Sen Adeyemi under fire over anti-Ikpeazu remarks

•He needs psychiatric evaluation —Ememanka

•He’s a national disgrace —Nkole

•Ikpeazu’s  champagne drinking gov, says Adeyemi

By Henry Umoru & Steve Oko

The Senator representing Kogi West senatorial zone, Senator Smart Adeyemi, has come under fire over his remarks that “Abia is governed by drunkards”.

Adeyemi had while contributing to a debate on the floor of the Senate yesterday, veered off from the subject on ground and began to attack Gov. Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia State.

The motion being debated was how to protect schools across the country against attacks by bandits but the senator in his contribution, stated that while his state governor, Yahaya Bello, had awarded contracts for the renovation of schools, “Abia is governed by drunkards.”

But in a swift reaction, the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Mr. Onyebuchi Ememanka, said the Kogi senator needed “psychiatric examination.”

Another aide of the Governor, Sir Isaac Nkole, described Adeyemi as ” a disgrace and national embarrassment”.

Ememanka in a release, asked the former National President of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, NUJ, to first address issues of underdevelopment in his home state before commenting on Abia.

The release read: “Our initial response was to totally ignore the story because it is difficult to believe that a Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria will reduce both himself and the institution of the Senate to such gutter level, but having confirmed that indeed, the Senator made such comments, a response has become imperative.

“Our view is that the senator is either suffering from a protracted case of mental illness or is battling with occasional fits of schizophrenia which manifests in making careless, dishonorable, unrelated and incoherent statements.

“This conclusion becomes irresistible judging from the total disconnect between the matter being discussed by the Senate and the comments made by the senator as they affect the Governor. 

“If Senator Adeyemi was of sound mind, he should have known that when it comes to education, Abia is miles ahead of his home State of Kogi. Indeed, not just in education but in every single area of development.”

“If Senator Adeyemi had his faculties intact, he should have known that under the watch of Governor Okezie Ikpeazu, Abia State has maintained first position in WAEC Examinations in the entire country for five years now. Kogi has not come close to the first 20. Never!”

Making his contribution on the floor of the Senate, Senator Adeyemi had said:  “Despite the fact that some governors are doing their best, we are lucky to have a governor who has taken the issue of security as a serious priority. 

”We are bordered by nine states, but we had an experience of the unfortunate incidents that are happening in neighboring states.“

Some governors are committed to the protection of their people, in my state the governor awarded contracts for the renovations of schools and provides security services to them.

“In some states of Nigeria today, where we have highly intelligent people, highly educated people, very enterprising people, like Abia they are governed by drunkards. The governor of Abia is a champagne drinking man.”

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