The Minority Leader of the Abia State House of Assembly, Hon. Chijioke Chukwu, is under fire by his colleagues and some groups over an interview credited to him on Governor Okezie Ikpeazu’s alleged non performance.
Chukwu, who was recently appointed Minority Leader of the Assembly, has been a fierce critic of the Ikpeazu administration.
Pointbalnknews.com gathered that the House of Assembly had threatened to suspend the Minority Leader if he fails to apologize to the Governor and retract his statement.
Also condemning the lawmaker’s position for what it described as wrongful conclusion, a political group, Abia North Youth League, warned that the agitation by the people of Isiala Ngwa North, Osisioma Ngwa, Isiala Ngwa South LGAs to succeed Ikpeazu as Governor is not an indication that the Governor is underperforming in office.
In the said interview, the lawmaker who represents Bende North State Constituency stated that the PDP-led government has failed and should be changed come 2023 when the governorship seat in his opinion is expected to move to the northern part of the state.
He also stated that the PDP led government in the state is yet to meet the expectation of majority of Abia people in the area of education, health care provision, job creation, environmental issues and critical infrastructure. Chukwu also lambasted those clamoring for their zones to produce the next governorship in 2023, adding that they were not only heating up the polity, but also trying to shift focus from the shortcomings of the present administration.
However, the Minority Leader insists that his remark on the performance of the PDP led administration in the state is not a verbal attack on the person of the Governor.
According to the Minority Leader in the said interview, “poor policy formulation and implementation in all aspects does not indicate an excellent performance. From education, health, job creation to environmental issues and critical infrastructure, to say the least is disappointing and frustrating. The perennial issue of nonpayment of salaries to staff of parastatals and education institutions in the state has become a signature project of the government.”
Reacting to the uproar generated by the interview, Special Assistant to the Minority Leader, Chukwuemeka Adile, also stated that the references his boss was to the PDP led administration in the state and not to the person of the governor.
“This is his position and not the person of the governor. The said press interview has generated several and diverse interpretations. One of the issues that has continued to generate multiple interpretation was the reference to His Excellency Okezie Victor Ikpeazu, the Executive Governor of Abia State, the minority leader wish to state and very unequivocally that his references to the governor was a reference to the PDP led administration in Abia State and not the person of the governor as mischievously interpreted in some quarters. Legally speaking the governor is the embodiment of the state and what the government represents.”
