote sustainable urbanisation.

    Yari was represented by Dr. Steve Onu, a member of the UN Steering Committee on making cities resilient.

    He expressed the hope that the meeting would come out with a road-map on how to tackle the challenges posed by rapid population growth in the urban centres.

    In her speech, the Executive Director, Women Communication Centre, Hajia Limota Giwa, said that the meeting provided an opportunity for the cross-fertilisation of ideas on how to achieve the UN objective for the new urban agenda.

    Giwa commended the governor’s wife for her passion and commitment toward achieving sustainable urbanisation in Abia.

    She said that her initiative had given Abia visibility on the global map.

  • Armed struggle won’t benefit Igbo, says Ikpeazu

    Abia State Governor Okezie Ikpeazu said yesterday that the Igbo won’t benefit anything from armed struggle as being pushed by the Indigenous People of Biafra.(IPOB).

    Ikpeazu spoke to reporters yesterday at the Presidential Villa in Abuja after briefing Vice President Yemi Osinbajo to brief him on the security situation in his state.

    Abia is the epicentre of the activities of the separatist group led by Nnamdi Kanu.

    Ikpeazu said: “If you are referring to what happened in the past one week. Nigerians know that for some time now that this group called IPOB, were agitating for a separate nation called Biafra and that the home state of the leader of that group happens to be Abia State.

    “As expected, when such things happen, there is an interface between some members of that group and the military, and the theatre was Abia State.

    “And some people attempted to hijack that event to conflagrate our country. To the glory of God, the rest is history, we are still working to stabilise the fragile peace in the region.

    “I thank God also for the instruments he used to be able to keep our country as one. We are humbled by the privileges,” he said

    On his meeting with northern governors on Monday, Ikpeazu said he assured them of safety of lives and property of everybody living in Abia.

    “I swore with the Bible to protect lives and property and because I take such things seriously, I will continue to protect the lives and property of my brothers and sisters irrespective of where they come from.

    “You know that the mainstay of our economy in Abia State is trade and commerce and I do not think it will augur well for our economy if we make our kitchen the theatre of Biafra.

    “A native wisdom in my place says you shouldn’t allow a fight to ensue from your mother’s kitchen. It is my responsibility also to grow prosperity from my state,” he said

    On the that the IPOB crisis was as a result of the failure of leadership in the South East, the governor said: “Allegations are supposed to be investigated by investigative officers and I’m not trying  to investigate such things, so it is just the masses, especially the press.

    “You know, we are perception builders, we should try to say things that are good about our country, not things that are bad. I think there are enough reasons to see that under our circumstance, that we may not be Eldorado yet, but there are concerted efforts, attempts to make our place a better place. I do not see how as an Ibo man boxing myself into a smaller geographic entity without recourse of the most widely travelled people in Nigeria.

    “There are Igbos in Sambisa, what are you expecting of them if I narrow their geography of coverage. But agitation, marginalization, infrastructural deficiencies, these are issues which are germane and they can be discussed, they can be spoken about, they can be addressed. But I do not know how in 21st century how carrying arms in my kitchen will grow the prosperity of my people.”

    Asked what his message to Igbos is, he said: “First and foremost, I think our relationship with our brothers from northern Nigeria the governors, they have assured that every part of Nigeria is safe for every Nigerian including Igbos to continue in their business and enterprise.

    “I want to announce that the population of Igbos outside Ibo enclave is about 11.6 million, you don’t play with the lives of 11.6 million. So we all have to be careful, the press, the leadership at the state level, the leadership at the Federal Government level, everybody.

    “I think we should be guarded by the rule of law and grow confidence in the Nigerian citizens that under our laws that he is protected,” he said

    On his meeting with the Vice President, Ikpeazu said: “Well, naturally, I’m heading a subnational government when this kind of thing happens, which would have had dimension of national proportion; it’s right that you will come and brief the C-in-C or his vice and that is exactly what I have come to do.”

    Ikpeazu  said he would not dethrone the traditional ruler of Isiama Afaraukwu in Umuahia, Eze Isreal Kanu, who is Nnamdi Kanu’s father.

    He said: “I clearly separate Kanu from his father. The processes of handling traditional institutions are enshrined in the laws of our land. And traditional rulers who are members of our constituency have leadership they will do the needful at the appropriate time.

    “But, for me, I think there is a clear division between Nnamdi Kanu and his father.”

     

  • IPOB: Osinbajo, Ikpeazu meet in Aso Rock 

    IPOB: Osinbajo, Ikpeazu meet in Aso Rock 

    Vice President Yemi Osinbajo on Tuesday met behind closed doors with Abia State Governor, Okezie Ikpeazu at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

    Ikpeazu arrived the Vice President’s office around 2:24 p.m.

    The activities of the Independent People of Biafra (IPOB) in recent times have been threatening lives and properties in the state and other parts of the country.

    That led to deployment of security personnel to the area and proscription of IPOB.

    The meeting between Ikpeazu and the Vice President was still in progress at the time of filing this report.

    Details later…

  • Buhari averted bloodbath, says Abia governor

    Buhari averted bloodbath, says Abia governor

    Abia State Governor Okezie Ikpeazu said yesterday that President Muhammadu Buhari’s decision to agree to withdraw soldiers from Umuahia’s streets averted a bloodbath.

    The governor also hailed the President for the confidence reposed in the South East governors to handle the issues concerning the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).

    Read: Governors, security agents work out solution to IPOB

    The governor said that the near bloodbath which was avoided, “would have set back all we have done in the past two years in projecting the made in Aba products which will boost the revenue base of the state”.

    He spoke during a visit to the Abia State Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ)secretariat to sympathise with journalists over the invasion of the secretariat by some soldiers last week.

    Also: IPOB not a terrorist group, says Ohaneze

    Ikpeazu described the Igbo as the only group of people that showed true reconciliation after the civil war having found their way to all parts of the country and living peacefully with others.

    Ikpeazu said reports available to him from leaders of Igbo union from the North show that over 11.6 million Igbo were living in the north.

  • Abia bloodbath would have been greatest in history- Ikpeazu

    Abia bloodbath would have been greatest in history- Ikpeazu

    Governor Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia has expressed gratitude to God for averting bloodbath in the state, following the withdrawal of troops deployed to Abia for a one-month military exercise code-named “Operation Python Dance.”

    Ikpeazu made the remark on Sunday when he visited the secretariat of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) Abia council to commiserate with journalists over last Tuesday’s invasion of the secretariat by soldiers.

    The governor noted that the presence of the troops sparked tension across the state.

    He said “we are grateful to God for intervening in stopping what could have been the greatest bloodbath known in the history of mankind.”

    He also thanked President Muhammadu Buhari for reposing confidence in Southeast Governors’ Forum, “by giving us a second chance to talk to our people on the need for us to live as one united nation.”

    He added that the Igbos remained the most widely travelled people in Nigeria, living and conducting
    businesses in every nook and cranny of the country.

    The governor put the estimated population of Igbos in the north at about 12 million, with Borno having the least population of about 50,000 Igbo households.

    He said Abia needed peace for business to thrive, especially in Aba, the commercial nerve centre of the state.

    “I am very happy to say that normalcy has returned to the state,” he said, adding that Muslims worshipped in their Mosque on Friday in Aba.

    He, therefore, urged residents of the state to go about their lawful businesses, assuring them that government would continue to provide adequate security for lives and property.

    The governor described the invasion of the NUJ secretariat as unwarranted, saying that “journalists do not deserve such an attack.”

    He said that although journalists faced different hazards in the course of their duty, military attacks only happened under military regime or war situation and not in a democracy.

    Ikpeazu, who complained that the activities of his administration were under-reported, urged journalists to help in reporting the state positively to the world.

    He promised to look into some of the challenges facing the Abia NUJ, including taking steps to complete the union’s unfinished permanent secretariat.

    Earlier, the state Chairman of the union, Mr John Emejor, narrated how the secretariat was invaded by no fewer than 20 soldiers without any provocation.

    Emejor said that Abia NUJ was the only council in the country that still operated in rented apartment.

    He described the relationship between the union and Ikpeazu’s administration as frosty and urged the governor to take steps to reverse the trend.

    The Abia correspondent of The Oracle Today newspaper, Bonny Okoro, was manhandled during the attack.

    His Samsung tablet, as well as a cellphone belonging to the correspondent of Daily Times, Mr Sunny Nwakanma, was also destroyed by the assailants.

    Gov. Ikpeazu was accompanied on the visit by his Deputy, Chief Ude Oko-Chukwu, Rep. Sam Onuigbo representing Ikwuano/Umuahia Federal Constituency, and the Pillar of Abia NUJ,
    Dr Anthony Agbazuere. (NAN)

  • Ikpeazu extends curfew to Friday

    Ikpeazu extends curfew to Friday

    Gov. Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia has extended the three-day dusk to dawn curfew he imposed on Aba to Friday, Sept. 15.

    Ikpeazu made this known in a statement signed by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr Enyinnaya Appolos, and made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Umuahia on Wednesday.

    He advised residents and visitors to cooperate with security agents in order to ensure the maintenance of law and order within the commercial city and its environs.

    Ikpeazu expressed displeasure that people were being compelled to raise their hands while passing through security checkpoints.

    He, therefore, urged security agents and all authorities concerned to ensure that such acts, and other forms of inhumane and barbaric treatment of people were discontinued immediately.

    NAN recalls that following security concerns the Abia Government on Tuesday clamped a three-day dusk to dawn curfew in the state’s commercial nerve centre beginning 6 p.m. to 6 a.m.

    The curfew has now been extended to Friday.

  • At 26, Abia still crawling – NLC chairman, pioneer NUJ chairman

    At 26, Abia still crawling – NLC chairman, pioneer NUJ chairman

    The Chairman, Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) in Abia, Chief Uchenna Obigwe, says at 26 “the state is still crawling like a baby,” in terms of development.

    Obigwe spoke in a telephone interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Umuahia, on the 26th anniversary of the state and level of progress so far recorded.

    “At 26, Abia is still crawling like a baby because previous administrations failed to develop the state,” he said.

    NAN recalls that Abia was created on Aug. 27, 1991, by then military President Ibrahim Babangia.

    According to Obigwe, the extent of decay in infrastructure is enormous and that it will take time for any meaningful development to be achieved in the state.

    On the fate of workers, the NLC chairman said that it had not been easy for civil servants in the state, owing to the delays in the payment of salaries.

    “You know that this is my constituency, so I can safely say that this administration is doing well to better the lot of the civil servants in the state.

    “Today, the governor, Dr Okezie Ikpeazu, has paid workers in the ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) up to date.

    “We only have issues with the local government workers, teachers in primary and secondary schools, some parastatal agencies and pensioners.

    “If the government can take care of the salaries of this category of workers like those in the MDAs then our problem is over,” he said.

    Also, the pioneer chairman of the state council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Mr Ogbonnaya Iheaka, shared similar opinion that at 26, Abia had not done well in the area of development.

    Iheaka told NAN in a telephone interview that the state had come of age, but lagged behind in terms of development.

    He expressed worry that past administrations failed to put the basic things that would propel development.

    “Certain basic things that ought to be done to drive development in the state were not done.

    “For instance, it was only during the last administration that workers’ secretariat was built yet it was far below the standard you find in other states,” Iheaka said.

    He also said that the state had not experienced the required federal presence and that past administrations did not do much to attract federal and international development agencies to the state.

    He said that the state had achieved a milestone in power sharing, particularly the governorship position, among the three senatorial districts.

    Iheaka, however, said that the development of the state was seriously threatened by sectional tendencies amongst the political leaderships.

    He said: “Since the return of democratic rule in 1999, political leaders have concentrated development in their own areas and paid little or no attention to other sections of the state.

    “Governors always reserved strategic political and civil service appointments for people from their area.

    “What this means is that place of origin has taken the position of merit,” he said, adding that the “ugly trend had destroyed the state civil service.”

    To further buttress his point, he said that the administration of Sen. Theodore Orji introduced an eight-year age limit for directors and permanent secretaries.

    He said that the policy swept many people out even before their mandatory retirement age.

    Iheaka regretted that after filling the vacancies created by the policy, the administration quickly reversed the policy and returned to status quo.

    “This unwholesome sectional tendency had been the trend since 1999 to date and it is dangerous for the state,” Iheaka said.

    According to him, the attitude of successive administrations is one of “the winner takes all” to the detriment of the interest of the greater majority of the people.

  • How Buhari’s administration plans to tackle poverty, by Ikpeazu, Amaechi, Dakuku

    How Buhari’s administration plans to tackle poverty, by Ikpeazu, Amaechi, Dakuku

    Abia State Governor, Okezie Ikpeazu, Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi and the Director General of the National Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr. Dakuku Peterside, on Friday outlined how the current administration plans to take the nation out of poverty.

    The trio spoke in Abuja during a symposium on “The New Economy and Its Impact on the Less Privileged Citizens,” organised by The Osasu Show (TOS), a television programme anchored by Miss Osasu Igbinedion.

    During a panel discussion on ending poverty and bridging the inequalities gap through infrastructure development and social protection mechanisms,  the Abia governor said the greatest problem in Nigeria is social mobilization and social engineering.

    He noted that the populace was no longer on the same page with the government both at the state and national level.

    He said Nigerians don’t spend a lot of time to look for peculiar solutions to their peculiar problems in the Nigeria environment.

    He said: “It is with this background that in Abia State, we decided to encapsulate our pillars of development around the things we can do very well – trade and commerce. You can’t talk about trade and commerce without mentioning Abia, Aba, Abriba, and all my people.

    “You must also realise that we are good in the things we can do with our hands – small scale manufacturing, shoe production, garment making and all that. But education is also important.

    “Our emphasis has been to create wealth for our people, using the avenue that they know already and we have been emphasising Made-in-Aba as a means of creating wealth and drawing relevance and growing the confidence of our people.

    “And of all our efforts in the campaign, we have attracted almost N2 billion by direct sales to the average Aba person in terms of production of military shoes and all those kind of things.”

    Amaechi said until the current dispensation, Nigeria was not producing anything other than corruption.

    Before the commencement of the current administration, he said Nigeria was importing tomatoes, with over $3 billion spent on the importation of chicken and $2 billion on fish.

    In order to alleviate poverty in the country, the minister said the federal government had to diversify the economy and also come up with the Economic Recovery Growth Plan (ERGP).

    Dakuku said the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) was an affirmation that Nigeria was facing a peculiar challenge and if nothing was done about it, the country would be endangered.

    He identified infrastructure as one of the critical ways of ending poverty.

     

     

  • Abia received over N160b since May 2015 – Otti

    Abia received over N160b since May 2015 – Otti

    The All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) governorship candidate in Abia State, Alex Otti, on Wednesday asked Governor Okezie Ikpeazu to explain how he spent over N160 billion received between May 2015 and last month.

    Otti stated this in a rejoinder to two statements issued by the state government in reaction to his allegation of financial misappropriation against Governor Ikpeazu.

    The APGA candidate, who said he would not join Ikpeazu in the mud, told the governor to explain why salaries have not been paid despite all the money accrued the state.

    He said Abia State got N120 billion from the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation (OAGF) between May 2015 and last month, adding that the state got a N10 billion loan from a commercial bank, N14.105 billion bailout fund, as well as N10.6 billion and N5.7 billion first and second Paris Club Refund funds respectively.

    Otti said: “On the issue of funds that have accrued to the state and how they were utilized, information available from the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation indicate that you received N25.59 billion and N15.42 billion between May to December 2015.

    “From January to December 2016, Abia State received N30.56 billion and N19.61 billion. You got N18.28 billion and N11.91 billion between January and July, 2017. The total money received by Abia State from the OAGF is N74.42 billion and N46.94 billion, which equals N120 billion.

    “In addition to the above funds, you had borrowed N10billion from an old generation bank and had also received the following funds: Bail out N14.105billion, first tranche of Paris Club Refund N10.6 billion and second tranche of Paris Club Refund N5.7 billion.

    “By your own admission, you collect N1billion monthly on Internally Generated Revenue (IGR). You will agree with me that these are huge sums of money. I do know that it also costs money to run government and part of government expenditure goes to payment of salaries. I do not think it is too much to ask, if a citizen demands to know how these funds were utilized.

    “On salaries, I will advise that you come clean and let us know why salaries are not being paid in spite of all the funds received as itemized above. It is no use making claims that are not true like the ones made in your responses to me to the effect that you have paid all outstanding salary arrears.

    “Those who are owed are there in the state and I consider it a great disservice to them and the state when their governor makes untruthful claims about salary payments.

    “Besides, the world is now a global village and there are credible sources including ‘Budgit’ that publish states that are in arrears of salary payments. You may wish to ask for the latest edition of such publications and see if our state is listed amongst those that are not owing.

    “On your claims of commissioning 26 roads and constructing 65 others, I will advise that you give Abia people real roads. All those roads built and commissioned by propaganda on the state radio and sponsored social media platforms can only remain what they are: a mirage, when many parts of Aba and Umuahia remain in ruins and impassable. You can travel very far with propaganda, but it can never take you to a real destination, except if your destination is imaginary.”