By. Ferdinand Ekeoma

The release with the above caption, written by the Abia State Commissioner for Information, John Okiyi Kalu, was yet another ill timed, ill motivated and hilarious hogwash from Abia State government to celebrate the “tribunal victory” of the monumental tragedy in Government House, called Okezie Ikpeazu.

Smarting from the frivolity of endless partying and frolicking, amidst reckless consumption of alcohol as a hobby, we would have ignored the numerous official insults and defamatory attacks from the jesters in government house since after the judgement, and considered the content of the said release as another entertainment afterthought of their overdose. Unfortunately, the Okezie Ikpeazu led government went overboard with their usual shameful disinformation, distortion and demagogic adumbrations aimed at deceiving the victims of their cruel leadership, while trying to destroy the character, personality, and pro-people disposition of Dr. Alex Otti, OFR, with bitter falsehood.

The puerile piece which was commenced with a biblical quotation, John Chapter 10 verse 10 which says ‘The thief (Satan) comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full”

Without any doubt, this biblical quote has the propensity to provoke Satan, challenge his superiority and force him to question the audacity of his apostles in Government House Umuahia to overtake him in the act of trying to mock God’s Holy Book and indulge in human deceit. How else does one explain a situation whereby the sinful souls who have subdued Abia, suffocated the economy of the state, and sowed seed of monumental destruction that has led to loss of innocent and precious lives of vulnerable citizens, turn back to mock their victims with biblical quotation. Anyway, it is a known fact that Satan himself is an expert in quoting the scriptures.

Among the laughable allegations raised by Okezie Ikpeazu and his boys in the release include, that Dr. Otti wants to punish Abians for refusing to vote for him on two occasions, that Otti is distracting Ikpeazu, that he is disrupting governance in Abia, and that he stopped them from taking a questionable loan of $200 Million from AfDB.

The question is, if Abians didn’t vote for Otti, how come they still repose so much hope, confidence and trust in him, while they regard Okezie Ikpeazu as an accidental usurper in government house, who represents a generational tragedy? If Ikpeazu can win elections, why would he resort to rigging and falsification of results of both elections with the active connivance of INEC in Umuahia?

How can Otti be distracting an Okezie Ikpeazu who himself is distraction personified? Which distraction is worse than assembling sycophants to praise you for doing nothing, and insult and attack your opponents and critics for reminding you what your job should be? Who distracted him from paying salaries to Abia workers for close to one year now? Who distracted him from paying pensioners for the past 32 months? Who distracted him from ridding Aba and Umuahia of refuse dumps, such that the horrible pictures we see every day will be a thing of the past? Did Otti distract him from appointing commissioners, a clear 6 months after he rigged elections and pronounced himself winner in collaboration with his heavily compromised accomplices? Is it Otti that stopped him from putting up infrastructure in the state? Who distracted him from building and modernizing hospitals in Abia. Was it Otti that stopped him from paying any attention to government schools in the state while he takes credit for the performance of Abia students in WAEC and NECO which is as a result of self-efforts, private and missionary schools?

Okezie Ikpeazu is bitter and badly complaining that Alex Otti stopped him from taking $200 Million loan from African Development Bank (AfDB). Yes, Alex Otti boldly admits that he took the patriotic step to stop the loan because the loan was tainted with fraudulent intentions. The action was not done in secret like Ikpeazu would want people to believe. Otti organized a well attended press conference and challenged the National Assembly and the former Minister of Finance for approving a fraudulently packaged loan for Ikpeazu. It is not true that Otti visited anyone to stop the loan. He never went to AfDB and had no need to. In fact he had never been to AfDB headquarters as against the claim by Ikpeazu. He simply pointed out that the documents presented by Ikpeazu for the approval of the loan was deliberately distorted with intention to deceive.

The documents were originally prepared by the regime before Ikpeazu’s for a different facility of $100m. Besides, Otti challenged Ikpeazu to show evidence of the State house of Assembly approval, and until now, he has failed to present it. With such weighty disclosures, AfDB had no choice but to refuse to release the funds. Otti has no regrets because Ikpeazu doesn’t mean well for Abia people, and doesn’t have the capacity and discipline to manage such funds, when he is yet to give good account of the ones he received previously.

Alex Otti made that very altruistic and people-oriented intervention to save the present Abians and our future generations from suffering the pains of a debt that would have gone into private pockets. After all, Ikpeazu is unable to account for other intervention funds like the bailout funds, (which the Finance ministry is now set to recover, even though Ikpeazu thought it was a dash by the Federal government), and tranches of Paris Club refunds, not to talk of the monthly federal allocation, ecological funds and internally generated revenue.

Okezie Ikpeazu once again tried to misrepresent Alex Otti and his record in the bank through his clownish falsehood, sadly he doesn’t know that the world has gone digital, and that Alex Otti’s record is known, recognised and respected in international financial circles meant for great minds, unlike he, Ikpeazu who still wears the mediocre crown of a local champion, having left Zero record as T.C. Chairman of Obingwa, Coordinator Of Motor Park Touts Collections (ASPIMS), Deputy General Manager of Abia State Environmental Sanitation Agency (ASEPA) and is leaving a disgraceful record as a caged and confused stooge in a dilapidated makeshift quarters called, Government House, Umuahia.

Since the caption of the said article is “What Does Alex Otti Really Want”, we are happy to inform Okezie Ikpeazu and his partners in destruction that what Otti wants is the same thing millions of Abians want; good governance.

Otti wants responsible and people-oriented leadership in Abia.

Otti wants Ikpeazu to unhook himself from the yoke of man-made mediocrity, discipline himself, imbibe some seriousness in governance and set out for progressive leadership.

Otti wants Ikpeazu to dislodge those timid thugs that have held him and his government hostage, and made him become an object of mockery.

Otti wants Abians across political, religious and sectional lines to see the real and long time tragedy in keeping silent and embracing the thuggish and mediocre standards which Ikpeazu and his allies have foisted on the state.

Alex Otti wants Abians, especially the less informed to realise that the issue at stake goes beyond Alex Otti and Okezie Ikpeazu as individuals, but borders on governance and welfare of suffering Abia masses, whose expectations of good governance are being drastically reduced on a daily basis.

Otti wants Ikpeazu and his aides to stop lying to Abia people and the world. Gone are the days when it is only the government that tells its story. There are different media for information dissemination. While the government and its hirelings tell us that Aba has been fixed, Faulks Road/Ariaria and Port Harcourt Road have benefitted from “rigid pavement technology” and “caterpillar revolution” we know that those places are an eyesore and remain impassable with heaps of refuse. So, Otti wants Ikpeazu to stop disrespecting Abia people by lying to them.

Finally, Alex Otti wants Ikpeazu’s sycophants who may have surrendered to servitude due to hunger/greed, and accepted to perpetually do the demeaning and lowlife job of “Otimkpu” (like the author of the release) to realise that they are equal stakeholders who have every right to ask questions and demand for answers concerning the governance of Abia.

He wants them to realise that the “Slave that loves his chain, remains in bondage”

Let me assure you that no matter the level of insults, intimidation, name calling, campaign of calumny and irresponsible attacks, what Alex Otti wants will not change. He will remain consistent in calling out this government for as long as it remains government for a few. He will continue his advocacy in the most civilized and responsible manner, and we hope that Okezie Ikpeazu would grow up to listen, reflect, show remorse, and begin the process of repentance, and once he does this, he would be sure of forgiveness and support from Abians.

However, if he chooses to continue in the same path of bitterness, insults, defamation, bullying, impunity and manufacturing of his own facts, he will have no reprieve.

Note: This is the view and opinion of the writer, it does not represent the view and opinion of Abia Facts Newspaper.