Don’t run Abia as a hamlet, appoint commissioners now, APC tells Ikpeazu
The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Abia State has cautioned the governor of the state, Okezie Ikpeazu, not to run the state as a hamlet, where he can govern anyhow he likes.
In a statement issued on Tuesday by the state Publicity Secretary of the party, Comrade Benedict Godson, the party reminded Ikpeazu that it has been up to four months since he started running Abia affairs without Commissioners.
The party noted that Ikpeazu dissolved the State Executive Council in January, retaining only the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Commissioner for Information, and the Commissioner for Health.
The statement read, “This decision of the Governor to dissolve the Executive Council retaining only 3 Commissioners was wildly reported. It means that about 23 Commissioners were removed making such positions vacant since January 2021.
“How can this be? The majority of them are meant to execute all that’s approved for their ministries in the 2021 Budget. They made inputs on how those ministries will be run this year, why are we derailing from how government should operate?
“The most embarrassing of all these dramas is that the Governor still goes about referring to some of the people he never announced that he retained as Commissioners.
“This Press statement is meant to ask the Gov Ikpeazu to tell Abians what kind of shadow Commissioners he’s using in Abia. It is also meant to remind him that Abia is not a hamlet he can administer as he feels.
“If the previous Commissioners are people of questionable characters, are there no other qualified Abians you can replace them with?
“Why is Gov Ikpeazu finding it difficult to replace them? What’s holding him? Are 4 months not enough? Is there something happening behind that Abians need to know? Gov Ikpeazu please tell us?
“Yes, as a Governor he has right to remove any of his employees, but courtesy demands that he administer Abia as a state, not a Social Club where he owes nobody any explanations.”