Ohanaeze Youth Council(OYC), the apex Igbo youth socio-cultural organization, Tuesday, waded in, the war of words between Abia state Governor, Okezie Ikpeazu and the past deputy national publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress(APC), Timi Frank.
OKSH360NEWS POST recalls that Timi Frank had in a statement last weekend, claimed that some governor’s of the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) were lobbying to travel out with President Muhammadu Buhari.
The PDP chieftain particularly criticised Governor Okezie Ikpeazu for traveling to London with the APC President when colleagues of his, were staging protest in various states against the judgment of the Supreme Court that sacked Hon. Emeka Ihedioha and affirmed Senator Hope Uzodinma, the gubernatorial candidate of the APC during 2019 election as the duly elected Governor of Imo state.
However, Enyinnaya Appolos, the Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to Governor Ikpeazu, had in a statement, reminded the former APC chieftain that there is a time for politics, and time for governance.
But, Ohanaeze Youths in a statement signed by Mazi Okechukwu Isiguzoro, President General and Mazi Okwu Nnabuike, Secretary-General, cautioned Timi Frank against disparaging the Abia governor.
According to the statement which read partly, “Members of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Youth Council (Worldwide) consider the sponsored attack against Governor Okezie Ikpeazu by one Timi Frank as part of an ongoing orchestrated attacks against Ndigbo and her leaders, and in due course will make public those behind the attacks who are merely hiding under the identities of willing but gullible tools like Timi Frank to orchestrate their ignominious mission.
“It is important to note that even while the kinsman of Timi Frank was President of Nigeria he attended foreign engagements with Governors from opposition parties including those of the APC without anyone making allegations of anti-party activities against such Governors. In one particular instance in 2014, the then President traveled with Governor Kashim Shettima of Borno State, who was and is still an APC leader, to an economic summit in London. We are also aware that this is not the first time President Buhari would be traveling with Governors from opposition parties including Governor Dave Umahi of Ebonyi State and Willie Obiano of Anambra State, who are of PDP and APGA respectively. These trips are usually prescheduled and there was no way Governor Okezie Ikpeazu would have known that the Supreme Court would rule against Emeka Ihedioha before accepting the invitation of the Presidency. Moreover, when previous Supreme Court rulings favored the opposition PDP as was the case in Zamfara and Rivers States, nobody demonstrated.
“Obviously, Timi and his sponsors are hell bent on their mission of mischief, hence, his isolation of the presidential result from Abia while ignoring the fact that, as incumbent President, Buhari made inroads in 2019 across all the SouthEast States (and not just Abia) compared to 2015 results. The result from Abia mirrors that of other SouthEast States and if Timi was looking for who to accuse he should have started with his home state of Bayelsa where APC also made inroads and recently won a Governorship election even when the former President of Nigeria and other political heavy weights of PDP are from there.
“Timi was certainly not seen at any polling unit in Bayelsa during the Presidential election even after allegedly swindling former Vice President Atiku Abubakar of millions of naira. He therefore lacks any moral right to apportion blame.
“It is unfortunate and laughable that Timi Frank still believes that a Governor can decide who to allocate votes to in a democratic election where hundreds of thousands of citizens turned up to express their electoral choice. If the self styled political activist had any active brain cell remaining he should have asked himself why Governor Ikpeazu did not also allocate the same number of votes to himself during the Governorship election that he even polled less votes than the figures bandied by Timi for the 2019 Presidential election in a fierce three way contest that he won by landslide margins.
“Political observers would have noticed that even the recent PDP directed protests never held in Timi’s home state and that of his known sponsors whereas thousands of Abians marched in Umuahia to show solidarity with Emeka Ihedioha that Timi alleged was sold out by Governor ikpeazu.
“This will be our last warning to Timi Frank and his sponsors as we are ready to expose them to the world if they dare disparage Governor Okezie Ikpeazu again. We have very damning and damaging dossier of Timi and his sponsors and will not hesitate to bring them to full public glare and knowledge if dared any further.
“Let us once again urge Governor Ikpeazu to ignore the infantile rants of Timi Frank and regard it as the words of a professional blackmailer seeking to reinvent himself while doing the bidding of his masters who are determined to divide Ndigbo for their own selfish political gains”.
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