Secret Reporters No place to hide
Fejiro Oliver
When my senior friend, Ikenga Joe Adibemma told me to lend my support towards ensuring that Hon. Daniel Ikpeazu goes to the Green Chambers; I didn’t bother to know why he wanted me to, haven known him as someone who will not endorse a bad product. I quickly agreed to join the train, but to be fully convinced, I had to put calls to some prominent friends in Imo State as well as the commoners to know what distinguish Ikpeazu from the rest.
Ikpeazu is not your everyday “ayes’ men in the legislative chambers, as he has not only brought panache to the style of lawmaking but become a governor in his own little way by touching the lives of not just his immediate constituency but others. This Agricultural Engineer began his political journey when he joined the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in 1999 and got elected in 2004 to become a Councillor representing Obube/Agbala/Ulakwo ward of Owerri North where he emerged as the Majority Leader of the Owerri North Legislative Council till 2007.
A Councillor is not expected to perform much, but how Daniel Chiedozie Ikpeazu was able to empower the youths with motorcycles, drill boreholes and gave his constituent transformer is what he alone can best answer. This feat no doubt resulted in his emergence as the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) candidate representing Owerri North in the State House of Assembly. As a dedicated member of the house, he is House Committee Chairman on Millennium Development Goals (MDG), Vice Chairman; House Committee on Agriculture and Natural Resources, Member, House Committee on Lands/Survey & Urban Planning, Member, House Committee on Niger Delta Development commission (NDDC) amongst others.
Ikpeazu who has proved his mettle in legislative business has been given the go ahead by APGA to represent the people of Owerri Federal Constituency. Truth be said; of the lots vying for this position, he is not just the most experienced but has also given back to the society without cheating them of their entitlement. As a Member of the House of Assembly, he empowered over Two Hundred and Fifty (250) constituents with fifty of them reaping the reward of sending him there on July 5th 2014 when he officially declared his intention to contest for the House of Reps position held at Ugwu Ekwema. The empowerment was not just for those he represents but it cut across the entire Owerri North, a feat never done before in the history of Imo State.
Just when it was thought that he has done enough, he made them realize that their money was still intact which he used in buying twenty nine transformers to all the autonomous communities in his constituency, while he is currently embarking on the completion of the Relief Water Project after already rehabilitating the Eke Ukwu Owerri Solar water project.
Lawmaking is not meant for kindergartens but experienced people who have seen it from the grassroots. The legislature is not an all comers affairs for the money bags but for the man who knows where the shoes pinch the people and can relieve their pains to the barest minimum, and Ikpeazu rightly fits into the shoes of the man who understands the nitty gritty of lawmaking and bringing Federal presence to his people.
Abuja cannot afford to have a pampers legislator when a man who has climbed the rope from a Councilor to a State House of Assembly abounds in the midst of Owerri constituents. Ikpeazu is one politician that money cannot influence or buy over, as the welfare of his people matter to him. Despite the defection of most APGA members to the All Progressive Congress (APC), he has stood his ground. While others signed the impeachment of former Deputy Governor, Jude Agbaso, he refused to do so, making history as the only lawmaker who stood against Rochas Okorocha tyrannical removal of his former second in command.
Loyalty can have no other name than what he has proved; remaining with the soul of Igbos which APGA represent, a man who the Ikemba of Nnewi, Odimegwu Ojukwu will be forever proud of in his grave for holding the light burning. It can only burn brighter in Abuja if the electorates whom he seeks to represent will faithfully give him their mandate. I know this because I stayed in Owerri for many years of my life and knows the kind of leader the people want; a young, vibrant, energetic and grass root politician, which Ikpeazu fully represents.
Ikpeazu has paid his dues at the State level and nature calls him to take his place among his colleagues at the National space where the real dice is played. He is not a newbie to the game and will not disappoint if elected. His ambition is the ambition of the people and his sole aim of going there is to represent even the dumb in his constituency. As Ikenga marshal his team to support Ikpeazu, even the heavens held a meeting and declared that the time has come for the people to leave the local league for the national stage and after a careful deliberation unanimously agreed to let him lead his people. Let Daniel Chiedozie Ikpeazu go for Owerri Federal Constituency.
These little things matter…
Fejiro Oliver, Editorial Board Chairman of Secrets Reporters, Media Consultant and Human Rights Activist is also the Co-Convener of Coalition of Human Rights Defender (CHORD) and can be reached on +2348022050733, +2348160067613 (SMS ONLY) or secretsreporters@gmail.com. Engage him on twitter on @fejirooliver86
