Okezie Victor Ikpeazu: Silhouettes of a galloping governorship

GOVERNOR Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia state is on tenterhooks, fighting hard to retain his seat which he got by sleight of fate. He latched on it from stealthy doors of the backstage, and had been clinging to it precariously.

Thrice now, he has come from behind to dust his challengers in circumstances that smack of good luck and providence. As the helmsman of the state’s Environ­mental Protection Agency, he was not your conventional run- of the mill politi­cian. While tested politicians including pretenders in the state jostled to endear themselves to the then governor, Theo­dore Orji, whose politicking was odious and reprehensible, to become godsons worthy of a pick as successor, the reluc­tant Ikpeazu was not known to have been part of the eerie dance. And he emerged the surprise choice, and candi­date of the party. As an underdog, the battle to undo and pull him down was bitter, frenetic, unyielding and testy. The odds against him weighed far higher than the propensity deployed to galva­nize the people into his project. Yet he rode the rough waters to victory. At a time when sentiments for the All progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, which was dubbed Igbo Party was sweeping like a hurricane across the south east, he was declared winner of the elections by the Independent Na­tional Electoral Commission, INEC. The governorship standard bearer of APGA in the state Alex Otti, headed for the courts and got it overturned at the Appeal Court.

The matter is pending at the apex court. On Monday June 27, like a bolt from the blues, a judgment was entered against him in a case many watchers of Abia politics were seldom aware of. Uche Ogah, a runner up in the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP governorship primaries had been named governor of the state, by an Abuja High Court. Smirk, INEC issued him with a certifi­cate of returns, thus stirring a budding confusion in the state. Ikpeazu, swiftly ran to an Abia state High Court to bar his vanquisher from being sworn in. The story is emblematic of the divi­sion in Abia PDP.

Ikpeazu is deep in the trench­es, in tethers struggling to hold on to power.

The forces arrayed against him are not letting up. In the threshold of this political battle, everything counts. The strings of power are dan­gling every which way. But be­neath this dance of power lie the statuettes and images of mother luck. Ikpeazu may jolly well take ref­uge in the world of myths and fancies. In ancient Chinese culture, crane sym­bolizes longevity and good luck.

It is present in nu­merous works of the Chinese art. If a turtle wanders inside your house, it is good luck. Let this beneficial ani­mal find its way to his home.

Let the pictures or symbols of the mythical dragon, the most famous symbol of luck in the Chi­nese culture adorn the walls of his home and office. After all, this may turn out to be the only cutting edge that will sustain him in power.

Born on October 18, 1964,he is the 9th governor of Abia state. He was the chairman, Governing Council, Abia state College of Health Technology, Aba, Abia state Passenger Integrated Manifest Scheme; ASPIMS; and General Manager of Abia State Environmental Protection Agency, ASEPA.

He holds a PHD in Bio chemistry. He is a native of Umuebere in Obingwa Local Government Area of the state, and is married with 4 chil­dren.