A group, South-south Emerging Leaders Forum (SELF) has challenged the Ohanaeze Ndigbo Youth Council (ONYC) to name any laudable achievement of the Abia state governor, Okezie Ikpeazu, in the last four years.
The South-south group said it’s shameful for a youth group like Ohanaeze youths group to be defending a governor that is underperforming.
Responding to a media statement credited to the ONYC and signed by one Maxi Okechukwu, SELF asked the Ohanaeze group to compare performances of the current Abia state governor to other Southeast governors like Enugu and Ebonyi states in the last four years.
While justifying the comments made by Timi Frank against governor Ikpeazu’s trip to London with President Muhammadu Buhari, SELF, in a statement signed Wednesday in Abuja by its national coordinator, Barrister Preye Wilson, said Abia state remained a glorified village under the current administration when compared to other Southeast states.
SELF said instead of deploying their youthful energy in calling Timi Frank names, the Ohanaeze youth group should tackle the political activist on issue of development in Abia state.
“One wonders if Comrade Timi Frank has suddenly created job for the Ohanaeze youth group over his recent comments on the Abia state governor. One expect the ONYC to be interested in development of the region more than doing hatchet job of defending a non performing Chief Executive for a pot of soup.
“Timi Frank did not say anything derogatory against the real Igbo leaders. The outspoken activist only pointed out what’s wrong in Ikpeazu’s trip with President at a time his (Ikpeazu) party was going through a serious challenge because of the perceived injustice in Imo state, where a democratically elected governor was removed. Where was ONYC when this was going on?,” the South-south group asked.
The group continued: “With first tenure gone and some months into the second tenure, the issue of underperformance has been on the lips of Abians who daily lament the lack of progress in the development of the state.
“No matter how hard Ikpeazu thinks he is trying, something appears to be missing: the rapid transformational touch that makes a city to shine for all to see.”
According to the group, Ikpeazu himself acknowledged this much in his inauguration address when he took oath of office for his second tenure when the governor said: “an internal review of our processes were observed and we are now committed to make amends in areas we got it wrong.”
