2023: GROUP SLAMS BAYWOOD IBE, SAYS ENUGU NEEDS EKWEREMADU
Door-to-Door Support for Senator Ike Ekweremadu has condemned what it described as “pure mischief” the position of Mr. Baywood Ibe over Ekweremadu’s governorship ambition, saying Ibe’s position was borne out of malice.
The organisation, which is one of the groups mobilising support for the emergence of the former Deputy Senate President as governor of Enugu State in 2023, said Ekweremadu had distinguished himself in all the political positions he had held, insisting that “Enugu State needed a touch of his visionary and well proven leadership credentials”.
It is recalled that Mr. Ibe had in two consecutive recent reports alleged that Ekweremadu had not done well for Enugu State or his Enugu West Senatorial District and should perish any gubernatorial ambition.He equally alleged that Ekweremadu had particularly marginalised Awgu LGA.However, in a statement by Mr. Nnaemeka Okafor, Door-to-Door Support for Senator Ike Ekweremadu said Ibe was “confused and out of touch with reality”.“
“It is not difficult to see that Mr. Baywood Ibe spoke out of malice because it is only malice that could drive any Enugu man, more so an Awgu LGA son, to fault Ekweremadu on performance or quality representation.“Although the office of a lawmaker is not an executive position, Ekweremadu’s credentials in infrastructural and human capital development can compete with those of any executive governor – the very reason we want him to emerge as the next executive governor of Enugu State.“
While the Awgu-Achi-Oji River Road, ongoing Ugwueme-Nenwenta-Nkwe-Ezere-Awgunta-Obeagu-Mgbidi-Mmaku road and rehabilitation of the Agbogugu-Ihe-Amoli-Nenwe-Mgbowo axis of the old Enugu-Port Harcourt road that will reconnect Enugu and Imo states via Lokpanta stand out among the major projects Ekweremadu attracted to Agwu, even a cursory look at Baywood Ibe’s community, Isu Awaa, speaks volumes about the Senator’s quality representation.“
This includes the Isu Awaa Exit Water Project in 2013, the Road Rehabilitation/Erosion Control at Isu Awaa-Agbudu-Ihe in 2010 and another at Obinagu-Isu Awaa in 2018 as well as the donation of 200KVA transformer at Central School, Isu Awaa and installation of 500KVA transformer at Ezioka Substation”, the group stated.
On human capital development, the group stated: “It was either self-overrating or deliberate misrepresentation that would make Mr. Ibe to claim that he had already begun youth empowerment and scholarships in 2012 before Ikeoha copied him.“To put the record straight, Ekweremadu began his youth empowerment and scholarship schemes once he was elected the pioneer Council Chairman of Aninri LGA in 1997 and continued to expand it from then until it covered the entire State.“
Today, 4,143 undergraduates have benefitted from the Ikeoha Foundation Bursary Awards, while 106 students have received full university scholarships; and of these numbers, 622 persons hail from Awgu LGA. “These also include at least five Isu-Awaa indigenes who benefitted from 2012 to present.“
Isu Awaa beneficiaries between 2007 and 2010/2011 include five persons in ESUT, one person in IMT, one person in FUTMINNA, etc.
It is noteworthy that Isu Awaa is one our of the over 130 autonomous communities in Enugu West zone.“To integrate into the 21st Century society those who missed formal education for one reason or the other at their earlier stages in life, the Ikeoha Adult Literacy Programme was introduced in 2009 across the five LGAs of Enugu West. 12,702 learners have received free basic education, among them thousands from Awgu LGA”.
The group also accused Ibe of contradicting himself by asking the lawmaker to quit while the ovation is loudest, saying it was a Freudian slip that showed that he knew in his subconscious that Ekweremadu had truly performed.“If Ekweremadu has not performed as he claimed, why the loud ovation in the first place? Are ovations meant for performing or non-performing people?“In one breath he said it was time for Greater Awgu (Aninri/Awgu/Oji River) man to be governor, yet in another breath, he said Ekweremadu should leave it probably for people like him. “
He is simply an Ekweremadu hater, who only comes alive every election cycle to try to stop Ekweremadu, but has always put him in their rightful places. “Whereas we know that Ekweremadu is eminently qualified to aspire to Nigeria’s Presidency, we believe that the South East region needs to be fixed and we need the likes of Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, Senator Ekweremadu, among others, to do the job because charity begins at home.“
Let Ikeoha come to our own Macedonia, Enugu, to help us with his experience, exposure, intellect, and global contacts”, the Door-to-Door for Senator Ike Ekweremadu concluded.