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Ikpeazu to Otti: Purge yourself of ‘Ikpeazuphobia’ *Denies owing banks
From the Okezie Ikpeazu, former Governor of Abia State, came a strong advice to his successor, Alex Otti – purge yourself of Ikpeazumenia to make a headway in your administration or continue running in different directions like a headless chicken for the duration of your term.
The advice is followed by an equally strong rebuttal to the allegation that the former governor plunged the state into huge debts by the borrowings he obtained from commercial banks before leaving office, saying nothing could be farther from the truth.
Onyebuchi Ememanka, spokesman to the former governor, while debunking the reports described them as false and a mischievous ploy by the Abia State Government under the leadership of Alex Otti, which he urged to purge itself of “Ikpeazuphobia” (fear of Ikpeazu) and face the serious business of governance.
Noting in a statement that but for its serious and of great public importance, the allegation deserved no response, he accused the governor of suffering from a clear case of obsession and paranoia, as no day passed without the present government looking for some reason to blame the preceding administration for everything under the sun, no matter how unreasonable.
The statement said: “Their latest strategy is to surreptitiously inform key agencies and arms of government that their reason for not meeting their obligations to them is because there is an outstanding loan of a whopping 22 Billion Naira taken by the Ikpeazu administration from Zenith Bank and UBA.
“Nothing could be farther from the truth. The 22 Billion Naira loan exists in the imaginations of the peddlers of the wicked and warped narrative. For the avoidance of doubt, we wish to make it abundantly clear that as of the 28th day of May 2023 when the administration of Dr Okezie Ikpeazu ended by effluxion of time, the Government of Abia State was not owing any commercial bank in the ordinary course of business. This is a no-brainer because no commercial bank in Nigeria will grant any facility to any State Government, the repayment terms of which will run beyond their tenure of office.”
The statement, added that in the ordinary course of business, the Abia State Government, like every State Government in Nigeria, had financial arrangements with banks by way of Temporary Overdraft facilities (TOD), adding that it was a thing of pride to state that all TODs were cleared before we left office.
“To be more specific, the only outstanding TOD with UBA which was in the region of 6 Billion Naira was fully repaid in March and April 2023. It is public knowledge that the last allocation received by the Ikpeazu administration was for the month of April 2023,” it further said, challenging the governor to produce any evidence to support their “spurious claim.”
“Like we had explained before now, the only existing liabilities are loans taken by successive administrations from the old Imo State, most of which were taken to fund critical developmental projects over the years. These also include bailout funds which were loans given by the Federal Government to every State in the country to support the States, with very clearly defined repayment terms which are structured in a way that the ordinary day to day business of State will not be hampered.
“May we remind them that the most critical obligation of any government is to secure the lives and property of the people? Security is a serious and capital-intensive project. The Otti administration should stop manufacturing excuses and fund the various security agencies in the State. It is on record that throughout the 8 years that Dr Okezie Ikpeazu held forte as Governor, the people of Abia State largely slept with their two eyes closed on account of the relative peace and security that prevailed across the State. These didn’t happen by giving excuses and playing blame games.”
Maintaining that the removal of the Petroleum Subsidy by the Federal Government had naturally jerked up funds available to the three tiers of Government in the country, the statement, added: “For the month of May 2023, the Otti administration received 9.113 Billion Naira as allocation. This was received in June. This is the highest allocation received by the State in any single month in the last 10 years.
“Allocation for the month of June which will reach the states any moment from today is projected to be more than double of what they got last month, so the Abia State Government has no reason whatsoever not to fund Security Operations and even the legislative branch of Government. Finally, we wish to remind Governor Alex Otti that he was elected to solve the problems facing Abia State and not to blame Ikpeazu.”
Peter Obi, candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), has given assignment to Nigerians to put all those aspiring to take up political positions in the country through the grill to ascertain their level of integrity, saying it was required as a sine qua non for the job they seek.
Obi, who has been a subject of discussion in the polity since the allegation of corruption was levied against him by Kenneth Okonkwo, spokesman of his campaign in 2023, over the conduct of the party’s primaries to choose candidates for the 2027 general elections, said the grilling must start with his own person.
A guest in an interview on a podcast with Rufai Oseni, a popular television anchor, the former Governor of Anambra State, stated that it was actually for this reason that he had now sworn to see the litigation he instituted against Okonkwo through.
His take is that the Nollywood actor should use the courtrooms to give all the details of bad behaviour, following his threat to expose him fully, after alleging that he was collecting money from aspirants in the said election for electoral favours.
Hear him: “The issue of taking Kenneth Okonkwo to court wouldn’t have arisen if he had stopped at those allegations. But he claimed he still has more he would expose about me in the future. So, I am very happy to take him to court so that he can expose me publicly, alongside other Nigerians. If any of them has any criminal allegations against me, they should bring them to court.
“Not just Kenneth, everybody should now say those things they know that is bad about me or I did that is wrong because it’s good for the system, it’s good for the society,” Obi said.
“So, if you know that when we were in primary school, this man was cheating or didn’t go to the primary school, didn’t go to secondary school, didn’t do, if you know this man has done something criminal somewhere, this is time to bring it up.”
For the umpteenth time, Atiku Abubakar, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has warned about the dangerous implication of using state institutions, particularly the judiciary to destroy Nigeria’s democracy, saying it is an ill-wind that blows nobody any good.
Atiku, presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), speaking on the heels of Tuesday’s verdict of the Court of Appeal, halting the de-registration order by the Federal High Court, insisted that judicial officers must not lend themselves to any act capable of undermining the nation’s democratic process.
The appellate court had ordered a stay of execution on the order made on Monday by Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court Abuja, for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to deregister the ADC alongside four other political parties).
A totally scandalised Court of Appeal, sitting in Abuja, had taken umbrage, sparing no hard words in upbraiding the lower court judge, stating that his likes were unfit to sit on the bench.
In a unanimous ruling by a three-man panel, the court held that Lifu’s action was “the highest form of judicial impertinence”, stressing that the Supreme Court previously held that a judge who acted in such a manner.
Describing his conduct as the height of judicial rascality, the upper court, stated: “Courts are enjoined to protect their integrity. This Court has supervisory authority over the trial court.
“The decision of the lower court to proceed with the judgment despite the express order of this court is a brazen violation of the hierarchy of the court and the 1999 Constitution.
This court has the duty to invoke its powers in ensuring that its orders are obeyed. The application for a stay of execution is here yet granted. The enforcement of the judgment is stayed.”
Atiku, who hailed the position of the higher court, which restored his hope to be on the ballot as presidential candidate in the 2027 election, also noted the role of INEC as “significant.”
He said: “I welcome the Court of Appeal’s decision to stay the execution of the Federal High Court judgement seeking the deregistration of our great party, the ADC, and four other political parties. It is particularly significant that INEC itself initiated the application for the stay.
“The development reflects growing public concern over judicial contradictions and politically charged rulings within the judiciary. “Any attempt to undermine Nigeria’s hard-won democracy through judicial manipulation is a grave danger to the Republic. If our democracy suffers further injury, history will demand accountability from those entrusted with dispensing justice.
Outside ADC, Lifu’s order, also included: Action Democratic Congress (ADC), Action Peoples Party (APP), Action Alliance (AA), Accord Party (AP) and Zenith Labour Party (ZLP), similarly slammed for allegedly failing to meet the constitutional requirements for continued registration and participation in elections.
“He is running in contempt of the court. Justice Lifu should be arrested because he is acting in contempt of the court which is a criminal act,” were the exact words with which the African Democratic Congress (ADC), demonstrated its angst over the court ruling on Monday, ordering its de-registration as a political party in Nigeria.
A furious Bolaji Abdullahi, spokesman of the party, told his host while appearing as a guest on Monday’s edition of Politics Today, a public affairs programme on Channels Television that the judge of the Abuja Federal High Court who gave the order was actually playing with fire because of the consequences.
Directly accusing him of playing the script of the All Progressives Congress (APC), to ensure that President Bola Tinubu emerged the sole candidate for the 2027 presidential election, the party spokesman, was emphatic that the plan would not work, as head or tail, ADC must be on the ballot in all the elections.
Hear him: “There is a Court of Appeal order saying don’t hear this case until October 27. So, on what basis? You can’t place something on nothing. The Court of Appeal said don’t act on this until I hear it on October 27. So, on what basis did he deliver the judgement
“So, for us in the African Democratic Congress, what we’re convinced and they know is what they have done has no leg to stand on legally. What they want to do is to create doubts in the minds of the people that this ADC has too many legal cases, can we actually run on this? And to distract us. But we’re not distracted.
“We’re very clear. It was in spite of all they have done since ADC came on board that we ran one of the best and one of the most comprehensive direct primaries in the history of democracy in Nigeria. So, we are strong enough to withstand this. And that’s why I’m saying that we are going to contest in 2027. We’re ADC. We don’t buckle before dictatorship.”
Stressing on the implication of the judgement, which also affected Accord Party (AP), Action Peoples Party (APP), Action Alliance (AA), and Zenith Labour Party (ZLP) for allegedly failing to meet constitutional and electoral performance requirements, following a suit by the National Forum of Former Legislators, he said it portended grave danger.
He added: “We are not surprised. We know that the Nigerian people believe that there is a problem with the judiciary, but what we did not expect is the level of judicial rascality that was demonstrated today.
“What we are saying is that we reject it in its totality, and we are saying that the people behind this are playing with fire. Hundreds, if not thousands, have obtained nomination forms and contested elections and emerged as candidates on the platform of the ADC.”
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