By Levinus Nwabughiogu
The competition was so tough that the winner would naturally roll out drums to celebrate the victory. And that was what Dr Okejie Ikpeazu and his people did when he emerged the winner of the governorship election in Abia. It is the first time an Ngwa man will be governor in Abia State. Like the Bende and Umuahia people from Abia North and Abia Central respectively, the Ukwa/people of Abia South in Abia State have never had an opportunity to produce the governor of the State since its creation, not even in the old Imo State.
Okejie Ikpeazu
The best they have always got is the deputy governor. Thus, in the current democratic dispensation, people such as Senator Enyinanny Abaribe, late Dr. Chima Nwafor, Mr. Acho Nwakanma and the present deputy governor, Chief Emeka Ananaba have had opportunities to be second-in-command at one time or another. But for the governorship, no one had smelt it.
And so, on the basis of fairness, justice and equity, the outgoing Governor, T.A. Orji saw the need to support the candidacy of an Ngwa man for governorship. The choice for the office eventually became Dr. Okojie Ikpeazu, from Obingwa local government area.
Anyone who monitored the elections that had crowned now Ikpeazu the governor-elect would admit the toughness. Apart from the campaigns that were extremely competitive in all facets, energy-sapping and time consuming, the elections were also not concluded on the first day of the general governorship elections which held on April 11.
On that day, Ikpeazu’s ran against his closest rival, Dr. Alex Oti of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA who was also former member of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP. Though there were other candidate like Dr. Anyim Nyerere of the All Progressives Congress, APC, the election was narrowed to Ikpeazu and Oti.
Ikpeazu was able to poll a total of 248, 459, while Dr. Alex Otti of APGA got 165, 406 votes, leaving APGA trailing by 83,053 on the first day of the election. But the election was declared inconclusive by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC and a rerun was scheduled on April 25. INEC cited irregularities in some polling units of 9 local government areas and eventually fixed a supplementary election in those areas.
The local government areas included: Aba North, Aba South,Ikwuano, Ohafia, Osisioma, Ugwunagbo, Umuahia South, Umuahia North and Umunneochi. April 25 supplementary polls
In the opinion of the candidates, the last Saturday’s rerun was not necessary. The two of them from PDP and APGA laid claim to victory of the first election on April 11 with their APC counter-part calling for general cancellation of the results.
His own reason was that the first election was a rigging competition between PDP and APGA. But INEC ignored the claims and went ahead with the supplementary. At the completion of the exercise, Ikpeazu polled polled a total number of 261,059 votes while APGA’s Otii got 184,536 votes. With the difference, Ikpeazu defeated Oti and was declared the winner of the elections.
Details of results of where the supplementary election showed that in Aba North where PDP got 754 while APGA polled 857, Ikwuano PDP 1,748, APGA 2179, in Ohafia, PDP polled 2,479 while APGA got 326. At Isiala Ngwa North, PDP 60, APGA 60, in Aba South, PDP 722 while APGA got 2536, at Ogwunagbo, PDP got 1893 while APGA polled 1289.
Also, in Umuahia North, PDP polled 1377 while APGA got 4184 and in Umuahia North, PDP got 1,899 and APGA polled 2,376. The last was Osisioma where APGA polled 5,322 and PDP got 1668.
Why Ikpeazu won
One fact that has, perhaps, remained hidden which was really a pointer in Ikpeazu’s election was that for the first time, Ukwa/Ngwa people were unprecedentedly united to champio
n the Ngwa course. Notably also, the Ukwa/Ngwa community in Abia spans across 9 out of the 17 local government areas of the state. They are Obingwa, Isialangwa north, Isialangwa south, Aba South, Aba North, Osisioma Ngwa, Ugwunagbo, Ukwa East and Ukwa west. By this, they are the largest clan in the State.
Since the creation of Nigeria, the people have not produced governor of Abia State and so the chance of producing one in 2015 marshalled out an unusual enthusiasm in them which prompted them to come out enmasse to vote for their kinsman.
For instance, the highest votes in the elections came from Obingwa, Ikpeazu’s local government area. He got 82, 240 votes while Otti scred 1,952.
Another factor that helped to catapult Ikpeazu to victory was that the Senator representing Abia South with 6 local government areas, Enyinnaya Abaribe hails from the same local government area with him. So, it was a swing vote for him in those areas.
The man Ikpeazu
Little was heard of him outside the political enclave of Abia until about one year ago. But the governor-elect was not before then a complete green horn in the political thresholds.
Ikpeazu is a Doctor of Philosophy, Ph.D. A renowned biochemist, he was born on October 18, 1964, to the family of late Pa Ishmael and Deaconess Bessie Ikpeazu of Umuebere in Umuobiakwa village, Isialaukwu Mbato Autonomous Community in Obingwa Local Government Area of Abia State, Nigeria.
He attended Amaise Central Primary School, Umuobiakwa. In 1973, while in primary five, he gained admission into Eziama High School, Aba and later moved to Ihie High School, Isiala Ngwa, where he took his School Certificate Examination in 1979. In 1980, at the age of 16, he gained admission into the University of Maiduguri (UNIMAID) to study Clinical Biochemistry and graduated with a B.Sc. (Hons.) Second Class Upper Division in August, 1984.
From August 1984 to August 1985, Dr. Ikpeazu served as a clinical biochemist in the medical laboratory of the Rivers State University of Science and Technology (RSUST) Port Harcourt, for his national youth service. He returned to the University of Maiduguri for an M.Sc degree in Biochemical Toxicology and graduated in 1990. In 1994, at the age of 30, he obtained a doctorate degree, Ph.D, in Biochemical Pharmacology from the University of Calabar.
Career/public service
Ikpeazu served as a Graduate-Assistant in the Department of Science Laboratory Technology, University of Maiduguri, from 1986 to 1987 while studying for his M.Sc degree. He also taught at the Calabar Polytechnic from 1990 to 1992 during his Ph.D programme.
Between 1994 and 1996, he served as Administrative Manager with Cash Bond Investments and Credits Ltd, Lagos. In 1998, Dr. Ikpeazu joined the services of Enugu State University of Science and Technology (ESUT) as Lecturer 1 in the Department of Applied Biochemistry, Faculty of Applied Natural Sciences, and rose to Head of Department by 2001. He was also an Adjunct Senior Lecturer, Department of Biochemistry, Ebonyi State University College of Basic Medical Sciences, between 2000 and 2002. Between 2003 and 2004, he was a Masters’ Degree External Examiner, to the Department of Biochemistry, University of Nigeria.
In 2002, Ikpeazu served as the Transition Committee (TC) Chairman for Obingwa Local Government Area. This marked his entry into politics. He also served as Special Adviser to the Governor of Abia State. He was appointed General Manger, Abia State Passengers Integrated Manifest and Safety Scheme (ASPIMSS) from 2007 to 2009. Within the period, he turned around the fortunes of ASPIMSS, and made it a revenue yielding agency of government.
In 2010, he was appointed Chairman, Governing Council of Abia State College of Health Technology, Aba. During his tenure, he facilitated the accreditation of three critical courses in the institution by the NBTE. In 2011, he was reappointed General Manager, Abia State Passengers Integrated Manifest and Safety Scheme (ASPIMSS), a position he held till 2013. In June 2013, he was appointed the first Deputy General Manager, Abia State Environmental Protection Agency (ASEPA) Aba and Environs; an assignment he creditably discharged to the admiration of not only the Aba populace, but also the entire Abia State and was there until October 2014 when he resigned.
He is a member of Biochemical Society of Nigeria, the Nigeria Environmental Society and Rotary Club of Eziukwu Aba. He is a Trustee and the President, Eastern Ngwa Country Sports Club of Nigeria. He is happily married to Mrs. Nkechi Okezie Ikpeazu, and the marriage is blessed with four children.
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