Members of the All Progressive Congress (APC) from the Ukwa/Ngwa bloc in Abia State appear to be split down the middle over their support or against their son and Abia State Governor, Dr. Okezie Victor Ikpeazu.

Ikpeazu, the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), is seeking re-election for a second term. But his candidacy has become a serious bone of contention among his kinsmen of the APC fold who are embroiled in hot dispute as to whether or not they should throw their weight behind him.

Prince Paul Ikonne, an APC chieftain, during a live radio programme in Abia Thursday night, said that Ukwa/Ngwa people in APC have met and resolved to adopt Ikpeazu as their sole candidate for the Abia governorship election.

Ikonne, a former Commissioner for Works in Abia, listed the 2015 APC governorship candidate, Chief Anyim Nyerere and a former Deputy Governor of Abia, Comrade Chris Akomas as being part of the APC meeting that resolved to back Ikpeazu.

He said Ikpeazu was their son and they must give him support to be in office for eight years like his predecessors from Abia North and Abia Central zones on the balance of equity.

“Political party can collapse, but where you come from will never. I am voting for Gov Okezie Ikpeazu tomorrow,” Ikonne said.

Adducing more reasons why Ikpeazu should be supported by his kinsmen, Ikonne said the governor has performed creditably, having revived decayed infrastructure in Aba, including fixing the problematic Ukwu Mango perennial flooding and Faulks Road.

But other prominent APC members of Ukwa/Ngwa extraction have rejected the purported adoption of Ikpeazu by Ukwa/Ngwa APC, saying that though the governor is their brother, he failed woefully and does not deserve to be returned.

In a statement made available to News Express entitled “We disassociate Ukwa/Ngwa nation from the purported endorsement of Okezie Ikpeazu of the PDP,” the opponents of Ikpeazu’s endorsement also made it clear that Ukwa/Ngwa people were not hinged on the governor’s candidature or against other candidates.

The statement listed the APC running mate, Rt. Martins Azubuike, the state party chairman, Donatus Nwankpa, the APC Senatorial candidate for Abia South, Sir Marc Wabara, a former Minister of Labour and Productivity, Chief Emeka Nwogu and a former PDP governorship aspirant, Barr. Friday Nwosu, among those rejecting Ikpeazu’s adoption by the Ukwa/Ngwa APC.

Others include Engr Joseph Enyinnaya, Great Imo Jonathan, Chief Chamberlain Adiaso, Dr Bright Onyendi, Dr. Okey Nwachukwu, Hon Humphrey Azubuike and Okey Nwauba.

The statement read in part: “We the Oha Ukwa/Ngwa Nile, wish to, on behalf of our people, reject in totality the purported endorsement of Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu, the Executive Governor of Abia State and the governorship candidate of the People's Democratic Party, for re-election on Saturday, March 9, 2019.

“At the same time, we want to use this medium to debunk the notion that our people are hinged on his candidature and are against other candidates.

“Again we take exception to the intimidation of Ukwa/Ngwa indigenes who have chosen to vote according to their conscience, candidates of other parties. And we want to warn seriously that we will go to any extent to resist the move being made by agents of the PDP to put our people under diabolic oaths and to lay a course on those who want to exercise their God given rights.”

According to these APC heavy weights, “The tenure of Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu, the acclaimed son of Ukwa/Ngwa, has brought nothing but ridicule and shame to our people. He failed our expectations greatly and we can boldly say that we are not happy with him.

“Those who are running around in the name of Ukwa Ngwa, endorsing his re-election bid are nothing but agents of the cabal domiciled in the PDP and those whose only interest is monetary gain and not the progress and development of Abia State.”

“We are a people of conscience and our determination is to ensure the progress and development of Abia State. Anything to the contrary is unacceptable to us. We want posterity to judge us right, that we stood on the side of truth when it mattered most and it was not convenient.

“In the light of the foregoing and in line with good morality, we wish to publicly disassociate our people from the purported endorsement of Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu and his candidature.”

They said they were endorsing the APC standard bearer, Dr. Uchechukwu Sampson Ogah, insisting that they “consider him a better candidate and we see his manifesto as a robust plan for development of Abia State and the Ukwa/Ngwa nation.”

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