The All Progressives Congress in Abia State has vowed to upstage the incumbent Governor of the state, Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu, from office in 2019.
The APC Chairman in the state, Hon. Donatus Nwankpa, boasted that Ikpeazu would be the last Peoples Democratic Party governor in the state.
Nwankpa stated this while speaking to our correspondent after attending a ceremony, where an award was conferred on the former deputy governor of the state, Chris Akoma, in Umuahia, the state capital.
The APC state chairman accused Ikpeazu and his government of failing to move the state forward, stressing that the governor lacked any moral justification to remain in government beyond 2019.
The former member of the State House of Assembly, who represented Osisioma Ngwa South State Constituency between 1999 and 2007, described the APC as the only credible alternative to the PDP.
“We are galvanizing to take over the state in May 29, 2019 to bring the required change in the state, before the governor and the party inflict further damage on the state,” he said.
He advised the governor to start preparing a soft landing for himself by ignoring those calling on him to run for the office again, “To avert the shame of defeat.”
The one-time commissioner in former governor Theodore Orji’s administration, used the forum to campaign for support for President Muhamadu Buhari in his efforts to revamp the economy of the country.
Describing Buhari as an acclaimed anti-corruption crusader with verifiable evidence, both locally and internationally, he denied reports that the anti-graft campaign had been lopsided and targeted against the opposition.
He accused the PDP of masterminding the economic challenges facing the country, adding that an injury that took 15 years to inflict could not be healed in just two years.
Speaking earlier, after receiving the award from the state chapter of the Nigerian Institute of Management, he commended the members for recognising his contributions to the institute.
Nwakpa expressed worry that despite its abundant resources, the state had remained underdeveloped, but assured that the anticipated development would come through an APC government.