I will do better in the senate than Abaribe, says Ikpeazu

Abia State Governor Dr Okezie Ikpeazu spoke to reporters about his senatorial ambition, his expectations for the 2023 general election and how to tackle violent unrest in the South-East. MUYIWA ADEYEMI was there. How are the governors of the Southeast handling this sit-at-home issue that threatens peaceful elections in the area? It is a very unfortunate thing. Let me start by saying that I don't know anything about this Simon Ekpa. I understand the philosophy behind what Nnamdi Kanu does and he is very reasonable in his argument, but what I disagree with is his style. He is also available for discussion, because if the federal government had agreed to speak to him, had assured him and reassured him of the measures that were being taken to ensure that things did not escalate, we probably would not be here. But Ekpa is a total embarrassment.

I saw video clips of about five young boys who were locked up as they came to burn down a police station in Anambra State. So we keep destroying our young people, we keep killing them and showing them a road that leads nowhere. Very soon someone will say that they support Ekpa as an Igbo agenda, which is not what we need now. Regarding your question about what governors do, I am not the chair of the Southeast Governors Forum. However, our initial position was to put Ebubeagu on the one hand and said we were going to engage. What we meant by engagement at the time was talking with the federal government because they had Nnamdi Kanu in custody. But I think it's also hypocritical for the federal government to think that the solution to this problem will come from the state government alone. For my part, I advised my fellow citizens not to listen to Ekpa. We respect Nnamdi Kanu even if we disagree with his style. We believe that if engaged properly, we can get something out of the IPOB issue. But I told everyone not to listen to Ekpa, because it's useless. He is in Finland and I expect us to use a two-pronged approach. As we try to hold our citizens here to ignore him, the feds should engage the diplomatic gear to ensure he is brought home. The Finnish government cannot be in Nigeria and their ambassador listens to broadcasts and posts on the internet which creates tension and disaffection leading to murder and arson and we still have such a relationship. So we don't have to wait for it to get too bad. I think the IGP should hire Interpol and the Minister of Foreign Affairs should hire the Ambassador. Nigeria should launch a report to the Finnish government and the international community to officially say that Ekpa is a nuisance who stays in Finland to launch attacks and missiles that kill our people, destroy businesses and livelihoods and threaten our democracy. We need to step this up and it is not what the state government can do alone.

What is your pitch to the Abia South electorate in your senatorial race against an experienced senator like Enyinnaya Abaribe? Luckily for me, I'm running this election on my record and challenging everyone running the same election to show their scorecards. Former Governor Orji Uzor-Kalu had 25 Senate bills and motions in four and a half years, former Governor Theodore Orji had 12 to his name in seven and a half years, and the man you're talking about only had two since 2007, that is to say for 16 years. You can search and see it. In the first place, if a person has the mandate of the people, his intervention, his service and his stewardship must be obtained from the mandate that has been given to you. The person must not modify the mandate. The person should not go to the Nigerian senate and assume the public relations officer or whatever he calls himself. He was sent there to draft bills, support bills, propose motions and create laws that will benefit the common person of Abia South because we are traders. We are champions in SMEs.

I give it to him, he promoted the made in Aba in his own way, because sometimes he organizes trade fairs and all that, but that's not also why he was sent there. He was sent there to craft laws that would create an environment for merchants and SMEs to thrive. We expect it to speak to government to the point where it will provide funds and machinery and also provide a window for SMEs and commerce to thrive. He took the Igbo PRO job when he found he had failed in the other settings and needed to adapt. As I speak to you, you cannot see a single federal government presence in Abia South. The road from Aba to Port Harcourt, which is the oxygen valve in the commercial community of Aba, you cannot go there. Before I became governor, the road to Calabar was not accessible. Customs officers always come to Aba warehouses to search and confiscate goods and someone is the...