The member representing Isiala Ngwa North/South Federal Constituency, Ginger Onwusibe, has revealed that the reason he fell out with former Abia State Governor, Dr Okezie Ikpeazu, was because the latter refused to allow him nominate Commissioners during his eight-year administration.
Onwusibe, who made this known using his Facebook handle, stated that the current administration led by Alex Otti and Ikpeazu’s predecessor, Chief TA Orji, allowed him to nominate commissioners whereas Ikpeazu rejected his overtures.
According to him, “now you know I recommended the commissioner in my LG which I was never allowed to do in the last administration for 8 year, meanwhile I was doing that with easy during Ochendos Government who did not recommend SA appointment in the last administration? Was that one an appointment? Some were paid 40k That last administration NEVER treated me fairly. There was no time I received any amount together of N5m at a time even as council Chairman all through the administration. There is no election I won without passing through hell, both in primary election and main election ”
Continuing, he wrote “ In the last administration, I was never given an opportunity to recommend any Commissioner not minding I was the highest political office holder then and was a major contractor to the victory of the Governor, I was only allowed to recommend GM of ABSSA but in this administration, I have recommended a commissioner and he was appointed ”
Responding, former Chief Press Secretary to Ikpeazu, Mr Enyinnaya Appolos, accused Onwusibe of ingratitude and greed.
“So, your problem was that you were not allowed to recommend a commissioner in the last administration as you were allowed to recommend in the 8 years of Ochendo? Yet you didn’t become executive chairman and House member in the 8 years of Ochendo. Unfortunately for you, the last administration understood the importance of inclusiveness in the sharing of political offices”, he said.
It would be recalled that Onwusibe contested in the 2022 primaries of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the Isiala Ngwa North/South federal constituency and lost to Prof ACB Agbazuere. He later decamped to Labour Party (LP) and won the seat in 2023 due to the Peter Obi wave in the South-East.
The outcome of the election is currently being contested at the election petition tribunal sitting in Umuahia.
