Abia: Ikpeazu,Pdp,YPP,LP,etal planning 70 years rule for “Ngwa” – Group raises alarm
…urges Abia-North to wake up
Abia Reformation Movement have accused the incumbent Governor of the State , Okezie Victor Ikpeazu of spearheading the scuttling of the “Abia Charter of Equity” which promotes equal power sharing amongst the three Senatorial zones of the state.
The group noted with dismay how Ikpeazu and the State’s People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in collaboration with major opposition Parties in the state had enmarked a 70 years Governorship dominance of Ngwa(Abia South/Central)extraction starting from 2023 thereby comprising the existing zoning arrangement which naturally should go to Abia-North at the completion of the tenure of Okezie Victor Ikpeazu, by May 2023.
Addressing a World Press conference shortly after its General Congress, the group revealed that through the sponsorship of the state Government opposition Parties like the Young Progressives Party (YPP), Labour Party (LP) and others ensured that their Governorship candidates emanated from Ngwa extraction.
At the press conference held on Thursday in Umuahia, the group’s Founder, Comrade Ibeabuchi Kalu charged voters in the state to rise above political and clannish interest and massively vote against the PDP and other political parties that fielded governorship candidates not from Abia North extraction.
Kalu explained that while Abia North held power for eight years from 1999 before passing it unto Abia Central in 2007, and Abia South in 2015, it would be only natural for power to rotate back to the North in 2023 in the spirit of equity and justice.
Kalu also called on the generality of Abians to support its cause, especially voters from Abia-North to take the lead by ensuring that their candidates from parties like Social Democratic Party (SDP) , Action Democratic Party and Action People’s Party (APP) get the massive support that they needed.
The statement reads in full;
Recent political developments in our state has pitched the leadership of our pristine ancient provinces in the dirge of political tussles of which group should produce the governor of the State in 2023, which situation has brought together Abia patriots under the aegis of Abia Reformation Movement, ARM to step in to protect, preserve and defend our common heritage as Abians.
Abia Reformation Movement is a group of patriotic Abia youths who can no longer stay by the sides and watch selfish leaders under various proclivities to continue to destroy our ancient landmarks and heritage in the name of politics of divide and rule and in the process tend to revise and rewrite history.
We can no longer watch as revisionist group like “Ukwa la Ngwa” and their cohorts who enjoy State sponsorship take up the atrocious task of redrawing and rewriting history leading to repartitioning our ancient landmarks to give unearned and unsolicited dominance to a section of the Abia geopolitical entity. This must stop!
Abia State was a creation of pristine ancient provinces of Aba, Bende, Isuikwuato, and Afikpo divisions. With the creation of Ebonyi state took away the Afikpo province and therefore leaving us with Aba, Bende and Isuikwuato provinces. Ukwa and their Ngwa cousins later became known as Old Aba province, Bende division and Isuikwuato Umunneochi axis were generally referred to as Old Bende division or province.
For the purpose of power sharing, Abia State was later subdivided into three Senatorial zones of Abia North, Abia Central and Abia South during the time of the return of democracy in the year, 1999. Gubernatorial power sharing has also been allowed to follow the theology of the Senatorial zones whereupon Abia North was the first to take through Dr. Orji Uzo Kalu, Abia Central took next through Chief Theodore Orji and lastly came Abia South through the incumbent, Dr. Okezie Victor Ikpeazu.
With the expected completion of the tenure of Okezie Victor Ikpeazu, by May 2023, the baton of leadership of the State is expected to and should return to Abia North to begin a new cycle of seamless power shifts across the state.
This seamless power shift across the Senatorial zones is what was contemplated by the Abia Charter of Equity principles for governing the state by our founding fathers.
The conspiracy between the incumbent government of the PDP and some other political parties, like LP, YPP, et al, in collaboration with some revisionist groups like Ukwa la Ngwa and their cohorts to keep power from rotating back to Abia North is selfish, divisive, clannish, retrogressive, dishonorable, wicked and unacceptable to the generality of Abians of all divides and across political spectrum. This, if allowed will enthrone anarchy, chaos, tribal hatred, divisiveness and underdeveloped the state. This must be resisted by all patriotic Abians.
We are therefore calling on all Abians of good conscience to resist the PDP clannish rule that has cast the Abia Charter of Equity under the moving bus by massively voting against the PDP and other political parties that fielded governorship candidates not from Abia North extraction, and with the tendency to foist another Ngwa man to continue the retrogressive rule already well established by Okezie Victor Ikpeazu is unacceptable. Proactive steps must be taken to return the state back to the template created by our founding fathers who fought for the creation of Abia State.
We are calling Abians to come together irrespective of political parties and join us to return the government back to Abia North through the Abia Charter of Equity already negotiated for us by our founding fathers. Abians of all divides must say No to PDP and the other political parties together with their collaborators with whom they are today trying to destroy the fabrics of peaceful coexistence in the State. Abia State does not belong to the PDP. Enough is Enough.
We are calling on Abians of good conscience to consider only the political parties that fielded governorship candidates from Abia North like APP, ADP and SDP as working in the spirit of Abia Charter of Equity and therefore are compliant to our dictum of equitable power rotation principles for good governance in the state.
We are calling on Abians of good conscience to join hands with ARM to preserve, protect, and defend the pristine principles of Abia Charter of Equity for good governance in our state.
