Ikpeazu, enjoying the festival of endorsement.

By Madubuko Hart

When other gubernatorial candidates in Abia State are finding it very hard to be accepted in the forthcoming election, the candidature of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate for the Abia State governorship election, Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu is enjoying massive endorsement.

If Ikpeazu were a movie, he is a sizzling, heart-pounding urban fantasy that thrills and fascinates peoples that cut across all divides. From farmers to civil servants, from traders to footballers, from clerics to students and so forth, Ikpeazu is the answer in the state and beyond.

The All Farmers Association of Nigeria (ALFAN) Abia State chapter in conjunction with the Youths in Agriculture Programme (YEAP), recently endorsed him. Ikpeazu has endeared Abia people to love him because he has a special ability, not only as an academia, but also as a straight forward person, to get Abia people to believe in him.

Much as we know, he is a man who does not believe in dichotomy, but in the strength of togetherness. Abia people's belief today is that they have tied the highest ideals around Ikpeazu in the philosophy that they can achieve great things with him. Ikpeazu is what is possible in Abia State since he came along to contest in the election.

The people have put aside every animosity in order to support this rare breed. The ideal thing is that the persona is balancing action where necessary and humour where it is needed. An interactive session with Civil Servants in Abia State held at the Michael Okpara Auditorium in Umuahia, the Head of Service, Abia State, Barr. Godson Adiele, represented by the Permanent Secretary, Bureau of Service Monitoring, Dr. Vivian Umah, thanked Ikpeazu for the idea of the interactive session. Ikpeazu discussed with the civil servants on their key challenges and areas of improvement from all sides.

Ikpeazu does not in any way represent the quote by Michael Bassey Johnson, which states that when no power is vested in a turbulent man, he behaves sorrowfully like a nearly killed Christmas goat, but when fully endorsed, without considering his level of insanity and evil gestures, he cuts everyone in the society into pieces. Ikpeazu's endorsers and the entire Abia electorate have seen that Ikpeazu is not that brute who would cut his society into pieces for the love of power.

The Chairman of ALFAN in Abia State, Chief Dunlop Okoro can attest to this fact, when his organisation took the resolution and endorsed Ikpeazu. The Coordinator of Youths in Agriculture Programme, Abia State Chapter, Mr. Obinna Ndukwe Ibiam is also a living witness that Ikpeazu will be the best governor that Abia State will be much proud of in this century.

As a lover of progress, Dr. Ikpeazu who was a farmer too, having worked in his parents farm while growing up, will never let all and sundry in the state down, as he had promised to pay unique attention to the needs of farmers and divulged that he had commissioned a team to study the Abia Palm Plantation in Ukwa, the Ulonna Farm Settlements, the Abia Rubber Plantation and other agricultural concerns in the State with a view to ensuring that they are revived to produce at most-favorable power when he assumes office.

Mr.. Kingsley Emereuwa, describing Ikpeazu in an article in ThisDay, March 15, 2015, said that on Friday March 13, 2015, the academic community of one of the nation's highly revered citadels of knowledge, the University of Calabar, Cross River State, honoured among some deserving Nigerians as well as recognized some of its own products, in what was called distinguished Alumni Award, as part of activities marking its 28th Convocation and forty years anniversary of its establishment.

Ikpeazu was given the deserved honour of a distinguished Alumnus of the University in recognition of outstanding contributions towards uplifting the image and standard of his alma mater which he left about two decades ago. According to the University, the choice of Okezie Victor Ikpeazu is beyond the present and predates his current political aspiration.

Emereuwa further stated that in the words of Professor Eyong Eyong, Dean, Student Affairs of the University, “apart from distinguishing himself through rare achievement in career aspiration in the academic world, Ikpeazu had without prompting, shown more than enough interest in the development of the school”. He noted that years back, the PDP flag bearer had made donations of books and other academic materials to the University and has consistently identified with the University in terms of projects and manpower development. In his words, “the honour is the University's modest way of appreciating the contributions of Dr. Ikpeazu”.

The endorsement processes of Dr. Okezie Victor Ikpeazu (PhD), which is an evolution, will continue, because Abia people, friends and well-wishers believe in him; because their ideas and their solutions align with his. The endorsement game has been very good to Ikpeazu.

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