A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Abia state, Prince Paul Ikonne has advised former Governor Orji Uzor Kalu to desist from peddling false information.
Addressing select journalists in Abuja, Ikonne accused Kalu of laying a wrong foundation for Abia state.
The APC chieftain noted that most Abia state indigenes were not happy with Kalu’s leadership style.
Ikonne advised the former governor to provide Nigerians with true stewardship account of how he governed Abia state for eight years.
He urged the governor to mend fences and seek reconciliation rather than create distractions and confusion.
“It’s unfortunate that the former governor of Abia state, Orji Uzor Kalu is speaking when he is not asked to speak,” he said.
“If Abia is backward, Dr Orji Uzor Kalu laid the foundation and has taken the state 16-years backward. He laid a very wrong foundation for Abia state as such, he should not be making statements that are false.
“95.5% of Abians are not happy with the way he governed Abia state and the foundation he laid in the state. I witnessed a situation where elders knelt down for Kalu to do the right things in Abia, yet he didn’t do them. He should not scare people away of APC with his style of leadership because we need a strong APC in Abia state," he added.
Faulting Kalu’s claims that President Muhammadu Buhari would return to Nigeria before June 11, 2019, Ikonne advised the former governor to speak when necessary.
“Last time, the same Dr Orji Uzor Kalu told Nigerians that President Buhari would return soon and he is not the spokesman of the President. Till now, the President is yet to return. These are not the characters we need. He should keep quiet and learn to live like an elder statesman.
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“Dr Orji Uzor Kalu cannot destabilize APC with his attitude. The deception we witnessed during his tenure would not repeat itself.
“My advice to him will be to keep quiet, be in a sober mood, go in for retreat, and try as much as he can to build a path of peace. He should embark on a mission to reconcile everybody,” Ikonne added.
On the call for restructuring, Ikonne advised politicians to “restructure their minds to serve the people and not their pockets.”
He described the call by leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu to boycott the forthcoming Anambra election as a display of ignorance.
“That is his (Kanu’s) personal opinion because there will be election in Anambra state. Nnamdi Kanu is a young man and I advised him that Ojukwu started this and regretted, a second one is not necessary. That is the stand of every Igbo person. If you say there would be no election in Anambra, then you are calling for a military administrator. So, the call for boycott of Anambra election is simply a display is ignorance,” Ikonne noted.
He expressed optimism that the APC would win the 2019 governorship election in Abia state.
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