REJOINDER: Okezie Ikpeazu—Not an Enigma, Just a Missed Opportunity – By Kelechi Nwosu

In his sentimental tribute, “Okezie Ikpeazu: An Unassuming Enigma,” Enyinnaya Appolos attempts to recast the former Governor of Abia State as a misunderstood political colossus whose silence supposedly unsettles his critics and whose shadow still haunts the state’s political landscape. The piece is soaked in florid rhetoric but woefully light on substance or truth.

In his sentimental tribute, “Okezie Ikpeazu: An Unassuming Enigma,” Enyinnaya Appolos attempts to recast the former Governor of Abia State as a misunderstood political colossus whose silence supposedly unsettles his critics and whose shadow still haunts the state’s political landscape. The piece is soaked in florid rhetoric but woefully light on substance or truth.

For the avoidance of doubt, Dr. Okezie Victor Ikpeazu is not an enigma. He is the very embodiment of unfulfilled promises, abandoned projects, and squandered goodwill. What unsettles Abians is not his political mystique, it is the depth of disappointment he left behind after eight years in power.

It is ironic that Ikpeazu’s defenders insist he has “moved on,” even as he continues to shadow-box the present through proxies, orchestrated thank-you visits, and political nostalgia wrapped in emotional blackmail. If he has truly moved on, why then the persistent scheming, subtle provocations, and choreographed optics?

Appolos celebrates the fact that Ikpeazu retained one deputy for eight years. That may reflect loyalty but governance is not an oath of friendship; it is a contract with the people. If the consequence of loyalty is the elevation of incompetence, then it is not a virtue, but a vice. We are reminded too that he governed under one political party, as though that were an achievement. But what did that singularity deliver? Uniform underperformance, unaccountable government, and the weakening of state institutions.

Let us not confuse public fatigue with political relevance. The fact that Ikpeazu’s name still comes up is not admiration—it is residual anger from a citizenry still grappling with the ruins of his leadership. If he is feared, it is not because of strength, but because of the political recklessness he normalized.

Let us remind ourselves lest revisionist attempts gain traction of some of Ikpeazu’s most celebrated but ultimately unfulfilled promises:

Enyimba Economic City (EEC): Touted as a game-changer in 2018, with federal support and private capital. Not a single block laid. No economic activity. Just memos and press conferences.

The New Government House after Eight years of allocations, multiple Re-launches. Still, it uncompleted. A monument to waste, not governance.

Pensioners & Workers; Massive protests by retirees and months of unpaid salaries for workers in AbiaPoly, ABSUTH, and others. Over 24 months of arrears in some sectors. Not for lack of funds, but lack of will and unparalleled corruption

Ikpeazụ launched “Zero pothole policy.” Over 100 roads claimed has been completed. Major roads like Port Harcourt Road, Faulks Road, Ngwa Road, and Uratta Road remained death traps. Local roads were patched, re-patched, and failed within weeks.

He had Pledges of transparent budgeting and participatory town halls but Abia State consistently ranked low in transparency and accountability by BudgIT, SERAP, and other civil society trackers.

Dr. Ikpeazu had the benefit of:

Unbroken tenure (8 years)

Stable political structure (one party, one deputy)

Massive federal allocations, bailout funds, and donor inflows

Initial public goodwill

Yet, at the end of his tenure, he left behind a state that:

Ranks poorly in Internally Generated Revenue (IGR)

Lagged behind in ease of doing business

Struggles with basic infrastructure and sanitation

Owes billions in unpaid salaries and gratuities

This is not legacy. It is an indictment.

Mr. Appolos may be moved to venerate his former principal. That is his right. But Abians are not persuaded by prose, they are moved by results. And the only thing they remember is that Dr. Ikpeazu governed for eight years and left them worse off.

The political space in Abia is moving on not because Ikpeazu has faded but because the people have resolutely rejected the kind of leadership he embodied. Romanticizing his legacy may comfort his circle, but it cannot erase the public’s memory of the lost years.

If Ikpeazu is an enigma, it is not because of what he achieved, but because of how someone could inherit so much goodwill and yet leave so little behind. Time will not judge him by how quietly he walks now, but by the noise of broken promises he left behind.

Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu is not an enigma. He is the political equivalent of a great opportunity lost.

Signed,

Kelechi Nwosu

Umuahia, Abia State

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