GOVERNOR OKEZIE IKPEAZU PhD
FAREWELL BUT NOT GOODNIGHT
ABIA PATRIOTIC UNION, A PAN-ABIAN GROUP OF PATRIOTIC PROFESSIONAL offers the following affirmations on Governor Ikpeazu and the state of governance in our beloved Abia State.

1. Abia Patriotic Union fully recognizes that the service tenure of Governor Okezie Ikpeazu come to an end after eight years, on the 29th of May 2023. These years have been eventful and have naturally drawn different reactions from Abia people and the electorate.

2. Some have criticized Governor Ikpeazu for different reasons but a clear majority of the people have praised him and recognized the merit and worth of his contributions. On the whole it has been impossible to ignore the very massive changes Governor Ikpeazu has wrought on the public space in Abia.

3. Abia Patriotic Union , in recognition of an unhelpful custom which causes people to trash reputations of public officers , particularly when out of office, invites Abians and even the wider Nigerian public , to honestly reflect on the contributions of Governor Ikpeazu to the continued transformation of Abia and how these, surely guarantee him a pride of place in our history.

4. Abia Patriotic Union applauds and congratulates Governor Ikpeazu for demystifying political power in Abia state; for redressing it and for giving it a humbler resonance. It is clearly to his eternal credit , that recurrent expenditure as well as the fat in governance has been drastically reduced. In this way, Governor Ikpeazu has been a true hero of this populist unraveling.

5. Abia Patriotic Union further recognizes that an expansion of infrastructure is an important component of popular democracy. But so also is the construction of peace and its sustenance both in the private and in public . The entire tenure of Governor Ikpeazu commencing from 2015 and running till 2023, has been characterized by communal peace. Whether this has been produced by his own pedigree or by the policies he has espoused or indeed by a combination of both, Abia has been the better for it. Abia Patriotic Union commends Governor Ikpeazu on this count and recommends that his successors uphold and sustain this regime.

6. Abia Solidarity also recognizes and applauds the fact that the reduction of the cost of governance and the ensuing communal peace has made it possible for Governor Ikpeazu to decisively attack the infrastructure deficit which has historically burdened our beloved state.

7. Abia Patriotic Union applauds Ikpeazu’s investment in education ; particularly in the retraining of teachers ; in the engagement of foreign education service providers ; in the enlargement of school enrollment from 142000 in 2015 to 650,000 in 2022. Abia Patriotic Union also commends the fact that Abia students for four consecutive years ranked first in the West African School Certificate Examination, while Abia state University ranked second among state-owned tertiary institutions and 26th amongst all-comers. Abia Patriotic Union applauds the expansion of education and the advancements registered under Gov Ikpeazu. All this has been accompanied by a reinforcement of the industrial and market environments in the state ; Ariara market now wears a new look after over forty years of neglect. Over three hundred major roads across the State in addition to health institutions have been redressed and streets in Aba and Umuahia are now alive with beautiful lights.

8. Abia Patriotic Union commends Ikpeazu’s strides in the health sector; in particular the Abia State children’s Hospital in Umuahia; the Abia telehealth facility which connects the 292 primary health care centers in the state with secondary medicare resources. Under Ikpeazu revenue mobilization has been rationalized and receipts soared from 500million to 1.5 billion annually. In addition, we commend the regeneration of Aba , making it Nigeria’s capital of small scale entrepreneurship.We in particular welcome Ikpeazu’s Enyimba City Project and acknowledge its capacity to inject a new impetus into the industrial life of Abia state.

9. Abia Patriotic Union, salutes Governor Ikpeazu for his service to his people and state. In particular we welcome the equanimity with which he has accepted the change in Abia. He has espoused peace and understands that our citizens can be served in different ways. Politics does not begin nor does it end with high office . The foundation laid by, Ikpeazu , as with that laid by other governors , will be built upon by the new helmsman. Government is a continuum, and in the fluent exchange, one to the other, lies the path to total delivery.

10. Abia Patriotic Union has in conclusion, noted with concern widespread reports about unpaid salaries and acknowledges that the situation remains an ugly social challenge. Abia Patriotic Union however notes that salaries of civil servants were fully addressed under Ikpeazu, all 29,000 of them, and that undischarged salary burdens exist only in the instance of parastatals, many of which spent their way into debtor status. The future belongs to all of us , the leaders and the led. It is important however that we recognize that the political capital which leadership provides us is our common heritage. The service years of Ikpeazu as with others before him, contain priceless wisdom which we must treasure and use to guide our quest for transformation.

Ikpeazu is not disappearing into the sunset, so even though we say farewell, we must not allow people like him with his several gifts to remain on the shelf for too long . Farewell to a worthy servant of his people, farewell but not goodnight