Abia State governor, Chief Theodore Orji, has said that the emergence of Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu as the governor-elect of the state has enthroned justice, equity and fairness in the political equation of the state. Governor Orji, who spoke to journalists in reaction to Ikpeazu’s victory, said his election had also broken the jinx of an Ukwa/Ngwa person becoming the chief executive of Abia since the state was created in 1991. “The party (PDP) said it was time to break the jinx of an Ukwa/Ngwa man becoming a governor,” Orji said. According to him, the pattern of voting in the election shows that no section of the state can produce a governor without the support of Ukwa/Ngwa. Orji explained that the implementation of power shift had put in place a template that must be sustained in order to avoid rancour, acrimony and distrust in the contest for power among various sections of Abia State. The governor dismissed the widely held view in the state that he installed Ikpeazu, insisting that he was chosen by the party, having emerged through a governorship primary election. He also dismissed the insinuations that he would be manipulating Dr. Ikpeazu to do his bidding. According to him, once he leaves office, he will have nothing to do with how his successor ran his administration. “You cannot manipulate a man with Ph.D. He is old enough, has been in government and is very intelligent. The era of manipulation is gone. “I am moving to another level as a Senator representing Abia Central,” Orji said. He, however, urged the governor-elect to see the whole of Abia as his constituency and strive to sustain the peace and unity of the state by running inclusive government and taking the issue of security seriously.
