Okezie Ikpeazu and the Record Abia Lived With — Allegations, Failures, and Political Shielding (Compared With Alex Otti)
1. Financial Mismanagement & Debt Accumulation (Documented Governance Failure)
During the tenure of Okezie Ikpeazu (2015–2023), Abia State accumulated significant salary arrears, pension backlogs, and contractor debts, despite steady federal allocations.
Multiple reports noted that Abia workers were owed months—sometimes years—of salaries and pensions by the end of his tenure. This was widely reported in national media, including Punch and Premium Times, with civil servants staging repeated protests over unpaid entitlements (see Punch: https://punchng.com/abia-workers-protest-over-unpaid-salaries-pensions/).
Why this matters:
Failure to pay salaries and pensions while receiving statutory allocations constitutes administrative negligence and breach of public trust, even when not prosecuted as a criminal offense.
Contrast with Otti:
Within months of taking office, Alex Otti began clearing salary arrears and pension obligations, a fact acknowledged even by labour unions and reported by Premium Times (https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/top-news/602493-abia-gov-otti-clears-salary-arrears.html).
2. Audit Queries & Lack of Transparency (Institutional Breakdown)
Under Ikpeazu, Abia State was frequently cited for weak fiscal transparency, including:
Non-publication of detailed budget performance reports
Poor public access to procurement records
Inconsistent capital project execution despite approved budgets
BudgIT’s State Fiscal Transparency reports repeatedly ranked Abia low during this period (BudgIT archive: https://yourbudgit.com/state-fiscal-transparency).
Why this matters:
When spending cannot be independently tracked, accountability collapses. This creates the conditions for corruption—even if courts never convict.
Contrast with Otti:
Otti’s administration publishes quarterly budget performance reports, including Q2 2024, available on the Abia State Government portal (https://abiastate.gov.ng/abia-state-second-quarter-budget-performance-report-2024/). This is not rhetoric; it is verifiable documentation.
3. Infrastructure Collapse — Aba as Evidence
By 2023, Aba—the commercial engine of the South-East—had become a national metaphor for urban decay, with impassable roads and flooded industrial corridors.
This was extensively documented by BBC News Pidgin and Channels TV long before Otti took office (BBC Pidgin: https://www.bbc.com/pidgin/tori-51308365).
Why this matters:
Eight years in office with no durable urban renewal in Aba is not a political argument—it is physical evidence.
Contrast with Otti:
Major corridors in Aba have since been reconstructed or reopened. Whether one argues about pace or scale, the difference is observable, not theoretical.
4. Why PDP–APC Political Elites Shield Ikpeazu
Ikpeazu is shielded not because he is innocent, but because:
Mutual survival pact:
Former governors across parties protect one another to avoid opening precedents that could later be used against them.
Party-switch immunity culture:
Nigeria’s political system often treats cross-party silence as insurance—today’s opposition is tomorrow’s ally.
Institutional weakness:
Anti-corruption enforcement historically slows when cases threaten multiple political camps simultaneously.
This is not unique to Ikpeazu—it is a systemic Nigerian political pathology.
5. Crimes Against Abians (Moral, Not Just Legal)
Even where courts have not convicted, Abians endured:
Years of unpaid salaries
Pensioners dying without benefits
Youth unemployment with no industrial policy
Infrastructure decay amid rising public debt
These are crimes of governance failure—not always prosecuted, but deeply consequential.
The Otti Difference: Why the Old Guard Panics
Otti is dangerous to the old order because he:
Runs systems instead of patronage
Leaves paper trails instead of slogans
Publishes data instead of excuses
Removes the fog that once hid failure
That is why former power blocs regroup. That is why noise replaces evidence. That is why Abians are being emotionally pressured to forget.
Bottom Line for Abians
Abia has tried:
PDP collapse
APC decay
Elite recycling
Abians now recognize structure when they see it.
And that—not propaganda—is why the past is panicking.
AProf Chukwuemeka Ifegwu Eke
