The Provost of Abia Sta te College of Education Technical Arochukwu, Dr Phillips Nto has described as mischievous and misleading an insinuation by an opposition sympathiser that Governor Okezie Ikpeazu was not performing.
Dr Nto said the governor has positively transformed the state in the areas of education, agriculture, SME development, infrastructure, youths empowerment and purposeful governance.
He said the statement by one Chief Dan Okeke that the governor was more visible in Facebook than actual performance was meant to attract attention as he was not on ground to appreciate what the governor has been doing for the people of Abia State in the last five years.
According to him, such an unsubstantiated and blanket condemnation of a man who has honestly dedicated himself to the service of the people was bound to attract the wrath of the people.
He noted that the governor has uplifted education including ASCETA where he heads, resulting to Abia posting the best WAEC results in Nigeria for four consecutive years.
He said a man who has built a record 97 roads in five years, set up shoe factory for youth after training them in China cannot be accused of under performance.
He called on those doubting the performance of Ikpeazu to make out time and visit the state to see for themselves what the governor has done.
‘Apart from seeking attention, some of these opposition elements are not on ground. They are merely rumour merchants and attention seekers out to cause confusion’, he submitted.
The Provost also debunked the claim by Chief Okeke that he (Okeke) was a former ally of Ikpeazu, saying it was a blatant lie.
He said: “the first time he saw Ikpeazu was when I took him to the governor after the 2015 elections for the sole purpose of attracting contract to his company EXPRESS CONCERN LTD. By 2016,he had jumped to APC because he did not realise his interest. So how could he have supported the Governor’s elections in 2015 and 2019?’.
Dr Phillips Nto advised the people of the state to be wary of those who are out to destabilise the state through wild propaganda and sponsorship of fake news.
Nto also advised the governor not to be distracted by the antics of those he described as agents of confusion.