ABIA CRISIS: Ikpeazu Exonerates Presidency, Urges Abians To Remain Calm As BIR Testifies

Dr Okezie Ikpeazu

GOVERNOR of Abia state, Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu has urged the people of the state to remain calm reiterating that the present crisis rocking the state would not stand adding that his incarceration was orchestrated by the enemies of progress.

He maintained that his tax clearance which was the basis the Federal High Court in Abuja ordered his vacation from the office of the governor of the state submitted prior to his nomination was directly obtained from the Abia State Board of Internal Revenue (BIR) and wondered how a public servant whose taxes are usually deducted at source could be accused of tax relative offences...

In his press statement on Friday, Dr. Okezie emphatically exonerated the federal government of any form of conspiracy  and urged those spreading the rumours to halt it as it was a misconception. 

Confirming his claims, the BIR in its statement affirmed the tax certificate issued to the governor stating that it was issued by the agency as submitted.

Ikpeazu added that the plaintiff in the matter, Dr. Samson Ogah was attempting to hide under the cloak of immunity clause provided by the constitution on the occupant of the office of the governor, from several charges pending in various courts against him.

"We had temporary setback which you people are well aware of when somebody who did not run an election, surreptitiously planned to ambush the mandate which Abia people freely gave on the 11th and 25th of April last year.

"Somebody who never campaigned, somebody that was never tested by the Abia public, his acceptability was not tried, and he surreptitiously arranged and got judgment and then, that judgment, the role order for that judgment was released before the details of the judgment itself which is also procedurally wrong in law, all geared towards railroading him into Government House, Umuahia against the will and mandate of the people.

"The tenets of democracy is very clear and that the will of the people is sacrosanct and the aim of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the Electoral act is to protect the sacred will of the people such that you are required to run an election, pass that election, the election will be tried through the tribunals up to the Supreme Court and then, the verdict will eventually affirm the will of the people.

"All these, as you are aware, we have all gone through. Since the past one year we have been through this process and at this hour, somebody decided to bring in something that is strange to the law, and we are baffled by the urgency and the desperation to bounce into Government House.

"Why it is very difficult for Abia people to accept is that everybody knows very well that I have been working for government in this environment. I did not come from elsewhere and my last duty post which was ASEPA (Abia State Environmental Sanitation Authority) Aba was such a job that everybody saw, even on the streets while I was doing it.

“When we put it side by side with the various criminal charges which we are aware bothering on all kinds of things which are subsisting in all forum and being discussed in Lagos, at least 12 criminal charges in different courts in Lagos and elsewhere, against this same person, it becomes a little bit clearer why the desperation in the first place, probably to get a veil immunity to run away from the certainty of court decisions for or against him as it would.

"I want to dissuade the rumour that is making round everywhere that some people are sponsoring this. I don’t think it is true because we understand the position of the government at the federal level against corruption and they cannot support the veil, somebody battling to wear the toga of immunity just because the person wants to run away from the certainty of justice.

 

"I don’t think that will be the part the federal government would like to do. It is antithetical to the belief and framework of the present administration.

"I want you to dissuade your mind from such rumours that are making the round and I also urge you to continue to project the positive sides of Abia and criticize us if we have done anything in terms of our policies. Abia is on track and their mandate is safe. God be with you. Thank you very much", Ikpeazu said.