The Abia State government has responded to the claim by a former Deputy Spokesman of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Timi Frank wherein he said that many Governors of the Peoples Democratization Party, PDP, are daily lobbying to be in the good books of President Muhammadu Buhari, hence they don\u2019t talk on national issues affecting Nigerians negatively.<\/p>\n
Frank\u2019s statement followed the Supreme Court ruling that sacked Emeka Ihedioha of the PDP as Imo State Governor and installed Hope Uzodinma as the state\u2019s governor.<\/p>\n
However, an article by Enyinnaya Appolos, the Special Adviser on Media to Governor Ikpeazu made available to DAILY POST on Sunday, reminded the former APC chieftain that there is time for politics, and time for governance.<\/p>\n
Appolos, also patiently outlined reasons the Governor had to join President Buhari in the London trip the day the PDP held its emergency NEC meeting in Abuja.<\/p>\n
He added, \u201cFirst, let us go to the Bible: Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 (NLT), \u2018For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven. A time to be born and a time to die. A time to plant and a time to harvest.<\/p>\n
\u201c\u2018A time to kill and a time to heal. A time to tear down and a time to build up. A time to cry and a time to laugh. A time to grieve and a time to dance. A time to scatter stones and a time to gather stones. A time to embrace and a time to turn away.<\/p>\n
\u201c\u2018A time to search and a time to quit searching. A time to keep and a time to throw away. A time to tear and a time to mend. A time to be quiet and a time to speak. A time to love and a time to hate. A time for war and a time for peace.\u2019 So says the Word of God.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor Timi Frank, the disgraced former Spokesperson of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and a strange-bed fellow in the People\u2019s Democratic Party (PDP), there is time for only one thing \u2013 time to seek personal comfort and self aggrandizement.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor this reason, he was sacked as the APC Spokesperson, after his errand boy role in the league of politicians that blackmailed the Goodluck Jonathan and PDP led presidency, paving the way for President Mohammad Buhari and APC presidency, expired. Obviously, he was merely used and easily discarded. He was not worth more than that!<\/p>\n
\u201cEvidence that he was never a member of the PDP, Timi did not speak as a faithful party man, but as a job-man, hiding under political activism.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is, therefore, trite to conclude that he was truly a strange bed fellow in PDP prior to the 2019 general elections, whose only interest was what to gain in the Atiku Presidential ambition, which leaders of the party like Governor Okezie Ikpeazu worked genuinely hard to ensure was a success.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is difficult to place why a Timi Frank, who was anonymous and unable to deliver PDP even in his ward in Bayelsa State during the last presidential election which PDP lost to APC, will try to vent his unguarded spleen on Governor Ikpeazu who has remained a committed member of the PDP.<\/p>\n
\u201cGovernor Ikpeazu is not just a member of the PDP in Ward 7, in Obingwa LGA of Abia State, he is the leader of the party in the state and one of the national leaders of the party. A committed and trusted one at that.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was first elected Governor by Abians on the PDP platform in 2015, when Timi and his cohorts were busy frolicking in APC. In 2019, Governor Ikpeazu was re-elected by the Abia electorate on the same PDP platform. So, his primary assignment and loyalty is first to Abians, who employed him before even the platform.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs earlier said, according to the Bible, for everything, there is a time. The time for frontline party politics is over, the time we are in now, particularly for Governor Okezie Ikpeazu in Abia, is the time for governance. I hope Timi understands this?<\/p>\n
\u201cYes, Governor Ikpeazu is part of the Nigerian delegation led by Mr President, to the maiden UK- AFRICA INVESTMENT SUMMIT in London, United Kingdom.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe arrangement for this trip had long been concluded before the controversial and unfair ruling of the Supreme Court that sacked Rt. Hon. Emeka Ihedioha as Governor of Imo State took place. It was the sad judicial development that provoked the emergency PDP NEC meeting at about the same time Governor Ikpeazu was airborne to the UK.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn case Timi is not aware, Governor Ikpeazu is not on the President Buhari-led delegation to the
\nmaiden UK- AFRICA INVESTMENT SUMMIT holding in London because he wants to enjoy the comfort of the presidential jet, but the Scholar-in-Governance Governor of Abia State is on the delegation because he is the bearer of one of the most important reasons Nigeria is part of the summit \u2013 the Enyimba Economic City Project.<\/p>\n
\u201cRecall that in 2018, the Federal Government and Abia State Government signed Definitive Agreements for the Enyimba Economic City Zone Limited.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe signing took place at the Presidential Villa and the Federal Government was represented by Nigeria Special Economic Zone Company.<\/p>\n
\u201cPresident Muhammadu Buhari, who witnessed the signing, commended Governor Okezie Ikpeazu for initiating the Project, and thanked the Abia State host communities for their commitment to the it.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe President further assured the people of Abia State and other Nigerians of the Federal Government\u2019s support and cooperation towards similar projects anywhere in the country.<\/p>\n
\u201cPresident Buhari specifically commended Abia State Governor, Okezie Ikpeazu, and some private sector investors who initiated and midwifed the Enyimba Economic City Zone project.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe said such initiatives were exactly what his administration was desperately looking for to create employment for the populace and boost the nation\u2019s economy.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo, the inclusion of Governor Ikpeazu on the delegation to the maiden UK-AFRICA INVESTMENT SUMMIT in London, is another opportunity for Nigeria, through Governor Ikpeazu, to speak to the world about the Enyimba Economic City project, and why their buy-in is necessary.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt the UK summit, the British Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, will be hosting African leaders, International Business Chief Executives and Heads of International Organizations, to create new partnerships that will deliver more investments and jobs to the benefit of people and businesses in African countries and the UK.<\/p>\n
\u201cGovernor Okezie Ikpeazu, as the initiator of the Enyimba Economic City project will speak to selected potential investors, on the invitation of the Department for International Development (DFID), on the need to key into the project situated in Aba.<\/p>\n
\u201cRecall also that in November 2019, Governor Ikpeazu secured the nod of the African Development Bank (AfDB), private investors and other multilateral financial institutions for the investment of $430 million to fast track the development of the first phase of Enyimba Economic City, at the Africa Investment Forum (AIF) that held in Johannesburg, South Africa.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe city is a proposed free-trade zone, with independent business registry, labor law, banking regulations and more. It is located on over 9,500 hectares of land in the oil producing communities of Abia State, between Aba and Port Harcourt.<\/p>\n
\u201cMany participants at the South African forum agreed that Enyimba Economic City is a project worthy of their commitment and demonstrated their willingness to invest in the City.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe UK- AFRICA INVESTMENT SUMMIT has presented, yet, another opportunity for Governor Ikpeazu to speak, expound and present the Enyimba Economic City project at the world stage.<\/p>\n
\u201cMuch as Governor Ikpeazu is not responsible for Timi\u2019s unguarded spleen, no leader would prefer to attend a party meeting to attending a Summit where his ideas and programs for his people will be beamed at the global stage. I can assure Timi Frank that even the PDP is proud of this City, being the brainchild of one of its leading stars.<\/p>\n
\u201cIndeed there is time for everything.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Abia State government has responded to the claim by a former Deputy Spokesman of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Timi Frank wherein he said that many Governors of the Peoples Democratization Party, PDP, are daily lobbying to be in the good books of President Muhammadu Buhari, hence they don\u2019t talk on national issues affecting […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":62,"featured_media":7819,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,16],"tags":[132,873,65],"class_list":["post-20287","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-parties","tag-abia-state","tag-ihedioha","tag-pdp"],"yoast_head":"\n