There are Victories and there is Victory! Governor Ikpeazu’s Victory, against Alex Otti, on Tuesday 8th of January, is a Victory so sweet.
When the 2015 gubernatorial elections were concluded and results announced, in favour of Okezie Ikpeazu Ph.D, Dr Alex Otti was utterly displeased hence he approached the Tribunal for justice.
Dissatisfied with the verdict of the tribunal he also appealed to the Court of Appeal .
At the Appeal Court, Otti won and Ikpeazu lost . Of course Governor Ikpeazu took to the Supreme Court where he deservedly got victory.
In between the legal tussles, that almost stagnated the activities of the state, but for the Governor’s dexterity, many well meaning Abians, including my little self, begged Otti to sheathe his sword but he refused.
It is his right to seek justice after all . But he went so far that he formed an unholy alliance with Ogah …a desperation that betrayed his chauvinism .
Fast forward to 2019, Another election was conducted, it was also won and lost but Otti was once again displeased! As usual he sought the intervention of the courts.
Trodding through the familiar trajectory- the Tribunal, Appeal Court and lastly the Supreme Court, Otti fought gallantly to upturn justice but he failed.
Otti’s Political adventure has suffered huge setbacks and I attribute it to his amateurist approach to politics.
By my last count Otti is striped of most, if not all, of his political arsenal, the last was the recent exit of the Maverick but controversial Max Nduaguibe.
Otti waited until he is stripped naked ! Why?
If Otti had known… He would have retreated from the political “danse macabre” that may, ultimately, bury his political ambition.
Once, he bestride the political space with bumptious air… Even the spirits held him in awe. If only he had retreated then?
Dr Okezie Victor Ikpeazu,on the other hand, is like an Anvil that has worn out many Hammers!
The victory of 8th January is indeed a Victory… A total victory! It heralds the emancipation from avoidable legal distractions and the emergence of accelerated economic transformations.
Unlike in his first term Governor Ikpeazu, by the swift judgement of the Supreme Court, has three more years to prove his mettle as an administrator, a visionary and a leader.
He can now race for the crown. Rise to the Reason and clinge to more Victory.
