I want Abians to see me as one willing to serve his people –Ikpeazu

Okezie Ikpeazu’s declaration to contest for the Governorship seat of Abia State in the 2015 general elections is generating excitement among the electorates, who see him as credible and qualified for the position.

His entry into the race however has not gone down well with some aspirants, who see him as the anointed candidate of Governor Theodore Orji, a claim he has refuted.

Ikpeazu, who consulted well before declaring his intentions to vie for the post of Governor of Abia State, says he wants Abians to see him, as one willing to serve his people.

Ikpeazu, a Doctorate Degree Holder in Biochemistry and a major donor of the Rotary Club International is from Obingwa Local Government Area, in Abia South senatorial zone, which is expected to produce the next Governor of the State, going by the PDP zoning formula.

In an exclusive interview with BusinessDay in Aba, he explained that he decided to contest, to actualize his dream of rendering serve to Abians.

According to him, “I want to run for Governorship for two reasons to fill an identified gap, which I think I’m well fitted to fill. I represent the middle class, I am a home grown politician, and everything about me is within this environment.

“And I also have dynamism to cooperate with all progressive minded politicians to redevelop Abia and take the State where it ought to be. I have thorough knowledge of what the incumbent Governor has done and I am better suited to build on his legacies.

“And Haven spent 20 years within the corridors of politics and with a PhD obtained at the age of 27, I have sufficient pedigree to move the State forward.

Ikpeazu, who promised to develop new cities from the State, if given the opportunity to serve, however stated that Abia should be driven from Aba, especially from the perspective of its socio-economic location, as the business hub of the South-East.

“We will rediscover Aba and develop Abia from the fall out of what happens in Aba. I essentially also think that there should be an Abia even after oil, Federal allocation and all that.

“So we should think about indigenous industrialization-home bread technology, which is what Aba represents. That they say Aba is the Japan of Africa, is not for nothing. It is because there is some sense of recognition of the ingenuity and capacity of Aba people to create things.

“We shouldn’t be buying foreign made things like textile, leather and also interms of technology and fabrication, we have it here. And I think that I am best suited to harness these potentials of Abia State. Whatever we get from Abia, will help us to develop Arochukwu, Isiukwuato and the fringes of Umuahia and truly, people will see that Abia has great potentials, “he affirmed.

Apart from been a humanitarian, Ikpeazu is also seen as a bridge builder. He is more acceptable to the Abians, which gives him an edge over other contenders from Abia South.

Also his recent role as General Manager, ASEPA, Aba and Environs endeared him more to the people, as he performed creditably well in sanitizing Aba, in a very short time.

His performance in ASEPA attracted the Rotary International, Eziukwu, Aba, to bestow him with the prestigious Community Service and Paul Harris Fellow Awards of the Rotary International for his outstanding contribution to the development of his community.

The event, which took place at the prestigious Hotel Enitona, Aba, attracted the crème de la crème of the society, who came to identify with a man, all claimed to have done so much in a short period of time to improve the hygiene of the commercial city.

Chika Nnnamani, former president, Rotary Club of Eziukwu, organizers of the event, affirmed that Ikpeazu has used his skills as the ASEPA DGM, to improve the quality of lives of those that live within his locality.

According to him, Ikpeazu saw his position as an opportunity to serve the Aba community and he is commendably utilizing it. We therefore unanimously have found him worthy of the prestigious community service award of Rotary Club International.

He explained that the award was in pursuant to the third objective of Rotary International, which is “to encourage and foster high ethical standards in business and profession.

Ude Oko Chukwu, speaker Abia State House of Assembly, who was the chairman of the occasion, applauded the choice of Ikpeazu by the club, describing him as the most able, the most capable and the most dynamic person in the area today.

“Ikpeazu is a great achiever. Apart from keeping Aba, very clean, he has also helped the State to create employment, for so many people.”

Represented by Ikechukwu Nwabeke, chief whip, Abia State House of Assembly, the Speaker, commended the Rotary Club for supporting the State Government in providing community service to the people of the State and urged them not to relent until all childhood diseases, particularly polio is rid out of the country.

Ossy Prestige, an entrepreneur and major donor to Rotary, recalled that Aba few years ago was littered with refuse before the appointment of Ikpeazu.

According to him, hardly will you pass any street in the city that you will not notice that the place is a filthy town. But since he came into office, we’ve seen a lot of improvement in the sanitation of the area. In fact we’ve seen a city of Aba that is devoid of the usual heaps of refuse all over the place. So, I think it is an award well deserved.

For Charles Obioha Ogbonnaya, deputy chief of staff, office of the deputy Governor, Abia State, the award was in recognition that Ikpeazu has contributed to the development of humanity.

In his words, “To me the honour does not mean anything, but for the recognition that this man has contributed to the development of humanity, that to me is most significant.

“Okezie Ikpeazu is known to me as far back as year 2000 and from his little way, he does not like to see anybody suffer. He does not like to see anybody fall sick around him, whether you are related to him or not, Ikpeazu goes all out to assist. And so, I think that is what we are celebrating today.

“We are not just celebrating the Paul Harris Fellow Awards, but for the fact that this man has done well for society. For instance, let us look at what is happening in Aba today, Ikpeazu is not the first ASEPA chairman or General Manager in Aba. There were many others before him. He was just drafted to come and clean up Aba and he has done it properly.

Everybody that comes into Aba today applauds his achievements. Even in Lagos where we think the Government is doing so much, the innovation created by Ikpeazu is not seen there. Refuse dumps are covered with tarpaulins to prevent the spread of diseases and these are some of the innovations Ikpeazu brought into Aba.

“If you are educated, you go ahead and translate it to whatever you are giving to do. I think Ikpeazu has touched lives, he has done very well and that is what we are celebrating today and not just the Paul Harris Awards, “he affirmed.

The elated Ikpeazu, in his humane nature dedicated the award to Governor Theodore Orji, for giving him the opportunity and template to clean up Aba, stressing that the honour done him, would spur him to do more for his society.

According to him, “The reward for hard work is more hard work.”

He attributed ASEPA achievements in Aba so far to the agency’s determination to make a difference.

“At all times when I am called upon to access what we have done, I usually say that we have not even done up to 50 percent of what we are supposed to do. But having said that, I think nobody can take it away from us that we are determined and we are prepared to make a difference.

“It doesn’t matter what the challenges are, it doesn’t matter what the pitfalls are, it doesn’t matter how many times we fall, but how many times we are able to rise and continue.

“The job we do here is dynamic, all kinds of things affect it-weather among other things. And also there is a population drift in Nigeria from the north to the south and these are some of the issues that affect our job and they don’t give signal and our capacity to respond to exigencies as they crop up is what matters, because human attitude is more difficult and intractable than engineering issues. So people respond in ways that you may not be able to predict.

“So our capacity to contend with challenges is important. And I like it when people criticize what we do. And it means that we are in the eye of the people.

He continued, “I don’t want my job to take anything from the crux of the matter today, because I thank God that today, I have become a contributor to the efforts of Rotary International to rid the world of Polio. If you have a polio afflicted child in your environment, you’ll see somebody, who is cerebrally and mentally sound, but physically unable, of no fault of his/hers, just because of a small virus and it is possible through vaccination, education, hygiene, public enlightenment, provision of vaccine to turn it around.

”But I am happy today that I have become a major contributor to the project,” he stated.

The Man Okezie Ikpeazu

Okezie Victor Ikpeazu, born in October 18, 1964 is a renowned Biochemist, was the former deputy general manager, Abia State Environmental Protection Agency, (ASEPA) Aba and Environs, a former Head of Department of Applied Biochemistry, Faculty of Applied Natural Science, Enugu State University of Science and Technology.

Okezie Ikpeazu is from Umuobiakwa, in Obingwa Local Government Area, in Abia South senatorial zone of Abia State.

He holds two degrees from the University of Maiduguri, Borno State-a Bachelor of Science, second class upper Division, in clinical Biochemistry in 1984 and a Master’s of Science Degree in Biochemical Toxicology in 1990.

He bagged a Doctor of Philosophy, PhD in Biochemical Pharmacology from the University of Calabar in 1994.   

He is a member of Biochemical Society of Nigeria and also a member of Nigerian Environmental Society. A socialite, Okezie is the current president of Eastern Ngwa Country Sports Club of Nigeria and member rotary Club of Eziukwu, Aba.

GODFREY OFURUM