Former Abia State Governor, Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu, has forcefully denied a recent news report alleging that he has defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC). He also refuted claims regarding the diversion of ₦1.9 trillion, stating the published report was inaccurate and misleading.
A Sunday statement released by his Media Adviser, Enyinnaya Appolo, confirmed that the ex-governor remains a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
The statement clarified, “Dr. Ikpeazu remains a committed member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and indeed attended the most recent meeting of party stakeholders on November 18, 2025.” It criticized the newspaper’s claim that Ikpeazu defected to the APC in April 2024, noting that simple verification from party officials or public records would have easily corrected the error.
Response to Financial Allegations
Addressing the reports that a KPMG audit had indicted him for diverting ₦1.9 trillion, the statement categorically denied the existence of any such audit: “For the avoidance of doubt, no such KPMG audit exists. What the current Abia State administration commissioned was a process review, not a financial audit.”
The statement referenced the official KPMG document, dated March 2, 2024, and signed by Saheed Olawuyi, Partner, Enterprise Risk Services, titled ‘Final Report: Provision of Process Review Services to Abia State.’
Quoting the document directly, the statement emphasized the clarification from KPMG itself: “This assignment was not performed by us in the capacity of a statutory auditor. Hence, this is not any form of financial statements audit of ABSG or any entity listed in the report.” It further highlighted that KPMG “did not conduct an inquiry or trial, sit as a tribunal or commission of inquiry, perform any adjudicatory function, or determine whether any individual was guilty or innocent of any offence.”
Regarding the reported ₦1.9 trillion figure, the statement dismissed it as impossible, arguing, “The figure quoted in the publication does not align with the total revenue of Abia State under Dr. Ikpeazu’s administration.” It added that records publicly available under the SFTAS framework and the Federal Ministry of Finance contradict the colossal sum claimed.
The statement concluded by maintaining that Dr. Ikpeazu has no outstanding corruption case, noting that he has “not been indicted, charged, or prosecuted in any court of law on this matter or on any corruption issue since leaving office.” The ex-governor’s media team urged the newspaper to publish a correction, especially given that Dr. Ikpeazu is currently nominated for national service, and called for greater accuracy in future reports, noting that he “served Abia State diligently for eight uninterrupted years and left office without legal or administrative blemish.”
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