Governor Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia State has again berated the lawmaker representing Kogi West in the National Assembly, Smart Adeyemi for describing him as a drunkard.
While contributing to a debate on the floor of the Senate last week Tuesday, Adeyemi steered reaction in the senate over his comment describing Governor Ikpeazu as a “champagne drinking man”.
Adeyemi while speaking on a motion on Safe School Initiative in Nigeria said Abia State is governed by “drunkards”.
He had said: “Despite 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 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 a statement on February 23, by his Chief Press Secretary, Onyebuchi Ememanka, the governor described the comments of Smart Adeyemi as lacking coherence.
Ememanka said the senator is suffering from a ”protracted case of mental illness”.
Reacting to the comment again on Monday during the unveiling of a book written by the Senate Minority Leader, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, Ikpeazu described Senator Smart Adeyemi as a mad man.
The governor, who was the special guest of honour at the events said there was no need to begrudge the lawmaker, adding that he does not drink nor does he begrudge those who drink.
Ikpeazu quoted the evergreen words of Professor Chinua Achebe who famously admonished that if a mad man picks the clothes of a man taking his bath and runs away if the man runs after the mad man, nobody will know who is mad.”