The Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide yesterday said the outgoing Governor of Abia State, Okezie Ikpeazu, would be remembered for his landmark development projects in the state after his exit from office on May 29.

Speaking after a tour of the different states in the South-East to ascertain the level of development and distribution of public amenities in various LGAs in the region, the pan-Igbo socio-political group, said Ikpeazu was akin to the position of former President Goodluck Jonathan found himself towards his exit from power in 2015, but after some years out of power, Nigerians started to celebrate him when they saw the contrast.

In a statement issued yesterday by its Secretary-General, Mazi Okechukwu Isiguzoro, the Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide, said, “We had convened a high level of disciplined Igbo Team of Integrity, made of erudite scholars, Igbo patriots, and impartial court judges (retired), with strict rules of engagement and terms of reference to evaluate the level of progress put together and challenges confronted in the 95 LGAs of South-East towards the end of the tenures of the outgoing state governors, and in alphabetical order.

“The Igbo Team of Integrity commenced the Assessment Tour from Abia State and their findings were remarkable and outstanding. Igbo verdict on Governor Okezie Ikpeazu is akin to the position of Former President Goodluck Jonathan found himself towards his exit from Power in 2015 after some years out of power Nigerians began to see the contrasts and then started to celebrate him.

“We caught sight of Abia as of May 29th, 2015, which was deeply messed up and was grounded by activities of men of the underworld, the level of insecurity challenges then was at its crescendo, Abia was the den of kidnappers, the commercial city of Aba was the dirtiest metropolis in West Africa.

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“Amongst this myriad of challenges, Okezie Ikpeazu is leaving Abia State in 2023 in a better way than he met it at the resumption of office as Governor in 2015 “.

It added that the records available to the Igbo Team of Integrity led by US-based scholar, Prof Obioma Nwadiuko, revealed that there was a steady state of revamping of dead institutions through PPP, there were records of reconstruction of over 700 roads, and the majority of the roads are in Umuahia and Aba and its environs.

The statement noted that the resuscitation of public confidence through improved security and wealth creation was superb, and the Promotion of SME businesses and Made in Aba Products under Ikpeazu were second to none.

“Irrespective of minimum tackles in the areas of clearing of backlogs of Workers’ welfare packages and low tackles of godfatherism, Governor Okezie Ikpeazu based on the indexes on the ground is as of today seen as the best Governor, Abians has caught a glimpse of in the last 24 years of Democracy in Abia State,” it added.

Ndigbo urged the President-elect Senator Bola Tinubu to employ the security template of Abia State from 2015-2023 to deal with the undefeated insecurity challenges facing the country, saying, “It’s only a magician like Okezie Ikpeazu that can capsize the headquarters of kidnappers and bandits in Nigeria into the best-secured state with zero violence, in the face of the heavily compromised security situation in the South-East.”