Abia Truth Vanguard has observed with dismay deceit, bitterness and propaganda of calumny being unpatriotically and irresponsibly orchestrated by the Deputy Governor of Abia State, Dr Ude Oko Chukwu, using his gubernatorial campaign outfit, UDEABIA, as a platform.
Dr Ude Oko Chukwu has been a long-term principal beneficiary of the democratic political system in Abia State. He has been consecutively a 3-time Member of Abia State House of Assembly. In his third tenure in the House, Chukwu, who represented Ohafia-North State Constituency, was elected Speaker of the State House of Assembly.
While he was serving as Speaker of Abia State House of Assembly, he was drafted into being the running-mate of Dr Okezie Victor Ikpeazu who was Governorship Candidate of PDP in Abia State. With victory crowning their electoral efforts in 2015, Ude Oko Chukwu became the Deputy Governor of Abia State.
By next year, May 2023, Ude Oko Chukwu would be rounding off his eight years as Deputy Governor of Abia State. He is the first Deputy Governor to have the unusual privilege of serving for more than a tenure without being impeached and, of course, it is just because Governor Okezie Ikpeazu believes in getting along with people. This, therefore, means that Ude Oko Chukwu would have had unbroken twenty years of exceptionally-priviledged position in Abia State, starting from May 2003.
It would be needless to mention that either as Speaker of Abia State House of Assembly or Deputy Governor of the State, Ude was, in every ramification, a beneficiary of what he now calls ‘god-fatherism’.
Is it not, therefore, hypocritical of Ude Oko Chukwu to campaign that he would liberate Abia State from god-fatherism that he has severally benefitted from?
On the day Ude Oko Chukwu visited Ukwa-West PDP Delegates, he allegedly indecently lamented the plight of the People of Ukwa-West. According to reports by some of the Delegates, he accused the State Government of neglecting Ukwa-West, the only Oil-Producing Area of the State, in terms Roads, Electricity, Employment and General Development.
Hypocritically, Ude Oko Chukwu pretended to have forgotten that as a Speaker, he refused to bring about any legislation that could have been beneficial to the People of Ukwa-West as the only Golden Hen that lays the Golden Egg.
As Deputy Governor that benefitted incomparably immensely from his Boss, Governor Okezie Ikpeazu, he has more than Sixty Aides; Special Advisers, Senior Special Assistants and Special Assistants. Ohafia Local Government Area from where Ude Oko Chukwu hails is made up of three distinct geo-sections; Ohafia, Abiriba and his native Mkporo. Of all the Sixty Aides Governor Okezie Ikpeazu approved for Ude Oko Chukwu, he gave none either to Ohafia or Abiriba.
As Deputy Governor, there is hardly any month he goes home with any thing less than Fifty Million Naira ( N50M). It is on record that he has never given even a kobo to any person from either Ohafia or Abiriba. Rather, he is always driven by inferiority complex to think of suppressing the collective interest of both Ohafia and Abiriba Peoples whom he hates for allegedly treating his people with scorn as common labourers in the years gone by.
Even amongst the Communities of Nkporo, his has a clear-cut policy of discrimination against those who are not from his own section of Nkporo. Known for his violent inclinations, not long ago, it was alleged that he armed some hoodlums who are his paid thugs to wreck havoc against a section of Nkporo. He arrogates to himself the title of the only cork that should crow in Nkporo. But he forgets that no condition is perfect. Rt Honourable Arua Arunsi, from another Community in Nkporo, was the Speaker of Abia State House of Assembly in 1992 when Ude Oko Chukwu was nowhere to be mentioned. He did not suppress any body in Nkporo or any part of Ohafia Local Government Area.
Governor Ikpeazu’s Media Team has never portrayed Ude Oko Chukwu in a bad light. What appears to be a difference in relationship is the advocacy by the Peoples of Old Aba Senatorial Zone that they should govern Abia State for, at least, Sixteen Years because their neighbours of Umuahia Senatorial Zone had earlier governed for Eighteen Years.
Governor Okezie Ikpeazu is a human-being and should be sensitive to equity. He is, therefore, expected to align with the justifiable pursuit of Equity which in this instance is in favour of his indigenous Peoples of Aba Senatorial Zone, as evidently documented in Abia Charter of Equity which is the basis upon which Abia founding fathers sought for the creation of Abia State.
Before now, Ude Oko Chukwu had been pretending to be loyal. Ironically, he is the most disloyal Deputy Governor anywhere in the world. His pretence merely camouflaged his disloyalty long before now because of the exceptional accommodating and tolerant nature of Governor Okezie Ikpeazu.
If Ude Oko Chukwu were really as loyal as he had pretended to be, he would naturally have seen the glaring case of equity in his Boss’ conviction that the Old Aba Senatorial Zone should enjoy reciprocal favour of governing to the extent of time that Old Umuahia Senatorial Zone had governed.
Assuming he had disagreed with the clear definition and interpretation of Equity as captured in Abia Charter of Equity, Ude Oko Chukwu could go about his ambition devoid of being inordinate.
Because of vaulting ambition, Ude Oko Chukwu now wants to disparage the Government of Dr Okezie Ikpeazu that he has been prominently part and parcel of. Governor Ikpeazu out of confidence and trust entrusted the Economic Machinery of his Government to Ude Oko Chukwu by making him the Chairman of the State’s Revenue Council.
There is no record, whatsoever, to show that there had been any time Ude Oko Chukwu had given a piece of advice on how best to run the Government of Abia State that his Boss, Governor Okezie Ikpeazu, had rejected. Apart from share greed, mischief and treachery, what on Earth should drive Ude Oko Chukwu to publicly talk ill of a Government he is deeply linked with by virtue of the Principle of Collective Responsibility?
Just out of mischief, he now alleges that someone from Governor Okezie Ikpeazu’s Local Government Area, Chief Raymond Aliga, is what he calls ‘Asistant Governor’. Unfortunately, Ude Oko Chukwu failed to realize that in the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, as variously amended, there is nothing like ‘Assistant Governor’. This is mere mischief arising from uncontrollable personal ambition.
To show how desperately mischievous Ude Oko Chukwu is, he went further to allege that ‘in order to destabilize Abia-North, a Judas among us has negotiated with Raymond Aliga ( the Assistant Governor) and paid N400m ( Four Hundred Million) to make his brother a Deputy Governor as against our agitation to take our turn as Governor’.
Shamelessly swimming in an avoidable pool of total ignorance, he went ahead to mention Chief Chris Nak as having paid N400m for his brother, Barr Okey Igwe, to be made Deputy Governor.
Even while making that grievous erroneous libelous allegation against both Chiefs Chris Nak and Raymond Aliga, he quickly but unfortunately contradicted himself. He urged Delegates to ‘collect the money Government will give you because it is your money….’
What Ude Oko Chukwu ended up saying is that the Government of Governor Okezie Ikpeazu is not going to spend any State fund on the election of his successor because the ‘Assistant Governor’, Chief Raymond Aliga, has seemlessly brilliantly secured money for such a project.
For the twelve consecutive years Ude Oko Chukwu stayed in the House of Assembly, even as Speaker, he could not even grade the road leading to his village in Nkporo. The only achievements he recorded were to dispossess his kinsmen of their land. But out of his magnanimity, Governor Okezie Ikpeazu has tarred his road from Abiriba Junction to Nkporo and, among other things, built, equipped and commissioned a Cottage Hospital for the good people of Nkporo. Ude Oko Chukwu should think twice and retrace his steps from this inglorious path of ingratitude and self-destruction. He should not fail to realize that he is one man the people of Abia-North will never support to be Governor. His stinginess is one demarcation that can never be bridged.
