Integrity is a virtue not acquired through education, positioning or wealth, but by sheer strength of Character, most often, we have seen highly educated men and women from privileged and noble backgrounds whom we look upto in the society display such characters that falls short of any atom of nobleness that one begins to wonder if actually he/she deserves the position he/she occupies.

If anyone has followed the campaign trail of Dr. Okezie Victor Ikpeazu down to his early days of governorship as I have, such a person will discover that the governor has made a number of promises that he has failed to keep.

Top on the list of such unkept promises is the payment of salaries of Abia civil servants on the 24th of every month which he never kept two years after he was sworn in as governor, he ended up with a record of being the worst governor Abia has ever produced when it comes to salary payment. In a local radio interactive program (Family Love FM 103.9) Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu made the following promises and I quote “For me to achieve my campaign promise of ensuring regular salary payments without impacting this administration’s development agenda anchored on the five pillars of education, agriculture, infrastructure, trade and commerce, as well as oil and gas, read my lips: I will clear outstanding salaries and pensions owed Abia workers before the end of July this year: 2017” we are today in November and the outcome of that promise is well known to all Abians.

Again, In a meeting with the retired civil servants in November 2016, you had promised to look after the pensioners and pay them as at when due two years and six months after, Abia pensioners are being owed between 11 to 18 months resorting to the elder statesmen taking to the streets to protest and demand for their due entitlements.

Dr. Ikpeazu had promised to build a modern abattoir in Aba so as to stop butchers from further polluting the waters and the environment through the dropping of animal wastes and burning of tyres into the atmosphere thereby causing pollution and health risks but two years+ down the line that promise went the way of other promises he made to Abians.

Shortly after assumption of office Governor Ikpeazu promised that his government will not collect taxes from traders in aba due to the pitiable state of infrastructure in various markets located within aba until the infrastructural challenges which had scared traders and customers away from commercial town has been addressed, today everybody knows the state of infrastructure in those markets and the government had gone ahead to introduce and impose multiple of taxation on the traders.

As at December 2016 immediately after the swearing in of the 17 elected council chairmen Dr. Ikpeazu charged them to identify three projects in each ward within their various LGA,s that will receive urgent attention from the state government through them, needless to tell you what transpired, how such promises caused problems between the newly elected council chairmen and the stake holders within their local governments, as everyone was busy lobbying to ensure that such a project as promised by the governor is domiciled in his choice location. Today it’s either that the governor has forgotten he made such promises or it has gone the way of other promises made by him.

As at February 2017, governor Ikpeazu also promised to do a 10 kilo meter asphalted road in each of 17 LGA,s that made up Abia state, typical of his style he again asked the 17 council bosses to identify and submit to him the roads which they will like to be done within their LGA, needless to let you into the joy and applause that greeted such pronouncement, and how the chairmen sprang into action, but till date that promise ended not being fulfilled just like others before it, he also promised to take one youth from each local government area to a skill acquisition and technological training program in china but till date that also has become a mirage and a promise unfulfilled.

He promised to enhance security and introduce motorized policing which was applauded by all including the opposition, but shortly afterwards the police vehicles disappeared and he ended up restricting our movements between 6am to 7pm, while kidnapping, armed robbery and all forms of criminality went on the increase.

He promised to stop touting by creating jobs that will gainfully engage Abia youths, but two years down the line, Motor Park touting (Agbero) has become the only line of employment open to Abia youths thereby turning them into agents of extortion in the guise of revenue enforcement.

My Governor may be you have forgotten, let me refresh your memory, Shortly after assuming office you promised to clear the streets off the praise singing billboards that littered the length and breadth of the state capital but two years and a few months after, under your watch those billboards are back, even in front of the government house creating the same scene that you promised not to tolerate under your administration.

Governance demands integrity and trust, while Integrity is a vital ingredient in leadership, it therefore becomes difficult to believe in trust deficient leadership and any government that lacks the basic trust of the people will not make any meaningful progress, my Governor I must be open and bold enough to tell you that your volume of unfulfilled promises is making the people lose trust and faith in your leadership, and it’s difficult for any leader who had displayed lack of capacity in promise keeping to enjoy the trust and confidence of his subjects.

Dr. Ikpeazu, I want to assume that you did not intentionally default on those promises, but its only human that we forget some of the things we promise, please revisit the promises earlier made before going ahead to promise more.

Aguoru
Writes from Umuahia

He is empowered by Nigerian flawed laws and corrupt culture, so expect nothing from him, as he knows he will get away with the atrocities and suffering he is inflicting on the people. Owing pensioners and workers with threat of sack if they don’t turn-up for work but still have the audacity to call himself a Christian. He is a typical Nigerian.

Abia State Government have indeed failed Abians.

Indeed he has time to redeem his lost image. Hope he realize that and wake up to his clarion call before it's completely too late