The camp of Abia State Governor, Dr Okezie Ikpeazu said their attention has been drawn to the rumours gaining ground their principal, the Governor, is behind some clandestine plan to impeach the Deputy Governor, Rt. Hon Ude Oko Chukwu.
News Echo reports that since Oko Chukwu who hails from Abia North declared his intention to run for the governorship position, a decision which many alleged is against the wish of his boss who seems to favour a power shift to another Ngwa clan in Abia Central, there had been reports of impeachment plots.
Despite the strange decision of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in Abia State to zone the governorship ticket to both Abia Central and Abia North, the rumour making rounds has it that Ikpeazu has already endorsed a candidate of Ngwa extraction, a move Oko Chukwu and his Abia North people feel is unacceptable. Reacting to the rumours, Ikpeazu’s Chief Press Secretary, Sir Onyebuchi Ememanka disclosed that nothing could be from the truth than such rumour, as there is no substance in it and his boss has no such plans and has never discussed any such issue with anyone. Ememanka said that his boss’s credentials as an Apostle of Peace and Stability are beyond disputation, as he holds the distinction of being the only Governor in the history of Abia State who has spent almost 7 years in office with the same Deputy Governor.
Ikpeazu’s CPS said that his boss does not want his Deputy impeached as he intends to keep that credential intact and urged Abia people to check the records of the fate of past Deputy Governors in the State which he said are in the public domain.
“While the natural expectation of Governor Ikpeazu at this time was that his Deputy would have stood by him in steadying the ship of state as we head towards a political transition period, instead of being distracted by his personal political ambitions, the Governor, however, as a true democrat, believes that such ambition is not enough to warrant any plans to impeach the Deputy Governor.
“This is why the Deputy Governor continues to be actively involved in the business of governance.
He remains the Chairman of the State Committee on Internally Generated Revenue, in addition to managing several other areas of government business,” Ememanka said. He said that Ikpeazu’s disposition towards his Deputy has reflected in the great relationship he shares with the people of Nkporo in the Ohafia Local Government Area, the home of the Deputy Governor.
According to Ememanka, this relationship has manifested in the construction of the all-important but long-abandoned Abiriba – Nkporo Road, the brand-new Cottage Hospital at Nkporo and some other projects that have transformed the infrastructural landscape of the Community as well as the welfare of the people.
He said that the issues that occupy the mind of Governor Okezie Ikpeazu at this time are to continue to deliver dividends of democracy to the people of Abia State, tie up ongoing projects and guide our people to a smooth transition by next year.