From Felix Uka, Abakaliki
The group was reacting to statements credited to Chief Timi Frank, against the Governor of Abia State, Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu, the group said that it was intolerable a situation where leaders are blatantly affronted.
This is contained in a statement signed by its President-General, Isigusoro Okechukwu, a copy of which was made available to newsmen yesterday, adding that governors of the region being insulted had done better than governors of other zones.
The Igbo youth body alleged it was unbecoming and characteristic of the APC leader to cast blames on Nigerian leaders, unjustly, with a view to scoring cheap political goals.
The Ohanaeze youths noted that it was no longer relaxed with the way and manner South-East governors and leaders were being insulted, at will, by elements who could not add or subtract anything from their political and economic pedigrees.
The Igbo youths added that any further attempt by the APC leader and others to either insult Ikpeazu or any governor in the South-East zone, would embolden it to expose, “His and their ugly antecedents.”
The statement read in part , “We, the Ohanaeze Ndigbo Youth Council, following the recent media attacks against Governor Ikpeazu by the former Deputy Publicity Secretary of APC, Timi Frank, who accused the
Governor of hob-nobbing with President Buhari and APC by accepting to travel with the President to the ongoing UK-Africa Investment Forum holding in London, wish to state that Timi Frank, should desist from disparaging Ikpeazu.
“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”.
“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 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.
“Ohanaeze youths fully back the efforts of Governor Ikpeazu to rapidly develop Abia State through partnership and collaboration with critical stakeholders including the President and the Federal Government His drive to establish the Enyimba Economic City is unarguably the greatest trans-generational effort made to change the economic fortunes of post-civil war Igboland. We urge him to remain focused and not succumb to the irritable antics of cheap political jobbers and their sponsors who are determined to subject Ndigbo to perpetual economic under development.”
