Okezie Victor Ikpeazu, Ph.D, a renowned
biochemist, teacher and a highly
acknowledged public servant, was born on
October 18, 1964, to the family of late Pa
Ishmael and Deaconess Bessie Ikpeazu of
Umuebere in Umuobiakwa village,
Isialaukwu Mbato Autonomous
Community in Obingwa Local Government
Area of Abia State, Nigeria.
Dr. Ikpeazu attended Amaise Central
Primary School, Umuobiakwa. In 1973,
while in primary five, he gained admission
into Eziama High School, Aba and later
moved to Ihie High School, Isiala Ngwa,
where he took his School Certificate
Examination in 1979. In 1980, at the age of
16, he gained admission into the University
of Maiduguri (UNIMAID) to study Clinical
Biochemistry and graduated with a B.Sc.
(Hons.) Second Class Upper Division in
August, 1984.
From August 1984 to August 1985, Dr.
Ikpeazu served as a clinical biochemist in
the medical laboratory of the Rivers State
University of Science and Technology
(RSUST) Port Harcourt, for his national
youth service. He returned to the
University of Maiduguri for an M.Sc degree
in Biochemical Toxicology and graduated
in 1990. In 1994, at the age of 30, he
obtained a doctorate degree, Ph.D, in
Biochemical Pharmacology from the
University of Calabar.
CAREER/PUBLIC SERVICE
Dr. Ikpeazu served as a Graduate-Assistant
in the Department of Science Laboratory
Technology, University of Maiduguri, from
1986 to 1987 while studying for his M.Sc
degree. He also taught at the Calabar
Polytechnic from 1990 to 1992 during his
Ph.D programme.
Between 1994 and 1996, he served as
Administrative Manager with Cash Bond
Investments and Credits Ltd, Lagos. In
1998, Dr. Ikpeazu joined the services of
Enugu State University of Science and
Technology (ESUT) as Lecturer 1 in the
Department of Applied Biochemistry,
Faculty of Applied Natural Sciences, and
rose to Head of Department by 2001. He
was also an Adjunct Senior Lecturer,
Department of Biochemistry, Ebonyi State
University College of Basic Medical
Sciences, between 2000 and 2002. Between
2003 and 2004, he was a Masters' Degree
External Examiner, to the Department of
Biochemistry, University of Nigeria.
In 2002, Dr. Ikpeazu served as the
Transition Committee (TC) Chairman for
Obingwa Local Government Area. This
marked his entry into politics. He also
served as Special Adviser to the Governor
of Abia State. He was appointed General
Manger, Abia State Passengers Integrated
Manifest and Safety Scheme (ASPIMSS)
from 2007 to 2009. Within the period, he
turned around the fortunes of ASPIMSS,
and made it a revenue yielding agency of
government. In 2010, he was appointed
Chairman, Governing Council of Abia State
College of Health Technology, Aba. During
his tenure, he facilitated the accreditation
of three critical courses in the institution
by the NBTE. In 2011, he was reappointed
General Manager, Abia State Passengers
Integrated Manifest and Safety Scheme
(ASPIMSS), a position he held till 2013. In
June 2013, he was appointed the first
Deputy General Manager, Abia State
Environmental Protection Agency (ASEPA)
Aba and Environs; an assignment he
creditably discharged to the admiration of
not only the Aba populace, but also the
entire Abia State and beyond, interpreting
the vision of Chief T.A Orji, on
environmental and waste management, till
October 2014 when he resigned.
He is a member of Biochemical Society of
Nigeria, the Nigeria Environmental Society
and Rotary Club of Eziukwu Aba. He is a
Trustee and the President, Eastern Ngwa
Country Sports Club of Nigeria. He is
happily married to Mrs. Nkechi Okezie
Ikpeazu, and the marriage is blessed with
four children.
VISION
An economically vibrant Abia State with
strong institutions; open, transparent and
inclusive governance, to guarantee high
quality of life for the citizens, leading to
sustainable development.
MISSION
To transform Abia State into a functional
private sector-led economy; creating
opportunities for her citizens, improving
the quality of their lives and shaping the
State into a regional entrepreneurship hub
through good governance, appropriate
developmental and environmentally
sustainable policies.
SERVICE PHILOSOPHY
My commitment is to serve God and
humanity. Therefore, I am driven by a
strong determination to achieve results. In
this regard, I am propelled by the
fundamental needs of our people. I believe
that to successfully achieve this, there is
need to consult and involve a wide
spectrum of our society. I think through
issues and consult appropriately before
arriving at decisions. I appreciate
intellectual discussions and contributions. I
encourage people to express themselves,
share their opinions and ideas on issues of
interest to our society. Most importantly, I
take responsibility for every action and
inaction under my watch.
I am a team player; together we can
achieve a lot. Therefore cardinal questions
on my mind while handling assignments
are:
* How best do we identify and galvanize
the best hands within the community to
work with?
* How do we collectively push the frontiers
of development, and achieve expected
results?
WHY I OFFER MYSELF FOR SERVICE AS
GOVERNOR OF ABIA STATE
I have served the Abia State Government
for over a decade as an active participant.
And more importantly, I am committed to
the vision and mission of the Chief T.A Orji
administration.
I am convinced that lack of continuity and
shared vision has been central to the slow
pace of development in most parts of
Nigeria. I believe that a strong thread
linking past and present leaderships in a
state like Abia is indispensable if a new
government of the state must fast track
development in all spheres. This can only
be achieved if a succeeding government
makes it a duty to leverage on the
foundation and vision for good governance
already laid by the preceding
administration. I shall therefore be driven
by the philosophy of "Abia Consolidarity"
i.e. consolidating the legacy of Chief T.A
Orji and continuing to mobilize solidarity
for further development.
The Abia Project is a collective
responsibility in which everybody has a
role to play, so we can proudly say: this is
where we met our State and this is where
we have taken it, giving God the glory and
the people credit.
I appreciate what the Chief T.A Orji's
Government has done in the state and the
challenges that have confronted the
government, constraining the growth and
development of the state at the pace the
Governor desired. I am therefore well
prepared to steer the ship of the state from
where Chief T.A Orji anchors it.
I represent a paradigm shift in two
dimensions;
* I am young, vibrant and enthusiastic. I
have the energy and capacity to pursue the
dreams of our founding fathers and
aspirations of our people.
* I have the experience in governance and
a track record of bridge building and
cementing relationships.
PLEDGE
My pledge is that, given the opportunity to
serve, my efforts shall be anchored on the
following principles:
* Security and protection of lives and
property
* Integrity
* Commitment
* Equity and social cohesion
* Transparency and due process
* Accountability
* Inclusive governance
* Gender mainstreaming
* Environmental sustainability
* Information sharing
* Rule of law
* Institution building
* Adoption of world best practices in
procurement and service delivery
FOCUS
As indicated in my service philosophy,
ours shall be a government of
consolidation and continuity from the
extant legacies of our predecessor.
ECONOMY
Industrialization has historically been a
core driver of modernization and job
creation. The private sector is the platform
that drives industrialization. We will
therefore develop the state economy
applying the following economic anchors:
* Systematic consultation with the
organized private sector to promote a
private sector-led Abia economy.
* Identification and addressing of the
binding constraints to private sector
growth in the state.
* Massive infrastructural
development.
* Establishment of a functional small and
medium enterprises (SME) centre to render
critical, non-financial business
development and support services to
aspiring entrepreneurs and existing SMEs
business operators.
* Establishment of an SME Fund (under
public-private partnership). This shall be
aimed at addressing the challenge of
finance access faced by aspiring and
operating entrepreneurs in the state.
* Overall improvement of the Business
Environment (BE) in Abia State. Conscious
of the fact that economic growth and
development do not happen in a vacuum,
we shall muster the political will to design
and enforce appropriate public policies
required to ensure an enabling business
environment.
* Pursuing vigorously the consolidation of
the T.A Orji's administration's efforts in
reforming and streamlining the State's Tax
regime to check multiple and unapproved
taxation, while enhancing the internally
generated revenue of the state.
Aba Re-Development Project:
The axiom, "get Aba right, and Abia is
right", shall continue to be the pivotal
development philosophy and the nexus
upon which to hinge development policy
for Aba.
Aba is home to virtually all Abians, Ndigbo
and has a strong attachment to many
others. Re-developing Aba into a modern
commercial hub; urban renewal and city
upgrading, functional infrastructure, stable
power supply, reliable and decent public
transportation system, urban traffic
management system, structured and
planned industrial layouts, clusters and
parks, will release her revenue potential
that can be leveraged upon to develop the
rest of Abia State.
Abawith its strong entrepreneurial setting,
attracting business operators from across
the nation and most ECOWAS countries,
has the potential to become a commercial
and entrepreneurship hub of West Africa.
We shall enhance international marketing
opportunities for made in Aba goods and
services by ensuring quality control and
showcase the made in Aba brand in the
economic capitals of the world.
Obuaku Industrial Zone
As part of the Aba re-development project
plan, we shall undertake the establishment
of Obuaku Industrial Zone. The components
shall include, but not limited to, a sea port,
housing estate, etc.
HEALTH
Our policy trust shall be to enhance access
to quality and affordable healthcare.
Already, there are over 300 Primary Health
Centers all over the State, functional
general hospitals including the 3Nos 100-
bed wards built and equipped by the
Government. There are also the state of the
art equipped Abia State diagnostic, eye and
dialysis centres built by the T. A. Orji
administration. We shall integrate the
vision of the present government by linking
the Primary Health Centres (PHCs) to
general hospitals and tertiary health
institutions.
Our thematic areas in health sector will
include, but not limited to, maternal/child
care, HIV/AIDS, cancer, malaria control,
the EBOLA scourge we shall however
emphasize the preventive approach.
EDUCATION
The present government has done so much
in the education sector, with the
renovation, construction and equipping of
model school blocks. Our policy will
therefore be to ensure qualitative and
functional education that will equip the
Abia child to not only participate in, but
also confidently compete on the global
platform.
*We shall rebuild the confidence in our
public education system to allow our
children attend public schools.
*We will encourage our teachers’ capacity
building until they are able to actualize
their set career goals.
* We shall ensure uninhibited access to
quality primary education.
* We shall enhance their structures,
manpower and facilities so that our
secondary schools meet international
standards.
* We shall prioritise Teachers’ welfare.
* We shall adopt training and re-training
of teachers as an integral part of our
education quality assurance programme.
* We shall vigorously pursue the
establishment and resuscitation of
vocational and technical education centers
equipped with modern and functional
facilities, with appropriate personnel, to
ensure that our youth are adequately and
skilfully empowered as part of our response
to Abia youth employment challenge.
* We shall adopt the Recognized Vocational
Training Centers (RVTCs) programme with
the best artisans in every Local
Government Area co-opted to train youth
in their chosen vocations (Apprenticeship),
equip them with practical skills and
facilitate their self- employment.
Information Communication Technology
(ICT) Development
Today's world is ICT driven. To ensure that
our youth can compete effectively in the
global village, they must be ICT compliant.
Pursuant to this, we, in partnership with
international agencies and organizations,
shall set up ICT development centres in
each local government area of the state.
These centres shall be well equipped and
managed by well-motivated and highly
proficient instructors, to drive the ICT
revolution in Abia State.
Entrepreneurship Education
As part of our strategies to sustainability in
our development drive, we shall address
youth unemployment and also stimulate
the micro, small and medium enterprises
sub-sector in Abia State. Entrepreneurship
education will be compulsory in secondary,
technical/vocational and tertiary
institutions to develop in the students an
enterprise mindset, creativity, innovation,
business idea generation, critical small
business management skills, ability to
develop a bankable business plan and
create in them the passion to start small
businesses after school that will drive the
state economy in the years ahead, with its
attendant multiplier effects, furthering the
state’s economic growth and development.
* Adult education will be encouraged.
AGRICULTURE
Our agriculture policy shall promote full
exploitation of the State’s agricultural
potentials for food security, agro-industrial
raw materials growth, employment
generation and poverty reduction.
The present administration has established
model “Liberation farms” in two Local
Government Areas with a programme to
expand to the rest of the State. We shall
consolidate and expand this effort and
establish a value chain for raw material
production and industrial processing of
finished goods to restore agriculture’s pride
of place.
We shall:
* provide incentives and encouragement to
small holder-farmers through the
provision of inputs, technical support and
facilitation of access to agro-related
funding windows.
* encourage the organized private sector,
through tax concessions and other
incentives to invest massively in
commercial agriculture.
* provide functional Agricultural Extension
Services and Farmer Education.
* encourage agro-processing as a platform
for promoting agri-business, agro-
industrialization and food security.
* pay greater attention to the local agro-
equipment fabricators, as critical partners
in our agricultural development agenda.
* improve rural infrastructure in order to
strengthen rural-urban economic links and
improve market access to the rural
farmers.
* pay special attention to the growth of
livestock farming to improve rural incomes
and nutrition.
* collaborate with the Michael Okpara
University of Agriculture, Umudike, and
Faculty of Agriculture, Abia State
University, on relevant agro-based research
to boost agricultural productivity in the
State.
WOMEN DEVELOPMENT
Mainstreaming gender balance is now
globally accepted as a strategy for reducing
poverty, improving health and living
standards and enhancing the efficiency of
public investment.
We shall pursue the integration of women
in the State’s human development agenda,
while ensuring their full participation in
the socio-economic and political
development of the State.
To ensure the achievement of our desired
outcomes on women development, we
shall:
* Improve girl-child access to education
* Specifically ensure that our unskilled
women acquire vocational skills to
enhance their sustainable livelihood.
* Increase women’s access to microcredit
and small business resources and economic
opportunities, through massive support for
women-based co-operative societies.
* Initiate and or support legislative
procedures to check harmful traditional
practices, discrimination and violence
against women.
YOUTH DEVELOPMENT
Appreciating the massive investment of the
Governor T. A. Orji's administration in
youth empowerment, and in realization of
the pivotal place of the youth in shaping
our envisioned Abia State, our approach to
youth development shall be multi-sectoral.
Education:
* Ensure that our youth in secondary,
vocational and tertiary institutions, are
equipped with strong entrepreneurship
skill.
* Ensure that Abia youth are given critical
value-adding ICT skills.
Enterprise:
* Pay special attention to youth enterprises
creation through our planned SME Centre.
* Facilitate access to start-up capital for
youth-based enterprises while supporting
existing youth small business operators to
expand their businesses.
* Integrate leadership, creativity and
innovation in our Entrepreneurship
Education Programme’s deliverables to
effectively equip our youth for the world of
work.
Agriculture:
* Make agri-business more attractive to our
youth.
* Partner with the Federal University of
Agriculture Umudike and Abia State
University, to design the Youth in Agri-
business Programme (YABP) to promote
employment generation and livelihood for
the youth.
Youth Development Fund
Support will be sought from Donor
Agencies, Development Partners and the
Private Sector to establish a fund to assist
in empowering our youth.
TRANSPORT
A good transportation system is essential in
any modern society; it plays a key role in
the movement of goods and services and
facilitates socioeconomic activities.
* We shall design and encourage a new and
effective transportation system.
* We will encourage safe and convenient
mass transportation, including route
designation, and explore the use of the
railways.
* We shall also ensure the completion of
the airport project of the current
administration, because we are convinced
that an Abia Airport will make a great
difference in the development of the state's
economy and boost tourism.
SPORTS
*We shall consolidate on the successes of
the T.A Orji administration in this area.
*We shall also encourage school and state
sporting completions to identify budding
talents and nurture them.
TOURISM:
Tourism has continued to be a sector with
high return on investment in many parts of
the world. Abia State is blessed with
numerous tourist attractions and sites,
which we shall harness in partnership
with the private sector, to further boost the
State’s economy. We shall also encourage
activities in the entertainment industry,
partnering with credible groups and
organisations in the industry.
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