2023: Megwara Condemns Gov Okezie Ikpeazu’s Choice of Ikonne

• A prominent politician in Abia state, Chief Kingsley Megwara, has condemned the alleged plans of Governor Okezie Ikpeazu to pick his successor
• There have been rumours in the state that the governor has chosen Prof Uche Ikonne as his successor
• Megwara said the rumored choice of the governor did not perform well during his days in the state-owned higher institutions

Umuahia - Chief Kingsley Megwara has declared that Governor Okezie Ikpeazu’s seven years in government have taken Abia state back to the woods.

Megwara, a former House of Representatives aspirant also stated that the governor’s rumoured plan to choose former Vice-Chancellor of Abia State University, Prof Uche Ikonne as his successor would not do Abia any good.

Megwara who also served as a special adviser on diaspora affairs under Governor Theodore Orji, said:

“Some of us who are on ground are waiting for Governor Ikpeazu to make that pronouncement. It has become a tradition for governors to pick who succeeds them. Having lived in America for over 27 years, I have seen it work the other way round.

“The people pick who their governor would be in a keenly contested primary as robust as the actual election, in a clean and transparent way. It is only in this country that governors choose their successors. I do not think any governor has the right to choose who succeeds him.

“It is only in this country that you see that happening. The people should keep their PVCs which give them the right to choose who governs them.

“The stories making the round is that the governor has picked Professor Ikonne to succeed him. Some of us who are stakeholders do not think Professor Ikonne is the right man for Abia State at this time.”

Megwara further stated that in Ikonne’s track record at Abia Polytechnic and Abis State University, there was little to cheer.

He added:

“There is a sharp difference between being a professor and an effective administrator. I have nothing against Ikonne as a person. He is a gentleman you can share a bottle of beer with and laugh over issues.

“Ikonne’s pedigree as a manager of men and tools does not lend support to his competence in running the state. Abia State is at a crossroads. We need a young and tested zealot with a bubbly, effervescent personality to get things done, in the manner of Peter, of a disciple of Christ.

“Every time I travel to America and return home, I weep for my state, a state in total darkness and infrastructure decay. All the roads constructed in the last 24 months have gone out of style, are in total disarray.”

Megwara, ex-General Manager, Abia State Passenger Integrated Manifest and Safety Scheme, also said those who supported Ikpeazu’s candidacy had thought he had the capacity to turn around things in the state, but said it was a misplaced trust.

He concluded:

“I am calling on Abians not to lose hope. The future has so much in stock for us. We do not have any other state except Abia.”

APC convention: Abia stakeholders demand disqualification of Emenike’s faction

Meanwhile, critical stakeholders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Abia state have approached an Abuja High Court, calling for the disqualification of the Chief Ikechi Emenike-led faction from the exercise.

The stakeholders led by Mr. Ibe Ogwuma in suit no: FCT /HC/CV/1012/2022 demanded an order dissolving the purported congresses conducted by Emenike and his associates.

The stakeholders also prayed for an order restraining Chief Kingsley Ononugbu from parading himself as the state chairman of APC in Abia state, stressing that he is a product of the aforementioned "kankaroo" congress.

Source: Legit.ng