22/03/2015
Race for Owerri Federal Constituency between Rt. Hon. Ernest Ibejiako “Nwandaa” and Hon. Dan Ikpeazu.
By Julius Ozor
The battle for the Federal House of Representatives, Owerri Federal Constituency seat has become very obvious that it is going to be decided between Rt. Hon. Ernest Ibejiako’ Nwandaa’’ of Social Democratic Party, SDP and Hon. Dan Ikpeazu of APGA, who is the incumbent member representing Owerri North Constituency going by the political calculation by pundits from Owerri Federal constituency, whereas other compatriots in the race will make just little or no impact, Engr., Chuks Ololo of All Progressives Congress,who is the immediate past Transition Committee Chairman,(TCC) and S0LAD at one point or another without having any meaningful project to show in the LGA. While Hon. Ezenwa Francis Onyewuchi of PDP being the incumbent member occupying the seat at the Federal House Legislative chambers, Abuja is said to have recorded the worst representation, as the Owerri federal constituency went backwards in the last fours.He road to the seat on under the platform of All Progressives Grand Alliance(APGA), but decamped to APC and later moved to PDP which platform he seeks for a second term bid.
Among the noble contestants in the game, Rt. Hon Ernest Ibejiako’Nwandaa’’ comes first as the most acceptable of them all, because his track record when he first represented the people of Owerri Federal Constituency, Abuja in 2007 to 2011, he did marvelous things, brought projects and programmes that have direct bearing to the people of his constituency which no successive representation before and after him could march his sterling records which still speak volume among the people and the environs, those things dividends are huge testimonies. Nwandaa new and very conscious of the fact he was elected to serve his constituency which he did not betray unlike the incumbent, Hon. Ezenwa who used the constituency’s allowances for four years to better his life, spent it onhimself, and family members that made him to rise to stadom, by calling those who gave him the mandate fools.Nwandaa whose projects attracted to Owerri Federal Constituency are still very fresh on the lips and memories of Owerri people have continue to get recognition and acceptance across the nooks and crannies of theThree Local Government Councils that constitute Owerri Federal Constituency being,Owerri Municipal, Owerri North and Owerri West cannot be over emphasise.
Nwandaa as he is fondly called in Owerri,procured and donated over N2.1million school desk tables and chairs to Emmanuel College Owerri, likewise to Avu Secondary school Owerri West, in addition to several solar powered lights across the 46 communities in Owerri Federal constituency that worth over N200million.He also donated high capacity of 500kv transformers to all the communities worth millions. He at one time or the other given financial assistance to students of Imo state University, Fed. University Tech. Owerri(FUTO), and others when they paid he a visit in Abuja. He provided a housing accommodation that serves as guest house for all the constituency members and along way provides welfare to the visiting Owerri people.He trained and paid for the skill acquisition programme for the youths including the young men and women in addition to providing the starting kits for them. He constructed the skill acquisition village at the G.T.C premises to aid the technical college to develop. Similarly he provided ce centers for the skill acquisition programmes in partnership with National Directorate of Employment, N.D.E. He also built town halls for most of the communities in the communities that have none before. Nwandaa being aware of the need to queue along with the modern information technology constructed and completed such building at Orie Uratta in Owerri North.
For his love for sports and unity of Owerri people, he promulgated in what started as Nwandaa unity cup where talents of the youths in football competition were discovered through empowerment that attracted millions to sponsor by him., in addition to 0ne 18 seater L300 bus he donated to convey the players and their officials. He constructed the visible pavilion of Ugwu Ekwema Owerri along Egbu road. These were few among the things he attracted and services he gave to the people of Owerri federal constituency. It was on this not that the people collectively promised in one accord to support his political ambition whenever he seeks for their corporation. Even as they regretted that the political tsunami that swept that political horizon of the state in the last general election which affected while in his former party, PDP denied his second term bid back to back, but have reaffirmed their position to give him bulk vote in his new party, SDP.
They said Nwanndaa is the one the cap fits, because he will perform more and bring home dividends of democracy that will stand the taste of time, as they observed he is not a beginner and still has his associates and connections that he can use to attract projects to Owerri federal constituency, a big margin he possesses ahead of Dan Ikpeazu and the rest in the race. He is the most favoured candidate.
The incumbent member representing Owerri North in the state house of assembly Hon Dan Ikpeazu no doubt has recorded some significant achievements through his empowerment program for the youths of Owerri with the provision of electricity transformers to some communities in the LGA among other projects he did. A graduate of Agric Engineering also rendered other humanitarian services to the people.
This illustrious son of Agbala in Owerri North LGA had at various times trained some hundreds of youths in his constituency on various poultry farming and also donated start off kits to grandaunts and in similar skill acquisition programs. He used to be a robust state legislature until the middle 2013 when he started abandoning the legislative matters to pursue public interest, most often travel overseas and could not concentrate much on the state legislative business from then he started derailing from giving the people the necessary information about things they should know and since then his empowerment programme dropped in percentage.
More so, the controversial role he played during the Ezeship tussle in his home town of Agbala that pitched him against a traditional ruler of his home HRH Eze Malachy that nearly brought the hitherto peaceful community of Agbala to a state of anarchy if not by providence is said to be hunting his ambition to win the federal house of reps seat as according to information, the family of the Eze Malachy, friends and his sympathizers are desirous to ensure Hon Ikpeazu does not realize his ambition; the malice against Ikpeazu on the role he played is said to be initiating most of his kinsmen that he overstepped his boundary. Some of his kinsmen accused him of being carried away by fame by forgetting his background.
Consequently, some political observers adduced that with the role most members of Imo House of Assembly have played having made themselves stooges in the hands of the incumbent Governor that they do not merit to be returned for second term nor aspire further. They opined that a better candidate for the position should be Rt Hon. Ernest Ibejiako whose experience would count tremendously. Though, Hon Dan Ikpeazu is not written off in the sense that he also possess some qualities in him, but he has been advised to step aside for the most qualified candidate for the seat as he is not matured to represent owerri people as they are not interested to elect someone who goes there to become a benchwarmer like the incumbent federal lawmaker.
Granted that Dan Ikpeazu claimed he donated 25 electricity transformers to the communities that make up the 12 wards in Owerri North LGA, some of the transformers according to observers are not on ground to be seen, the ones that are seeing have not been mounted or installed to boost the supply of power in such areas, which according to this school of thought that the honourable member grasped to procure.
Let it be known that before he was given the APGA ticket with which he secured victory in 2011 for Imo house seat of Owerri north, a well orchestrated group in the LGA objected to his candidature, the reason been that Dan has no respect for his elders including his immediate elder brother, they termed a very arrogant boy, which he consistently pretended over until he found his way to Imo house seat through several emissaries before he was given the ticket to run and finally got it. No thanks to the political tsunami that ravaged PDP in the state in that 2011. Today such individuals and groups that knew Dan Ikpeazu right from his childhood are now vindicated. Consequently that have vowed to do everything to stop his federal ambition, because they felt spited by his antics while calling they names. The last that broke the Carmel’s back was an alleged kangaroo plot by some identified coordinators of Owerri North Political Caucus to railroad other members of the organization into endorsing Hon. Dan Ikpeazu as their sole candidate for the federal House of Representatives Owerri Fed. Constituency seat which met total resistant. They objected because the incumbent House member and those fronting for him did not make proper consultation and without considering his opponents in and outside the Owerri North. They premised that it would be a political su***de to adopt Dan in view of his political antecedents, according to them he erred in several areas. The dissenting members also suspected a sinister as exchanged could have taken place. Some of them further accused Dan for not recognizing them, nor pick their calls any more, even as they were said to have regretted working for his victory to the Imo house of Assembly and vehemently vowed to ensure he does not realize his federal House ambition, they instead according to sources p
