RE : CHIEF UMEH KALU, SAN.
Our attention has been drawn to the open letter written by a former Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Abia State, Chief Umeh Kalu, SAN to Governor Okezie Ikpeazu.
As a policy, Governor Okezie Ikpeazu will not engage in any public exchange with any of his appointees, former or serving.
It will be disingenuous and inexpedient, administratively and politically, to do so.
If Chief Umeh Kalu was truly desirous of passing any information or concerns to a Governor who found him fit and proper to serve as Chief Law Officer of the State for the entire first tenure of his administration, he sure knows the proper channels to use.
As a man who served as Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice for eight out of the last ten years, under two consecutive administrations, and with a perfect understanding of the political and administrative environment, Chief Kalu’s claims that “he is told that the Governor no longer reads sealed letters, et all…”, as his reason for choosing to go public is preposterous and flies in the face of simple logic. He neither discloses who told him such tales by moonlight nor the basis for his belief in such story. He did not also disclose if he made any attempt at all to reach his former Boss and failed. Even an average final year law undergraduate knows that weighty decisions, such as this, should not be taken on the basis of hearsay evidence, let alone a Senior Advocate of Nigeria.
Chief Kalu is well within his rights to choose to engage in publicity stunts but he should be assured that Governor Okezie Ikpeazu will not join him in such absurd displays.
As 2023 draws near, different individuals with different political ambitions will adopt different kinds of strategies to announce themselves into the political arena.
Finally, Governor Ikpeazu assures the people of Abia State that he will remain relentless in the discharge of his responsibilities until his last day in office, and will not be distracted by needless publicity stunts.
Sir Onyebuchi Ememanka
Chief Press Secretary to the Governor.
3rd December, 2021.
