By MATTHEW KALU, Umuahia

Abia State governor, Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu, has called for a ceasefire in the ongoing intense political brickbats over which section of the state that should produce his successor in 2023, saying he was still in control and should not be stampeded him out of office.

Ikpeazu’s “ceasefire” intervention is coming on the heels of the claim by the Ukwa la Ngwa people of the Old Aba Division under the auspices of Ukwa la Ngwa Elders’ Council that must produce the next governor in 2023 and govern for another eight years to get equal with the Old Bende Division which it said governed Abia for 16 unbroken years, from 1999 to 2015.

The people of Ukwa la Ngwa made their position known through a communiqué issued at the end of the Ukwa La Ngwa Elders’ Council inaugural rotation meeting held at Okpualangwa in Isialangwa North local government area of Abia State last Wednesday.

Their position has generated varied reactions. Ukwa youths who are part of Ukwa la Ngwa, in their strident reaction, dissociated themselves from the Ukwa la Ngwa declaration, saying it does not represent their position as far as 2023 was concerned. They also demanded that the coveted governorship position be zoned to Ukwa as the area produces oil which revenue was being used to develop the state.

Also disagreeing with the Ukwa la Ngwa, the Director-General of Abia North Political Projects 2023, Dr. Uduma Nnate, lampooned the Ukwa la Ngwa Elder’s Council, stressing that their real elders were the custodians of the rotational Abia Charter of Equity and which Ukwa la Ngwa was presently enjoying its dividends; adding that “the real elders of Ukwa la Ngwa knows the danger and implications of violating the rotational Abia Charter of Equity.”

Joining the fray, Abia Central Zone of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), through its Chairman, Hon. Chukwudi Ezebuiro, while reacting, accused the Ukwa la Ngwa of heating up the polity and distracting Ikpeazu’s focus on good governance. Similarly the Abia North PDP Zone led by Chief Abraham Amah, warned Ukwa la Ngwa people that they cannot get power through threats and propaganda.

As the Ukwa la Ngwa communiqué continued to draw controversial reactions, Ikpeazu has intervened by expressing deep concerns over the current exchange of political brickbats by politicians and groups over who succeeds him in 2023.

In a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Sir Onyebuchi Ememanka, early Friday morning, Ikpeazu described such exchanges as “unnecessary, premature and capable of distracting his administration.”

“Governor Ikpeazu makes it abundantly clear to all that he is still in charge of the State and will not be stampeded out of office by people who want to alter the natural order of things,” the statement added.

Ememanka noted that while the Governor appreciates the rights of persons and groups to canvass their political ideas and preferences but pointed out that he (Ikpeazu) warned that timing was critical in these permutations and that there could only be one Governor at any particular time.

According to the CPS, Ikpeazu assured that when the time comes, his successor will emerge through a peaceful process of consensus and justice, involving all interest groups in the State, reminding Abians that only God anoints leaders.”

“Governor Ikpeazu appealed to politicians not to allow their rhetoric’s about 2023 threaten the peace and tranquility we currently enjoy in Abia State, and finally advised them to pray to God to give life and good health ahead of the politics of 2023, because only the living and the healthy will play politics by that time,” the CPS said.

The statement added that Ikpeazu’s “preoccupation now is how to continue to deliver more people-oriented infrastructural projects for the people of Abia State, strengthen trade and commerce and keep our people safe,” explaining that the question of who succeeds him was definitely not what he was thinking about at the moment.

“If I start in June 2021 to think about my successor in 2023 and begin to hold meetings on the issue, it will be difficult for me to concentrate again and do my work,” the CPS quoted the Governor as saying.