Showdown imminent as Gov Ikpeazu’s camp asks Abia Assembly Speaker to resign 

The Speaker of the Abia State House of Assembly, Chief Chinedum Orji, popularly called Ikuku, is under pressure to resign from office.

The Speaker, the son of the immediate past governor of the state, Chief Theodore Orji, has also been threatened with a disgraceful forced exit if he refuses to resign honourably.

The latest threat is coming from the Special Adviser to Governor Okezie Ikpeazu on Strategy and Communications, Barrister Eze Chikamnayo, who called on him to resign or face a forced exit.

In an article on Sunday, Chikamnayo hinged his insistence of Speaker Orji’s resignation on his visit to a former governor of the state, Orji Uzor Kalu, and the call by the Deputy Chief of Staff to the state Governor, Don Ubani, on him to resign.

Providing a background on the faceoff between the Speaker and the DCOS, Chikamnayo said: “The ongoing face-off between the Speaker of Abia State House of Assembly, Engr. Chinedum Orji, (Ikuku), and the Deputy Chief of Staff, Deputy Governor’s Office, Chief Don Ubani, (Okwubunka), is indicative of the dire dilemma that has unfortunately been the lot of the Abia polity in recent times.

“Chief Don Ubani had demanded for the immediate resignation of the Speaker on ethical and constitutional grounds for clearly violating the spirit and letters of the oath of the exalted office which he holds in trust for the entire membership of the Peoples Democratic Party in Abia State.”

The Speaker, it would be recalled, had visited Orji Uzor Kalu, who was recently released from prison after the Supreme Court faulted his trial and conviction, ordering a retrial. During the visit, Speaker Orji, a former sworn enemy of Kalu, alongside his father, Theodore Orji, eulogised the former governor, asking him to come back to Abia to take over leadership.

“Forget about political platform, there is a leadership vacuum in Abia State…you are the authentic leader, come back and lead us”, the speaker had said to the consternation of the current administration in the state.

In his reaction, the Deputy Chief of Staff, Okwubunka, described the visit and the speaker’s statement as not only an act of gross anti-party activity but also a treacherous effort made deliberately to ridicule the office and person of Governor Okezie Ikpeazu who is the true and elected Leader of both the PDP and the State.

In his article, Chikamnayo said: “It’s now obvious to all and sundry, that Chief Chinedum Orji, Speaker of Abia State House of Assembly, is taking all of us for a ride. The standard of measuring great leaders lie mostly with their actions and reactions when confronted with their own errors. Like many other well-meaning Abians, I had honestly waited and hoped that Ikuku, my benefactor and friend, will issue an unambiguous public statement to clarify what actually motivated that his provocative nocturnal pilgrimage to OUK. Instead, he resorted to infantile mudslinging and very annoying name calling with the sole aim of demonizing the messenger in order to eliminate his message.

“In view of the foregoing, let me now state in very strong and unmistakable terms, the following reasons that form part of the basis, why Chief Chinedum Orji, Ikuku, MUST immediately and honorably RESIGN AND RELINQUISH the office he holds in trust for this PDP government or otherwise face an imminent disgrace from Abians, the sort that has never been witnessed before:

“1. Between 2007 and 2011, Abia State witnessed its lowest ebb in development. The Governor then, Chief T.A Orji had complained ceaselessly that the reason for that abysmal scenario was the overbearing demands of his benefactor and predecessor, Chief Orji Uzor Kalu, his mother and siblings.

“Abians, from different walks of life, including my humble self, rose in solidarity with him. He assured us that he was on a divine mission to liberate the state, by breaking all bonds with Orji Uzor Kalu and members of his family. He said that the Kalus’ represented bondage and solemnly vowed that on liberation, he would NEVER go back to Egypt cum Kalu. We believed him. We fought openly on his side and by 2015, Chief Theodore Orji left office telling us that his greatest legacy was the LIBERATION of Abia from the stranglehold of Mamacracy and Orji Kalu.

“Now, for this same Chief T.A Orji and his son, now Speaker of the Abia State House of Assembly, in a PDP led Government, to sneak back by night to the same Orji Uzor Kalu of the opposition APC, asking him to come over and usurp the leadership of the State, is the highest form of hypocrisy, duplicity, betrayal and chicanery ever witnessed in the history of this State. It is a blatant breach of the Constitution for anyone, no matter how highly placed to invite an unelected person to come over and take the leadership of a State with a subsisting elected Governor.

“Politics aside, what exactly does these folks take Abians for? Why on earth didn’t Ikuku and his father shed this their crocodile tears and invoke their suspicious magnanimity to Orji Uzor throughout the whole eight years they held forth as Governor? By approbating and reprobating at will, at the expense of the sensibilities and sacred trust of Abians, Chief Theodore Orji and his family has lost any semblance of integrity and thus, Ikuku lacks the character to speak for Abians and must RESIGN AND RELINQUISH THAT HALLOWED OFFICE FORTHWITH.

“2. The position of the Speaker of a State House of Assembly is a unique position. A Speaker is not an alternate Governor and must at all times and in all circumstances, divest himself of any inclination that creates a bi-polar power equation in the polity. Unfortunately, before our very eyes, we have witnessed both the covert and overt actions, decisions and manipulations of this young man which clearly indicates that he is not willing to limit himself to the constitutional duties of his office but desires to cling perpetually to the levers of power.

“By willfully but surreptitiously creating an alternate power Centre which inadvertently whittles down the respect, influence and control of the Governor, there is the imminent risk of creating a condition capable of pitching Abians against the government and creating avoidable chaos and disunity. Therefore, Chief Chinedum Orji must vacate the office of Speaker immediately as the needless polarity he is creating is an ill wind and a bad precedent unknown to any functional democratic setting.

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“3. The timing of this controversial visit by the Speaker, Chief Chinedum Orji to his erstwhile sworn enemy, Chief Orji Uzor Kalu is immoral, insensitive, abhorrent and a blatant and ruthless assault on the deep feelings of anybody and everybody that loves Governor Okezie Ikpeazu. Our Governor’s battle against the deadly Corona Virus is known to all and sundry. But while all Abians of goodwill were earnestly praying for his recovery, Chief Chinedum Orji chose to unleash untold psychological trauma on his family and all lovers of peace in Abia State at such a moment of vulnerability and apprehension. There was no urgency to warrant that visit at that time nor was there any justification for such junketing, politicking and frolicking with Orji Uzor Kalu while Governor Ikpeazu was battling for his life in the dark recesses of an isolation centre in the same Abuja.

“Given his record of intolerance for dissenting opinion while he held sway as Governor, Senator Theodore Orji, would have brought the heavens down on any one remotely connected to his family if it is found that such a person have as much as greeted Orji Uzor Kalu in the manner himself and his entire family have done in this unconscionable episode.

“Instead of the Speaker, Chief Chinedum Orji to be leading Abians in prayers for the Governor’s recovery, he rather preferred to engage himself in such self-serving political gymnastics at such a solemn period. For acting in bad faith and ruthlessly severing the cord of concord, conviviality and good conscience, Mr Speaker, Chief Chinedum Orji MUST resign or face disgrace by all lovers of Governor Okezie Ikpeazu.

“4. The spiritual implication of that thoughtless gimmick of a visit by Mr Speaker, Chief Chinedum Orji is not lost on discerning Abians. We must carefully and soberly interrogate this issue and remain true to our conscience if the Abia society will move forward. Abians can still vividly recall the numerous prayers that led to our successful exodus from Mamacratic influence. For Ikuku, as Speaker to seek to officially take Abia back to the same person he called bondage is a spiritual anathema and calamity of untold proportions.

“Besides, many Abians were vilified and vanquished from office by Senator T.A. Orji and his son, Speaker Chinedum Orji on the mere suspicion that they had any perceived relationship with Orji Uzor Kalu. The flourishing careers of several Traditional Rulers, Permanent Secretaries, Directors and Commissioners were violently truncated and or terminated in this drama. Even Abia North politicians who had cause to participate in political activities involving Orji Uzor were targeted and sidelined. Yet, this same family, without consulting or considering the millions of Abians they led to battle, singled out themselves while undertaking that vainglorious voyage to infamy.

“Thus, apart from resigning as Speaker, Chief Chinedum Orji and his family must publicly and openly apologize to Abians, after undertaking due restitution for leading them on a deceptive wild goose chase.

“5. From all indications, it is obvious that the alignment and re-alignment of forces for the 2023 political season is coming upon us too hastily. This rather unfortunate development is being orchestrated by those who at once claim to love the Governor and yet would not step aside to allow him a peaceful conclusion of his elected tenure. The obvious romance of Speaker, Chinedum Orji with known APC elements in Abia State is no longer hidden. It will smack of naivety on his part to also think that we do not know exactly what is going on. Our decision to remain silent all these while is in line with our Principal’s commitment to peace and nothing more. Let it be known to all Abians and the general public, that we are neither fazed nor perturbed. Those holding clandestine meetings should stop wasting their time in hideouts. Governor Ikpeazu is currently busy with governance and by the grace of God, his tenure will end well and strong on a resounding note.

“As far as I am concerned, Mr. Chinedum Orji, is simply being mean and manipulative. He believes that all Abians are mere pawns in his chessboard to be tossed up and down and shoved around at his behest and sadistic pleasure. This his warped mentality and devious inclination is the reason that I am calling on him to resign as Speaker of the Abia State House of Assembly. That is exactly the right thing to do in the present circumstance to avoid throwing Abia into another round of avoidable political upheaval.”

For keen followers of the politics of Abia State, the unfolding scenario presents an interesting view into the political dynamics of the state.

Chikamnayo, who has served every governor that has governed the state since the return to democratic rule in 1999, from Orji Uzor Kalu to Theodore Orji and now Okezie Ikpeazu, seems to occupy a vantage position in knowing the three characters involved in the present faceoff in the state. This is aside that fact that he described Speaker Orji as his friend and benefactor.

The question followers of the politics of Abia are currently asking is if Speaker Orji took the initiative for the visit and his now ‘offensive’ statement on his own or with the consent and express approval of his father, a known sworn enemy of Orji Uzor Kalu.

If it was with the permission and approval of the senior Orji, the question would now be, have the former governors settled their differences and on what terms? This becomes even more puzzling given the level of animosity that existed between Theodore Orji and Orji Kalu.

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