An Elder Statesman Chief Ochiagha Reagan Ufomba has called on the Executive Governor of Abia State to immediately call his aides to order over the continues insult on the Former Governor of Abia State Dr Okezie Victor Ikpeazu.
Chief Ufomba in an open letter to the Governor titled “RE: Need to Uphold the Sanctity of Abia State Order of Precedence: Dr Okezie Ikpeazu on my mind” said it was worrisome that aides to Dr Alex Otti of no cabinet status are busy insulting the immediate past Governor.
The letter Reads”
“I am a citizen of Abia state of Nigeria. A lover of peace and progress of our people. I am a believer in the principles of sincerity of purpose. An ardent believer in good and progressive governance achieved under the rule of law and due process. I believe in God Almighty, the giver of life and power. I believe in positive change and in the philosophies of the Changeabia Organisation as founder and progenitor. I believe that Abia state will attain the status of pŕimùs intèrpàres in the committee of states in Nigeria. I believe that Abia will be great”
” Your Excellency may recall a few moments we met in the political trenches, working for and against each other, but with the overall interest of our dear state in mind. Such momentous paradigms make it imperative that what concerns Abia state concerns me and all of us. It is for this particular reason that I am constrained to write you this open letter at this critical moment in our political trajectory”
“Pardon my choice of this medium of communication. This unusual indulgence arose because it is at the social media that the infractions under reference recurs. This exigent transgression makes it possible to use one stone to kill so many birds. Suffice it state clearly and without equivocation that you neither owned these birds nor killed any.
“I am directing this letter to you out of courtesy and as a foremost banker, averse to risks and knowledgeable in the negative consequences of both contingent and vicarious liabilities, and how the unfolding scenarios might impact on your administration. It should therefore be of utmost concerns to you as they are to me.
“Having said that, I have named the first infractious bird I intend to kill with one of the stones as abuse of office, the name of the second bird is abuse of protocols, the name of the third bird is abuse of due process, the name of the fourth bird is abuse of rule of law, the name of the fifth bird is abuse of persons, the name of the sixth bird is erosion of attributes, and the seventh bird, and most importantly, being that the social media has become a market square where our young men and women buy and sale, gather for information, entertainment and inspiration, consuming whatever we sale hook, line, and sinker, and believing same to be true, coming from supposedly high moral grounds.
“Regrettably, some of the items and pieces of (mis)information and ill-trainings and acculturations they assimilate are poisonous and retrogressive. It is for these reasons that I am using this medium to also purge us of those negative vices and influences at the exact scene of crime.
“In the words of our elders “sacrificial rituals are best performed at the scene of abomination”. I therefore most candidly seek your kind understanding and indulgences for using the social media platform to address these matters of urgent public importance”
“We had had cause in the past to discuss the fortunes of our dear God’s own state. Frankly, I was convinced that one area in which you will do well as Governor is in the area of Corporate governance and financial engineering, all things being equal. This is judging by your background as a foremost banker.
“I do not share in the rumour mill that you are autocratic and dictatorial. We are all sinners in this autocratic sin to the extent that every good leader must have his pepperish side and a mind of his own. Having a mind of our own is the only way we can point the torch, show the way, and remain on top of all issues.
“I am thankful to God that the election has come and gone, without loss of precious lives, even as the outcome is being challenged at the Election Petition Tribunal. I wish the winner the best”
Continuing he said the best position can only be attained through the sustenance of existing peace in Abia.
“This ‘best’ position we crave can only be attained through sustenance of existing peace in the state, through meticulous, through innovations, and through ingenious reasoning and acts that lead to the transformation of our state under the rule of law and due process.
“It cannot be attained in breaches, or outside of an existing State Order of Precedences established under the 1999 Constitution either. As I often say, “government is all about protocols and protocols is about good governance”. This is at the core of this letter.
“To demonstrate how important this issue is to me, I wrote and delivered a ninety-six page policy document for the previous administration that bothers on protocols and service optimizations. How much it was put to use is a different matter”
“YOUR EXCELLENCY, I am distressed and confounded to observe that the very moral fabric I talked about in my book is being eroded by your Aides.
“Ordinarily, excellent corporate governance should constitute a quartet of the finest attributes and legacies your government should bequeath on our citizens. It’s constant erosion and desecration of the very seat and office your predecessor occupied tantamount to inadvertent desecration of your own office and the frittering away of some goodwill.
“The festering malignant abuse of the constituents of the state order of precedence, as encapsulated, should not be allowed to matastasize. In specific term, the unwarranted, unprovoked, and undeserving media attacks on your predecessor, Dr Okezie Victor Ikpeazu, by your Aides of no-cabinet status are nauseating and very unbecoming.
“The holy bible enjoins us to “do unto others as you would want others do unto you”. These unconscionable attacks are largely unsolicited, pedestrian, irritating, disgusting, unnecessary, despicable, combustible, and do not represent your ideals. They also do not represent who we are as a people.
“Instead, they impact negatively on the very high moral grounds, the finest tenets of our democracy, and the very foundation upon which your government is built. These cannot remain the hallmark of your administration and legacies for our children”
“May I therefore beg of you to most kindly call your aides to order, and immediately too. Under no condition shall we be seen to be aiding and abetting insurbordination and/or dialling up our negatives further”
“For avoidance of doubt, I do not hold forth for former Governor Okezie Ikpeazu, PhD. I do this as a believer in due process and in the rule of law. If and where there are infractions that require your actions, please ask your boys to follow the law.
“If the government of Dr Okezie Ikpeazu was as useless and worthless as your aides want the world to believe, please follow the law in bringing the government to account. If you want to probe him, please do so by following the law. If you want to crucify him, please follow the law. This ridiculing and pervasive media trials should stop.
“Tied to the stakes for execution, Col Buka Sukar Dimka requested for only one thing: that the junior officer positioned to shoot him to death must first salute him. His reasons are that it is customary for junior officers to salute their superiors on all matters and in all circumstances. Politics is not a rankless business”
“I am a believer in the law of retributive justice, including the right of governments to bring offenders to justice. In a popular movie called “the good, the bad, and the ugly” we were taught to shoot when we have to shoot and don’t talk. Shooting when you should is your inalienable right as a Governor and as a government.
“Sincerely, we do not feel entertained by these sensationalism, theatrical acts, and media trials. Believe me, some of us are beginning to feel sympathetic, disillusioned, and that, indeed, nothing has really changed, May God continue to guide, protect, and enable you” he concluded.
