By Ugochukwu Alaribe

Former governor of Abia State, Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu, has said that his heart is full of gratitude to God and the people of the state as he bears no grudge against anybody following the end of his tenure.

Ikpeazu also disclosed that he is exiting the office of the governor as a fulfilled man who did his best to lift Abia from where he met it when he assumed office in 2015.

In his farewell broadcast to the people of the state, Ikpeazu explained that his story offers hope to all residents in the state, stressing that he did his best for the state.

His words; “All things considered, I leave office a fulfilled man. The son of a teacher and a nurse who rose to become Governor of Abia State and who did his best for his people. My story offers hope to all Abians. I bear no grudge against anyone. I harbour no ill-feelings. My heart is full of gratitude. I have played my part. I have done my best. I shall remain available to offer support when called upon, and without a doubt, we have laid a solid foundation for the incoming government to build upon. I state unequivocally that I wish the incoming governor all the best as he pilots the affairs of this state. I call on all Abians and residents of Abia State to give him your maximum support. Government and governance is a continuum. It is a relay race. We have run our race and we will hand over the baton today to a new government. They will be picking up from where we stopped and adding to the development of Abia State.

“They will not need to execute the projects we have already executed. They will execute new ones all to the benefit of the people of the State. That is the essence of governance. Where one administration stops, another administration will continue.

“The last eight years has been a journey. It was a journey in unshaken fidelity to our covenant with the people of Abia State, a journey in the unprecedented transformation of the infrastructural landscape of the State. In the course of the last eight years, there were highs and naturally, there were lows too, but without a shadow of doubt, we are leaving Abia State better than we met it. Prior to our assumption of office, we had outlined our plan of action detailing key areas we wanted to focus on as encapsulated in our contract document with the people of Abia State. We promised to focus on five pillars of development, comprising education, agriculture, trade and commerce, Industries, and oil and gas.

“The five pillars were designed to rest on enablers for their effective impact, and these enablers included Infrastructural Development, healthcare delivery, security, fiscal responsibility, ease of doing business, peace and harmony.

“With these clear markers of our destination, we set out on the journey to transform Abia State. I am proud to announce today that we achieved what we set out to achieve. My beloved Abians, I close the curtain here. I commend you to the support and protection of God in heaven to whom this state has been dedicated from birth. This is God’s own state, and the will of God will continually be done in Abia State.”