By NewsCritic Reporters
Former Deputy Chief of Staff to Abia State Government and one-time commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Chief Charles Ogbonnaya has restated his earlier position that power should return to Abia North in 2023, saying that any ploy by the Governor to hand over power to the Ngwa stock would never work.
Chief Charles Ogbonnaya in an interview said that any attempt by the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, to hand over its governorship ticket to Ngwa candidate would lead to the party’s failure at the polls.
According to him “if the leadership of the party is going ahead to do what they are doing by leaving the governorship to Ngwa or Abia Central of Ngwa extraction, PDP will fail, he declares.”
Chief Charles Ogbonnaya disclosed that some of the governorship aspirants are leaving the PDP, and blasted Chief Tony Ukasoanya for trying to ruin the party in the state because of his role in the Elders’ Council which is behind the ongoing zoning controversy in the state.
The former commissioner revealed what he told Gov Okezie Ikpeazu, when the governor informed him that he (Okezie Ikpeazu) intends to hand-over power to the Ngwa speaking area of Abia Central senatorial district otherwise known as Umunneato.
He said that he advised the Governor against such plan to hand-over power to the people of Umunneato, but rather, that power should go to Abia North senatorial district as the Charter of Equity demands.
“So, when the governor invited me to his house to tell me that he wants to have the governorship remain in Umunneato which is Osisioma, Isialangwa North and Isialangwa South, I told him no. it is wrong for you to do that. It’s the turn of Abia North. All you need to do is to look for somebody in Abia North to become governor. After 8 years, it will return to Abia Central. Now, my brothers in Abia Central of Ngwa extraction will now contest with Umuahia axis to say when it came first to Abia central you took first, now allow us; we will concede”.
He observed that the problem governor Ikpeazu has is that he appointed people who does not have advisory capacity.
Speaking on the speculation that Prof Uchenna Ikonne has been adopted the Ngwa consensus candidate for the governorship, Chief Ogbonnaya advised Prof Ikonne against such ambition to take over the governorship stool of Abia state come 2023.
Said Ogbonnaya, “Prof. Ikonne came here with his brother, and said he was consulting, that he wants to become governor and I asked which governor…and to do what? The Evulogu Ibeku maintained that he would utilize all available resources at his disposal to ensure that no Ngwa man will become the next governor of Abia state.
He said that Ikonne is not a ‘party man and does not know what politics involves, and held that the Abia Charter of Equity demands that power should move to Abia North in 2023.
Ogbonnaya alleged that Prof Ikonne during his time as Vice Chancellor of the Abia State University (ABSU) and Provost of Abia State Polytechnic ruined the institutions and cannot be allowed to do same to the state again.
