By The Senator representing Kogi West, Smart Adeyemi, on Tuesday, described the Abia State Governor, Okezie Ikpeazu, as a drunkard.
While contributing to a debate on a motion by Senator Stephen Odey, tagged, “Urgent need for the restoration and revalidation of the safe school initiative in Nigeria,” Adeyemi deviated from the discourse and launched a verbal attack on Ikpeazu, saying Abia is governed by “drunkards.”
The senator said in comparison with his home state of Kogi, the people of Abia are “impoverished more than ever” and “unfortunate.”
“Despite that some governors are doing their best, we are lucky to have a governor (in Kogi State), 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 neighbouring 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. “Abia people are impoverished more than ever before. Abia people are unfortunate,” Adeyemi said.
The President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan, had to caution the All Progressives Congress senator on his use of language.
In a swift reaction, the Chief Press Secretary to Governor Okozie Ikpeazu, Mr. Onyebuchi Ememanka, in a statement, in Umuahia, on Tuesday described Adeyemi’s comment as “careless and dishonourable,” adding that the senator is suffering from mental illness.
The statement said: “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.
“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.
“For the avoidance of doubt, Governor Okezie Ikpeazu does not take alcoholic drinks and he is shocked at the schizophrenic outburst of Senator Adeyemi whom he has never met nor had any dealings whatsoever with officially nor privately.”
