Abia Governor will be the first “Common” Governor in Nigeria

The governor of Abia State, Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu, will be the first common and ordinary governor in the history of Nigeria and will be the quintessential servant leader, so said Godwin Adindu, Chief Press Secretary to the governor.

Adindu said Governor Ikpeazu is set to cause a revolution in Nigeria as far as the person and the office of the governor is concerned as he will demystify the office and the person of the governor and remove all the ceremonies and chivalries that disconnect the leader from the people. “He is the common governor for the common man. He emerged from the people and will remain with the people,” declared Adindu.

Adindu affirmed that Governor Ikpeazu will remove all the mystique and simulations that have become customary with the office in Nigeria and make the person of the governor appear like a transcendental being and will also drop all the frivolities and trivialities that distract the leader from the major call, like chieftaincy titles, unnecessary awards and social recognition. “He will remain available, approachable and accessible,” Adindu reaffirmed.

Adindu disclosed that Ikpeazu’s main thrust and mission in government are with work, service and performance and that his reputation will derive from his capacity in achieving these values. “He is not going to be a media creation. His personality in governance will be created by the three values of work, service and performance and these will be the parameter for evaluating him at the end of the day.

Adindu also noted that as a delegate cannot delegate, Dr. Ikpeazu as the delegate of the people will not delegate his duties and responsibilities but will personally take charge and supervise all projects, direct all commissions and oversee all works to ensure that things are done to his utmost satisfaction and for the general good of the people.

Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu Formally Directs Appellations Be Removed While Addressing Him

Special Government Announcement

The Abia State Governor, Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu, has formally directed that the appellations; His Excellency and Executive , be dropped in all official and informal communication with him.

He would rather prefer to be addressed simply as Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu, Governor of Abia State.

The Governor wants all public communication to be concentrated on the work and policies of the state and not on the person of the Governor and has therefore directed all contractors, political groups, individuals and party loyalists not to put his portrait on billboards, posters and signages but to ONLY use the pictures of ongoing projects in their billboards and posters.

The Governor has also directed the general public to remove all congratulatory posters and election billboards littering the environment as these public posters are defacing the environment of the state. He has further charged the people of the State to be partners with Government in ensuring a healthy and beautiful environment.

He is also, by this directive, re-assuring the good people of Abia State of his mission of service to the people and therefore urged the citizenry to key into the new vision.

Signed:

Godwin Adindu

Chief Press Secretary to the Governor.

Abia guber: Alex Otti was an intruder —T.A. Orji

The immediate past Governor of Abia State and Senator-elect, Abia Central Senatorial zone in the 8th Senate, Chief T.A Orji, has described the candidate of the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) in the recently concluded governorship election in the state, Dr. Alex Otti,  as an intruder who wanted to take what did not belong to him.

Orji, while speaking with Hallmark in Umuahia, debunked the perception in some quarters that his successor, Governor Okezie Ikpeazu was not validly elected at the polls.

He said that this could not have been the case, proclaiming the elections in Abia free and fair. He also defended the ceding of the governorship slot by the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP to the UkwaNgwa zone, saying the zone had been long marginalised.

“Since the creation of Adam and Eve, UkwaNgwa people, who incidentally are Abians, have never produced the governor, whether civilian or military.

They have never, but they have all along been yearning, fighting and struggling to be governor even for one day but it had never been possible for them.

“That desire has been burning in their hearts. My government was the only government that decided that marginalization is bad. The state is owned corporately by the Bende Division and the Old Aba Division who are the UkwaNgwa people. Bende comprises of Bende and Umuahia, which is all of us.

“That is how the state is owned, and the founding fathers of this state wrote a charter which they called the charter of equity. The charter stipulated how power should be distributed, how it should shift, and that is what we have done. Along the line, it was thrown overboard, people never referred to that.

“This is the only government, the PDP government, that came on board and said no, there should be fairness; there should be justice and there should be equity.

“From the Bible, which is the one I know, God said I am a God of justice; I am a God of fairness; I am a God of equity, and because we all try to emulate Christ in our lives, that is what PDP emulated and decided that if God is a God of justice, equity and fairness, we should implement same in this mundane world that we are living so that people will be happy.”

On the new role of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as an opposition party at the federal level, he said that there should be no undue apprehension over the party’s fate, maintaining that they would simply continue from where the former opposition party at that level, the All Progressives Congress (APC) had stopped.

Orji affirmed that given that people do not really go to the school of opposition, what is critical is to be able to fill the role when it emerges.

“The PDP has been in power for many years as the dominant political party. When they were dominant, they had opposition. The APC came as a force, as an opposition party opposing PDP. As they were doing that, PDP was getting experience of opposition.

“So, those tactics that the opposition used in fighting PDP are the same tactics the PDP will use in fighting as opposition and they may add new ones. So it is vice versa, that’s the way I see it.

“There is no school for that, you don’t go to school of opposition. It is on the job that you learn it. If the party is not doing well you criticize, if they want to initiate a bad policy, you say no, it won’t work.

This is the way to do it; it is a two-way affair for the opposition and for the ruling party.

“The beauty of the whole thing is that one party should not come to dominate; there should be opposition. Now that the APC is the ruling party, we should have stiff opposition. When PDP was the dominant party, it had stiff opposition and that’s the beauty of the whole thing.’

The former governor said that it was not correct to insinuate that the PDP’s stint in governance at the centre was a total failure, stating that the mere fact of their winning and sustaining power for four full terms was indeed an achievement in itself.

“For the PDP to have stayed in power for such a long time, we need to give the party credit for consistently maintaining and sustaining democracy. The military did not come, external bodies did not come to truncate our democracy; at least they needed to be praised, if not for any other thing, for being consistent with democracy.’

Governor Okezie Ikpeazu speaks to Abians today.

My beloved Abians,

Let me first thank you for your enthusiastic and overwhelming support during the ceremonies that ushered me into office as the 4th Governor of our great state. During the election campaigns, I travelled the length and breadth of this state and felt your collective yearning that Abia was due for a comprehensive transformation. Today as your Governor, I pledge, that before the expiration of my tenure I will deliver “A New Abia”. An Abia state that is better and more focused on uplifting the lives of all Abians.
The new Abia will be defined by the our people’s time honoured values;
• Performance – We deliver to the “best in class” standards and operate at the highest ethical standards
• Ownership - We live, breath & think Abia and we take full responsibility all the time
• Innovation - We create solutions to optimize every opportunity & Challenge
• Commitment – We put our best effort into play
• Integrity – We say what we will do and we do what we say. We have zero tolerance for corruption.

As contained in my inaugural speech, I will like to emphasize that our direction will revolve around our 5 key growth pillars; Manufacturing, Trade and Commerce, Agriculture, Infrastructure and Environment.
Mindful of the importance of infrastructure to economic development, we will focus on the improvement of electricity, potable water, rural & urban roads and the railway system. Partnerships will be activated to facilitate the provision of necessary infrastructure. Our Manufacturing programme will focus on re-igniting the brand “Made In Aba” and make Abians once more to be proud of their products. Trade and Commerce will be anchored on the regeneration of Aba and her recreation as a hub for business in West Africa. We will exploit agriculture aggressively to create employment, ensure food security, grow our economy and empower our people. Finally no longer shall our cities be associated with flooded streets and nauseous refuse dumps
While we will be strategic in our approach to achieving the “New Abia”, we have also identified some quick wins. We have flagged off our “Clean Aba Programme” and the rehabilitation and reconstruction of several arterial roads in Aba and Umuahia. Over the next few days we will be making major interventions in some very key areas.

Waste Management remains a very big challenge in our state. Our major streets, especially in Aba have been taken over by refuse. In the New Abia, this will no longer be tolerated. Commencing tomorrow we will start a massive intervention on domestic waste management. We will be deploying equipment to the streets of Aba. We are also exploring the fastest and most efficient ways of managing waste dump sites, to avoid our major highways being blocked with refuse. We must collectively take responsibility for this task. Henceforth dropping of refuse in non-designated places is prohibited and offenders will be sanctioned. If there are no designated refuse drop points in your area, we strongly advise that you call our waste management hot line for prompt intervention.

Road Construction/Rehabilitation will be a major thrust of our 100 days plan. A lot of our roads are impassable and we feel the pains and frustration of Abians in this regard. With our lean resources, it is impossible to fix these problems all at once, so it has to be phased. We will begin the simultaneous rehabilitation of 10 major roads in our State and you have our commitment to deliver them to the highest standards possible. This will be made possible by simultaneously managing the drainage problems that undermine our roads, making them to fail soon after completion. We have commenced the assessment of the Aba underground tunnels as a possible solution to fixing the perennial drainage challenge in Aba. In line with this, drainage rehabilitation, construction, channelization, storm water and erosion control will receive immediate attention. These roads will be delivered with street lights which will extend the business hours in our urban centers. In the spirit of this development I urge all those with unserviceable or abandoned vehicles to remove them immediately. Structures that are erected on the way of the roads and drainages will certainly be pulled down irrespective of who is involved.

As part of our plan to improve on the ease of doing business in Abia, we have commenced the process of harmonizing our tax collection process. Until this process is completed, all forms of Multiple Taxation must stop henceforth and all Agents and Touts are hereby advised to stop collection henceforth. Any agent that is caught collecting taxes and rates illegally will be sanctioned.
We are determined to pay salaries and pensions as at when due, but we shall lead Abians to challenge our public service to fish out ghost workers as well as plug all leakages in revenue. We shall deploy technology in keeping with world best practices to streamline our payroll and audit system. However, I assure all diligent and resourceful staff that their hard work and commitment will be rewarded.
Security of lives and property is of great importance to us and will be reflected in our coming actions and policies. We have commenced meetings with the Security Chiefs in the state and we are committed to providing the necessary support for the security agencies to sustain and uphold the prevailing peaceful and secure atmosphere of our State.

As a bold step to managing Unemployment meaningfully, empowering our youths and meeting the capability needs of our industries, we have concluded plans to launch an education for employment (E4E) program which will enable 100,000 youths acquire fit-for-purpose skills over the next 4 years. We are commencing a pilot at BTC Aba during these first 100 days.
Agriculture is of critical importance to our economy and we have a need to boost our agricultural production for food security and to create jobs. Against this background, over the next 3 months we will distribute 2,000 bags of fertilizer per Local Government and supply agro-chemicals at 50% discount to all our farmers. Both interventions will help improve our crop production yield this farming season. During the period, we will train and equip 10 youths per Local Government in agro-chemical deployment.
Our desire to claim our position as the SME capital of Nigeria will be realized through the proposed New Industrial City with emphasis in leather and garments. We will begin to develop our industrial clusters within our first hundred days.

My beloved Abians, I will like to state that we cannot achieve our goal of uplifting the lives of Abians, without participation and commitment from every Abian. We all have our roles to play on this journey; I therefore solicit your support. We all have to embrace and live the 5 Abia Values, which we have proposed earlier in this speech.

I urge everyone to be a watchdog. Please report any breach of our laws and non-conformity to our values to relevant authorities and demand feedback on actions taken. We need sincere, constructive assessment and feedback of our performance. We have opened-up feedback platforms to enable you criticise and send your suggestions on how we can meaningfully improve our performance and achieve our collective dream.
We would urge you to Pay Your Taxes as at when due, your demand for performance only becomes credible when you perform your civic responsibilities. We urge you to Think Abia all the time.
Let me use this opportunity to thank the outgoing members of the Abia State Executive Council for a job well done over the years. I will also like to use this opportunity to request that they handover to their Permanent Secretaries latest close-of-business, Wednesday 3rd of June 2015. I join other Abians to congratulate them for their selfless service to our fatherland and promise to call you up as the need arises, because the reward for hard work is more work.

Finally, I will like all Abians to demand the same high standards of delivery that we have promised, because I am most optimistic, that with good conscience as our only sure reward, with history the final judge of our deeds, and with God on our side we will provide the leadership that we all will be proud of.
Kanyi Mezie Abia !!!
God Bless Abia State!!!
OKEZIE IKPEAZU PHD
GOVERNOR OF ABIA STATE

Why We Funded Aba Mega Mall – FCMB

Aba (Abia) – The Regional Head, South-East / South-South, First City Monument Bank plc, Mr. Okey Ezeala, has said that the bank funded Aba Mega Mall to create more jobs for Nigerians.

He said that although the bank saw the enabling environment and political will in the government, it was more interested in creating jobs than making profits from the project.
Ezeala disclosed this during an interview with newsmen in Aba after the inauguration of first phase of the Aba Mega Mall.
The Aba Mega Mall is a Public-Private Partnership project jointly owned by the Greenfield Assets Management Ltd and the Abia State government.

The owners say the mall sitting on a 280,000 square meters will on completion host 100, 000 shops.
“We became willing to partner with them for as long as we were convinced that the project will impact the environment.
“It is going to impact the neighbourhood and the community. It is going to put a lot of people out of the job market.
“It is going to put food on the table for so many families. It is going to bring uplift in the lives of our people.
“Some of these things are done not because of the profit motivation. Some altruism comes into it,” he said.

Earlier, the State governor, Chief Theodore Orji in his speech thanked the people of Osisioma Ngwa who donated their land willingly for the project to be sited on.
Orji said that the project would add value to the business environment and the lives of the people of the state.
“We are leaving Abia State better than we met it and we urge the incoming government to make it better,” he said.
According to him, the project would change the face of Aba and the way people in it traded for the enjoyment of all residents.
The Group Managing Director, Greenfield Assets Management Ltd, Mr Paul Obanua said that the company invested in the project in line with its commitment to urban renewal.
He thanked the governor and his men for giving them approval for the project without asking them for any favours or taking money from them.

Obanua said that the first phase of the project which has been completed, has about 1000 shops, and that the mall would host 100,000 shops on completion.
He said that the mall would contain an abbatoir, host the first dry port in the South East, a cinema hall and a Customs and Excise duty post with a controller as the head.

Obanua said the company recognised the creativity and potentials of Aba residents and were putting up structures to help the town harness its potential.
He called on business people around the city to buy into the plan of owning shops at the mall.

EFCC Lists its Achievements - A Must Read

Some of the milestones achieved by the Commission in the investigation, prosecution and recovery of assets of Politically Exposed Persons, including ex-governors...

DSP Alamieyeseigha

Until he was pardoned by the Nigerian government, it is on record that former Bayelsa State governor, DSP Alamieyeseigha was the first former state governor to be successfully prosecuted by the EFCC. Over N3billion which includes the proceeds realized from the sale of his properties has been returned to Bayelsa State. These properties include Chelsea Hotel, Abuja. Other real estate investment of Alamieyeseigha which accounts were frozen by the Commission include:
1.   Plot 26 Dalhatu Close, Abacha Estate, Ikoyi
2.   20 Obaji Street, Diobu Port Harcourt
3.   1. Community Road, off Allen Avenue, Lagos
4.   247, Water Gardens, London W2 2DG
5.   14, Mapesbury Road, London NW2 4JB
6.   Flat 202, Jubilee Heights, Shootuphl L, London, NW2 3UQ
7.   68-70, Regents Park Road, London
8.   4A, Ilu Drive, Ikoyi, Lagos
9.   18 Mississippi Street, Maitama, Abuja
10.               V & A Water Front, Cape Town, South Africa
11.               2, Marcibit Street, Ishaku Rabiu Estate, Off Aminu Kano Crescent, Abuja
12.               24, Amazon Street, Maitama Abuja.

Lucky Igbinedion

Another former governor who was prosecuted and convicted by the Commission is former Edo State governor, Lucky Igbinedion. Apart from the Conviction, the Commission equally recovered some properties from him. The properties include:
1.   A property located at  57, Ihama Road, GRA, Benin
2.   Another property located at 24, Izekor Road, Benin
Following the furore generated by the option of fine handed the governor by the trial judge, the Commission filed fresh charges against Lucky Igbinedion. The action was challenged in court with the trial court ruling that the Commission cannot try the ex-governor on the same matter for which he had already been convicted.
The EFCC appealed against the ruling with the Court of Appeal affirming the Commission’s position that Igbinedion really has a case to answer.
Following that, two of his accomplices, his younger brother, Michael Igbinedion and his Personal Assistant, Charles Eboigbodin who were charged alongside the former governor of Edo State, were successfully prosecuted and convicted, just last month (April 29th 2015, precisely).

Chimaroke Nnamani
The case involving Chimaroke Nnamani, former governor of Enugu State has been in court since he was first arraigned in 2007 alongside Sunday Anyaogu, his then aide and six firms linked to them:  Rainbownet Nigeria Limited, Hillgate Nigeria Limited, Cosmos FM, Capital City Automobile Nigeria Limited, Renaissance University Teaching Hospital and Mea Mater Elizabeth High School.
EFCC in 2014 sought for a separate trial of the companies and on May 19, 2015 the companies pleaded guilty to an amended 10-count charge. We await the court pronouncement on the fate of the assets.

Orji Kalu


Former governor Orji Kalu’s case is currently at the Supreme Court where he is challenging the competence of the charge after the court of appeal affirmed the trial court’s ruling that he has a case to answer.
The Commission has however seized the following properties belonging to the former Abia State governor. They include:
1.   Property at 9A, Queen Amina Road, Ungwan, Rimi GRA, Maiduguri
2.   Bungalow at 21, Gwari Avenue, Behind Gerau Hospital, Off Kachia Road, Maiduguri
3.   Parcel of land at Kirikiri Industrial Estate, Lagos
4.   Block of flats at Plot 103A Olumeni Street, Old GRA, Port Harcourt
5.   Identical duplex at Plot 65, No. 7& 8. Orogburn Crescent, Diobu GRA 11, Port Harcourt
6.   3 Nos bedroom bungalow plus adjourning buildings at Mairi Village, Maiduguri, Borno State
7.   3 bedroom bungalow at GRA Maiduguri, Borno State
8.   Warehouse at Mairi village, Maiduguri
9.   Former Progress Bank Building, No. 45, Baga Road, Maiduguri
10.               Former Orji Alex Bakery, Bulunkutu, Seleke, Maiduguri
Several accounts in various banks linked to his companies were also frozen by the Commission. The accounts includes those belonging to:
1.   Tourism Development Area, Gambia
2.   Slok Investment Limited
3.   Slok USA INC
4.   Slok Nigeria Limited
5.   The Sun Publishing
6.   Astel Offshore
7.   Neva Nigeria Limited
8.   Reality Organization
9.   Kachi Agwu Enterprises
10.       Menco Resources Limited
11.       Nnachison & Co
12.       Slok Air Nigeria Limited
13.       Firmbase Inter Limited

As for Saminu Turaki, former governor of Jigawa State, the accounts of companies linked to him were also frozen by the Commission.
The companies are:
1.   INC Natural Resources Limited, 7 Civic Centre Road, Kano
2.   Wildcat Nigeria Limited, 31 Kuta Road, Minna, Niger State
3.   Arlek Construction Nigeria Limited, 7 Civic Centre Road, Kano
4.   Gethel Nigeria Limited, 7 Civic Centre Road, Kano
5.   Wallong Camco Nigeria Limited, Tukur Commercial Layout, Dutse
6.   Gansu Construction Engineering Limited.

Joshua Dariye

For Joshua Dariye who was recently ordered to proceed to trial after the supreme court rejected his appeal against the appeal court affirmation of the competence of the Commission’s charges against him, the following properties were recovered from him:
1.   Property at Plot 1802 Ao4, No. 19 Frederick Chiuba Close, Asokoro, Abuja
2.   Plot of land in the name of Jambo Holdings Nigeria Limited, Rayfield, Jos
3.   House No. 11, Rest Road, Jos
4.   Plot of land at Gada Village, off Adiko Bukuru Road By Pharm Headquarters, Jos
5.   Plot of land at Liberty Boulevard, Jos
6.   Plot of Land at Ibrahim Taiwo Avenue, Jos
7.   Two additional plots along Dogon Dutse Road, Jos
8.   Plot of land at Gold & Base Neighbourhood, Jos
9.   Plot of land known as Yelwa Club, Bukuru, Jos.

James Ibori


In the case involving former Delta State governor James Ibori whose conviction in a London court was largely based on the evidence supplied by the EFCC, the Commission secured the final forfeiture of the $15million bribe, which he allegedly offered to a former chairman of the Commission, to the Federal Government.

Abubakar Audu, Danjuma Goje, Akwe Doma, Rev. Jolly Nyame, Ayodele Fayose, etc
The cases involving former Kogi State governor, Abubakar Audu, former Gombe State governor, Danjuma Goje, former Nasarawa State governor, Akwe Doma, former Taraba State governor, Rev. Jolly Nyame are progressing in courts, as several witnesses have been called by the prosecution.  Of course the case against Ayodele Fayose has only been temporarily halted by the fact of his re-election as Ekiti State governor.

We could go on and on. These records apply to cases involving ex-governors only.

They do not tell the whole story regarding the prosecution and convictions record of the Commission.
Between 2012 and 2014, the Commission recovered N65,320,669,350.35 (Sixty five billion, three hundred and twenty million, six hundred and sixty nine thousand, three hundred and fifty naira, thirty five kobo).
Also, the sum of $245, 952,030.13 (Two hundred and forty-five million, nine hundred and fifty-two thousand, thirty dollars, thirteen cents); and 693, 399.00 (Six hundred and ninety-three thousand, three hundred and ninety-nine, Pounds Sterling) and 62,600.00 (Sixty two thousand Euros) were also recovered during the period.

But, these facts mean nothing to Ibekaku who, in the pursuit of her latter-day ambition is willing to publicly repudiate the achievements of an organization which she was a prominent part of and one on whose pedestal she stood to attain all the “glowing” personal achievements she has been parading in the media.

The obvious goal of Ibekaku is to hoodwink unsuspecting Nigerians by her posturing as an anti-corruption czar, what with her curriculum vitae that advertises her as a top official of the EFCC, where she spent about 7 years of her recent adult working life.

Ibekaku has declared a media misinformation war on the Commission for simply telling Nigerians she was no longer in the service of the Commission, contrary to her posturing.

Before her latest image-tarring outing at the APC Policy Dialogue, Ms. Ibekaku engaged one Emmanuel Onwubiko of the so-called Human Rights Writers Association, HURIWA, to mudsling the Commission.
Onwubiko in his many blind interventions at Juliet’s behest claimed variously that she was dismissed because she was from the South-East and for advocating for an independent Financial Intelligence Unit.
Lately, he has modified those positions to include the fallacy that the Commission is after Ibekaku because she is being considered for a ministerial position or even the chairmanship of the EFCC!
Ms. Ibekaku can aspire to whatever office she wants, but, she does not need to malign the Commission by deliberate distortions and outright falsehood to achieve her ambition.

Let it be emphasized once again, that in apportioning sanctions to Ms. Ibekaku, along with her co-traveller, Michael Nzekwe and nine others who were dismissed from the Commission, EFCC was guided by its Staff Regulations and extant Public Service Rules.

Ms. Ibekaku is challenging her dismissal at the National Industrial Court and we call on her to allow the court rule on her application and not to engage in acts tantamount to self-help, which only highlights among other acts unbecoming of a public officer, the reason she was dismissed from EFCC in the first place: Gross Indiscipline.

Abia’ll pay workers 24th of every month – Ikpeazu

Respite appears underway for civil servants in Abia State as the Governor-elect, Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu, has said his coming on board would mark an end to the era of salary arrears in the state, assuring that under his watch, Abia workers will earn their salaries on the 24th of every month.

He, however, added that he would carry out workers’ audit to verify the actual population of Abia workers, arguing that it is not logical to spend a whopping N2.5 billion of the state’s paltry N3 billion monthly allocation on civil servants that are less than 15,000 while nothing is left to cater for other citizens of the state.

Ikpeazu, who stated this while speaking at an interactive forum with Aba business community and members of ‘Kezie Abia Forum,’ said his administration would not neglect the welfare of workers but added that it would also not sacrifice the interest of non-civil servants that constitute the greater percentage of the people.
While civil servants in the core ministries are not being owed according to government sources, workers in the parastatals complain of arrears ranging from two to five months in some instances.
Government argues that the parastatals are creations of law and should source for funds to augment their subventions and pay their staff.

Ikpeazu also read a riot act to contractors and those jostling for space in his government, vowing to disgrace anyone who failed to deliver according to specifications.
“If I give you a job and you fail to deliver, we will disgrace ourselves,” he said, adding that his decision to ban visitors from paying him homage was to enable him prepare for the task ahead.
He further hinted that when sworn in, he would not want to be addressed as “Your Excellency,” but simply as “Governor,” arguing that “it is only God that is excellent.”

Earlier in his remarks, Leader of ‘Kezie Abia’ group that organised the forum, Comrade Dan Ubani, tasked Ikpeazu on service delivery, saying Abians will hold him accountable for all his campaign promises.

Gov Orji receives parting award, speaks on vision as Abia Governor

Out-going Governor of Abia State, Theodore Orji has explained that his vision in governance was to build a new Abia anchored on equity, justice and fairness.

Receiving award from the Abia State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission (ASOPADEC) at the Michael Okpara Auditorium in Umuahia, Orji pointed out that the emergence of Dr Okezie Ikpeazu as Governor-elect was a further testimony of government’s success and vision for a new Abia that is anchored on fairness, equity and fairness.

ASOPADEC honoured the Abia Chief Executive with the award of Epitome of Equity and Justice, as a parting gift for his relentless effort in developing the state.

Orji noted that the significance of the award was that it came from a unique organisation which also is a beneficiary of government’s push for equity, fairness and justice.

“I am, therefore, accepting this award as a valediction that whenever government and the people make selfless sacrifice they can attain new pedestal of hope,” he said.

Orji commended ASOPADEC for achieving so much in the state, stressing that “these achievements provide clear testimony that equity, fairness and justice can be a catalyst for socio-political and economic change in Abia State.”

He saluted the pioneer chairman of ASOPADEC, Chief Sam Wogu, the management and board of the commission for doing well.

Chairman of ASOPADEC, Chief Emeka Stanley, said at the award ceremony Thursday that the commission merely expressing its gratitude to the governor for working tirelessly to put Abia on the progressive map of development.

According to Stanley, the governor, through his fatherly disposition as an epitome of equity and fairness, ensured that all the 17 local government areas in Abia were carried along in the operations of ASOPADEC, notwithstanding that other oil producing states in the country allow their own commissions to exclusively take care of Oil producing communities and local governments

In a lecture on the Governance of Abia state by the Vice Chancellor, Abia State University, Uturu, Prof Chibuzo Ogbuagu, said equity and justice pervade virtually everything that Orji has done in governance, adding that the governor has pushed the state to enviable heights through his many achievements which cut across many sectors.

Abia Set For Economic Boom As Smedan Partners ACRO For Industrial Park

Based on its decision to relocate industrial workshops and warehouses within the state to a befitting site, the Abia State Government has entered into a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) framework with a firm, Acroideation International Limited, to commence the development of a $1 billion 300-hectare industrial park to be located at Osisioma.

The project, which first phase was expected to be inaugurated in December 2014 with the construction of about 34,346 units of workshops is however projected to consist of a totalled number of 68,692 units of industrial workshops and warehouses sited on 200 hectares, while 1,000 units of residential estate would occupy the remaining 100 hectares when completed.
Tagged the “Abia International Industrial City” (ABIIC), Head, Project Management Team of Acroideation, Seyi Olufade, told journalists yesterday in Abuja, that ABIIC, which was borne out of the need to establish key sectors of the economy of the state, would establish the foundation for the development of competitive domestic products for export, thus, launching the state into the rich field of global economy within time.

Olufade explained that with all its offerings such as expansive shopping malls, warehouses and over 10,000 capacity commercial car park amongst others, ABIIC which he said, was just about a kilometre from the state’s commercial town of Aba will be operated on a Build Operate and Manage (BOM) basis for 35 years from the date of inauguration by Acroideation.
He also said the firm had secured technical partnerships from European and Chinese firms, adding that the United Nations Industrial Organisation (UNIDO), Nigeria’s Bank of Industry (BoI) and Nigerian Investment Promotions Commission (NIPC) amongst others have shown keen interests in the industrial park.

Olufade said: “With the visit of the then Work Bank President, Paul Wolfowitz, in 2005 to view the popular Ariaria market Aba in company of the now Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, it was clear that all the affluence and influence are tucked in Ariaria market and the sway it portends to the Nigerian economy.

Critical elements affecting the growth of the industrial market include lack of product branding, design, packaging, marketing and funding, the ABIIC project is the response to these problems; it is a landmass of 300 hectares in Osisioma, about 1km from Aba town.”

He disclosed further that the industrial complex would rely on the 24 hours electric power supply pledge of the Geometric Aba Independent Power Plant to power its activities with further alternative arrangements, adding that the PPP had been crafted to insulate it from political interference in the case of changes in government.

“We have the strong partnership of the state government, the needed funding and technical expertise have been secured and we are ready to push forward the project with a groundbreaking event slated for September 2013 to herald the commencement of construction,” he stated.

Group accuses Uzor Kalu of attempt to influence tribunal

Acts capable of influencing the current election tribunal sitting in Abia State by former Governor of Abia state Dr Orji Uzor Kalu has been condemned by a group under the aegis of Peace and Media Advocacy.

According to a statement signed by the group’s leader, James Okoronkwo ‘’ We condemn in the strong terms the current propaganda being spread by Chief Orji Uzor Kalu and his political partners aimed at distracting the Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Umuahia by alleging that some of the ad-hoc staff that participated in the March 28th National Assembly election “allegedly” carted away falsified electoral
materials’’.

They insisted that Kalu came third in the election of Abia North Senatorial constituency and yet, has been going around trying to influence INEC to declare him winner.

The group called on the tribunal to be wary of his antics and carry on with their job without fear or favour. It will be recalled Abia north senatorial election was won by Senator –elect Mao Ohuabunwa under the Peoples Democratic Party PDP who has since been given his certificate of return. However the candidates of APGA Chief David Ogba who came second and Chief Orji Uzor Kalu are in the tribunal trying to upturn the election.

We'll Run Open Government in Abia - Ikpeazu

Interview
By Linus Effiong

Umuahia — Abia State governor-elect Dr Okezie Ikpeazu during his maiden media conference after being declared winner of the governorship election in the state elaborates on his vision for the state. Excerpts:

How would you describe your victory?

I dedicate the victory to God Almighty that fulfilled His own words and crowned our efforts and struggles with a resounding victory. We also want to thank the people of Abia State, those that found time to express their confidence in me and my party, the PDP, through the ballot, by voting massively and resoundingly, both during the 11th April and the re-run that came on the 25th of April. They made a statement. I want to say that statement was symbolic, because for the first time, we saw the endorsement of an ordinary Abian on somebody who has come to represent the middle class, more historically, somebody from the Ukwa Ngwa ethnic divide of nine local governments. My commitment to Abia people from Arochukwu, Ummunnochi to Ukwa to Ikwuano is that I will treat every person that is from Abia, that is doing business in Abia, equally and fairly. My mandate is to serve the Abia citizenry and to catalyse the infrastructural development, unity on all spheres of human endeavour, politically, economically and also to fraternise and catalyse unity among Ndigbo, within the South-east and wherever they may belong and to also support the overall development plan of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, with Abia making a strong economic statement as an economic hub of the country.

Do you have plans to extend the hands of friendship to those that lost to you at the poll?

I want to say that they are welcomed, because the most important thing is the good of the greater majority of our people. So, anybody that has positive ideas that can bring about the unity, progress and development of the state is most welcomed. I will say that God has given me the grace to recognise quality materials, so it will not take anything out of me to go to them to say, 'please, come let's work for Abia State.' So, what I have come with to the table is humility to create level playing ground upon which every person that has an idea will be given the opportunity to make contributions to the development of the state. I do not also have doubt that they will be forthcoming.

What should Abians expect from you in your first one hundred days in office?

I want to say that within the first one hundred days in office, the main frame of our administration would have been defined. Like we said, it is not going to be business as usual. And it is going to be a serious business. There is a lot of work to be done, there will be no time to sleep on the bicycle. So, from day one, we will decide and define the interjectory that we are to pursue.

Did you receive any congratulatory call from any of your opponents?

Before that election, about six hours or so, around six governorship candidates have joined our party, so we are celebrating together. Chukwu Udensi of the PPA is celebrating. I know that APC is not angry with our victory. Everybody has a common aim-to develop Abia State. Generally speaking, Aba is going to be our front burner, I do not have any other city than Aba, but as governor, Abia is my constituency, Arochukwu, Isiukwuato, everywhere. But one thing is that what we will get from Aba will help us develop other areas. It is not going to be a winner takes all. My strongest point is that I will provide the platform that will give every Abian, including those in the Diaspora, the opportunity to contribute their quota to our state's development. I want to put it on record that you cannot cast an iron on stone. Let us come to the table and talk. If you win the argument, then we run your idea, then if I win, you should be humble enough to accept a superior argument. I am open to all kinds of contributions that will help us make progress.

Are you not disturbed that the APGA governorship candidate, Dr Alex Otti, has said that he would go to the election tribunal on the allegation that his mandate was stolen?

That is the way of bad losers, all of them say the same thing and behave the same way all the time. So, it is not a threat. If I had told you that I did not expect it, then, I am not a serious minded person. Luckily for me, the litigant went to the tribunal in my absence. I will be there to defend my mandate. I am the custodian of that mandate, and going with me will be 1.3 million voters of Abia State or, if I like, I narrow it down to those that voted. I am bothered that we still have desperate losers in Nigeria today. I thought some of us would have looked at what President Goodluck Jonathan did, because Jonathan conceded defeat and decided to tow the path of a statesman, but if somebody takes his desperation to the wires, there it goes.

Could you elaborate on your plans for Aba, the commercial nerve centre of the state?

Aba is not the only city in Abia. The state is not synonymous with Aba, but we think that our greatest challenge in Abia is to have a strong economic base. We should focus on our economy, because if we get our economy right, then, you can put food on the table of many, generate employment, and if you do that also, you know that the pillar in which trade and commerce strive is good roads. We expect that all those pot holes around Aba will be a thing of the past in my time, and we expect to do a ring road that will decongest the city centre, which will pass through about seven local governments, starting from Ugwunnagbo where it will interject from the expressway. We have to do a third bridge from Aba River, and it will enter some parts of Obingwa and also go to Ossioma, between Aro-Ngwa junctions. The idea is to allow the city to develop horizontally in a way that it will be decongested. The old fashion of resurfacing the roads should be taken for granted, because I do not like to campaign with such things. The most important thing is that we will build a strong foundation for our medium and small enterprises in Aba, which will employ thousands of people in. We will think of how to bring back to life some moribund companies like the textile mill in Aba and those you see around Owerrinta axis. We are going to speak with the owners of those companies on how to make them come back to production. If we can make those companies to function, we will keep our youths out of the streets as unemployed people. We are going to take stock of those that are jobless in all the 17 local government areas. We will look at their competency and qualifications so that we can target our efforts specifically on those that need them.

How will you strike a balance between recruiting technocrats and party loyalists to work with you?

Our political loyalists are Abians, and they will help me take technocrats that will do the job that we need them to do. We are going to make sure that we put round pegs in round holes. I will design that from the first day in office, so there is no way for me to throw away the political loyalists. Yes, I'll choose good technocrats that will do the work.

What are you going to do with illegal structures that are not approved by government in the state?

Any structures that are not approved by government, in the eyes of law, do not exist.

I will never tele-guide my successor, Says Gov T.A.Orji

Abia State Governor, Chief Theodore Orji, said he would not tele-guide his successor but rather allow him use his discretion to run the state.

Governor Orji who stated this at the Government House, Umuahia, when he received in audience the Ukwa Peoples Assembly who paid him a courtesy visit, said that once his tenure ends on the 29th of May of this month, he is off from the state except on invitations, pointing out that he would not want to be seen as tele-guiding anybody.

The Governor said that having been elected by the people as their governor, his successor should be given a free hand to govern the state and pleaded with the people to cooperate with him for the rapid development of the state.

Governor Orji who said that he ran an inclusive government in the state, stated that it was his belief that the next Governor should also follow in the same vein and have a listening ear.
According to him, "as the first Ukwa Ngwa Governor he knows the enormous expectation of the people on him" adding that he will not disappoint the people.

The Abia State chief executive further assured the Ukwa people that their rights will come their way and urged them to remain patient and tolerant while using the opportunity to apologize to all  those he might have offended in the course of his duties as Governor to forgive and forget.

Earlier, the leader of the delegation and former Senate President, Senator Adolf Wabara said their visit was to thank the Governor for supporting fully the Ukwa Ngwa course, noting that without him the governor of Ukwa Ngwa extraction would have been a mirage and urged him not to forget Ukwa people.
In their separate speeches,the Deputy Speaker, Abia State House of Assembly, Hon Asiforo Okere and Dame Victoria Akanwa, thanked the Governor for giving Ukwa people a sense of belonging and pleaded that they should be carried along in the new government.

Why I Am Owing 13 Months' Salary - Okorocha

Governor Rochas Okorocha of Imo has attributed the poor state of the nation’s economy for the non-payment salary arrears being owed government workers in some states of the federation. Okorocha said this while briefing newsmen on the outcome of a meeting of All Progressives Congress (APC) governors and governors-elect on Tuesday in Abuja.

The governor said that just like the states, the Federal Government was also finding it difficult to pay the salaries of its workers. It would be recalled that Okorocha pledged to pay the 13 months salary arrears owed primary school teachers in the state during this year’s Workers Day. “We must say that the economy is bad, let’s face the fact. Most governors are not able to pay salaries and there is no magic any governor can do to pay salary under the present situation. “We intend to take that up with the President-elect to inform him of the challenges before him, to prepare his mind to know that there is a lot of challenges that the states are facing in terms of payment of salaries, including Federal Government. “Here, you have an incoming president coming to meet almost an empty treasury, which tells you the challenges we have ahead of us.”

According to him, the APC governors and governors-elect have decided to meet to also review the just concluded 2015 general elections. This, he said, would enable the party and its elected officers to strategise on the best possible approach to tackle the country’s challenges. “Basically, what we did was to review the just concluded election and we have congratulated each other and it’s on record that today, APC has 22 governors-elect, while we are looking forward to getting more by the time we finish with the court processes. “So this is the first introductory meeting to know one another and to discuss all that took place in the last election, the challenges, the merits and demerits.” Okorocha said that some of their colleagues had embarked on holiday and medical checks to enable them regain their strength after the tedious electioneering campaigns.

He said that the presence of Senator Bukola Saraki at their meeting was not in any way connected to who emerged the Senate President or the Speaker of the House of Representatives. “Senator Bukola visited during our meeting, but we did not discuss the issue of who becomes the Senate President, or who becomes Speaker of the House of Representatives. “Our mission is to familiarise ourselves and look at the state of our economy and see how we can meet the president-elect and make some suggestions on what he can do to move Nigeria forward.” The meeting was attended by Governor Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers, his Nasarawa counterpart, Tanko Al-Makura, Kaduna Gov.-elect, Malam Nasir El-Rufai and the Speaker of the House of Representatives who is the Sokoto State Gov.-elect, Aminu Tambuwal. Also present at the meeting were Gov. Rauf Aregbesola of Osun, former Ekiti governor, Kayode Fayemi, Deputy Governor of Kano State, Abdullahi Ganduje and APC national chairman, John Oyegun. –

NAN reports.

Abia Election fall out: INEC Staff arrested with Sensitive INEC materials indicts Alex Otti/APGA.

*Enyioma Uche, Charles Mba and Amah Uche Eddy are the three INEC ICT staff caught with card readers and other sensitive materials at the wee hours of yesterday as they were trying to smuggle these sensitive materials out of the INEC office in Umuahia.

Following the ongoing interrogation at the Police Zonal Headquarters, Zone 9 in Umuahia, the three staff confessed that they were induced to manipulate ballot papers in those areas that PDP won with wide margin. They also went further to confess that they were asked to legitimize the malpractices done in Aba South, Aba North, Umuahia South and Arochukwu LGAs during the April 11 election in Abia State.
The arrested INEC officials upon further interrogation revealed that they were paid by APGA to carry out this mission before the Tribunal cases instituted by APGA against PDP commences.
However, The INEC REC for Abia State, Professor Selina Oko confirmed that the three INEC Staff currently in Police custody are ICT staff of INEC. She said the men have confessed to have been paid some undisclosed amount of money by a Political party to alter and manipulate materials to be used in the tribunal by those still challenging the outcome of the polls. According to her, the perpetrators will be charged to Court by the Authority in due course.

Era of manipulation gone in Abia – Gov. T.A Orji

Governor Theodore Orji of Abia State took time off to interact with newsmen, including BEN DURU and EMEKA OKAFOR, on his feelings towards the successful conduct of the governorship election in the state and the emergence of the candidate of the PDP as winner. Excerpts…

Your Excellency, early Sunday morning, the Independent National Electoral Commission announced Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu, candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, as winner of the governorship election. How do you react to this, sir?

I feel very happy that Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu won because he is the people’s choice. The fact that he won means that he is wanted by the peoples, so our party the PDP did not make any bad choice in choosing him to stand for us. I feel happy and I know that my happiness radiates throughout the state which is to say that other people in the state are happy, even those who are not members of our party are happy that Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu won because he is a man of the people.

What is your advice to those that contested the governorship against him, especially in the quest to the state to the next level?

Well, this is a game and in this kind of contest, there must be a winner and there must be a loser and a winner has emerged. It is expected that the persons or persons who have lost should join hands with the winner to move the state to the next level. That is what is expected of all of them and this is my advice to all those who contested gallantly and lost to join hands with the eventually winner, the governor-elect to do well because the state belong to all of us. This is my advice to them; they should join hands with Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu and work very hard for the upliftment of Abia State to the next level.

On the 29th of May you will be leaving a plethora of legacies for Abia State. Which particular sector would you want your successor to concentrate on when he assumes office?

Well, there are lots of sectors that will need his attention. First there is the need to maintain the corporate existence of the state, the unity of Abia State is essential. Let him do those things that will make Abia State united, let him run an all inclusive government, a government where every Abian participates and contributes his quota towards the development of the state. Let him also try to improve the economy, ands through the improving of the economy provide jobs for the people, in fact all those things that the people were clamouring for when we campaigned, those things should be an eye opener for him that these are the things that the people want and if he can do those things, I think the sky will remain his limit. The issue of security is also essential and I am emphasizing here that it is very, very essential because it is only with security that development can come, security is the driving force of development, and without security, development will not come so he must look at security clearly and here I am talking about kidnapping and allied crimes, he should be serious about them so that the security of the state will be intact and then he will be free to develop the state.

Some people have expressed the opinion that you installed Ikpeazu and that you installed him so that you can remain the de jure governor, while he becomes de facto. Sir, how do you react to this?

That is not correct, and I don’t have that ambition in the first instance. I didn’t install Dr. Ikpeazu, he is the choice of the people. He emerged through the primary of the PDP, it was done at the Umuahia Township Stadium and everybody saw it. He pulled the highest number of votes to beat every other aspirant, there were aspirants who got one vote, some got two, but he got over 400 votes to emerge as the candidate of the party. He is the choice of the party, so I didn’t install him. And again he has the charisma and possesses the qualities of leadership and that was why the people stood behind him and because of this the party settled for him. And moreover, the party said it was time to break a jinx in this state and that jinx is this issue of somebody from the Ukwa/Ngwa block to be the governor of this state. Since Abia State was created, the people from that side had never been governor and in our own thinking, we said it would be good to get somebody from Ukwa/Ngwa block to be the governor for the first time and the people supported, and we went there and picked Dr. Ikpeazu and today, you can see that it has materialized because that decision brought unity among the Ukwa/Ngwa block especially and they fought doggedly and brought out their votes which now made Dr. Ikpeazu to win. So aside from any other thing, we have broken that jinx of an Ukwa/Ngwa being the governor of Abia State and that is my happiness. So I didn’t install him, nor do I have any wish to manipulate. Why would I want to do that? You can’t manipulate a person who has a PhD, you can’t manipulate a person who has been in governance for a very long time, you can’t manipulate a person who has been with the people and that era of manipulation is gone forever in Abia politics, you cannot do it again, now or ever. The man is old enough, the man is mature enough, the man is intelligent enough to have people who will help him in governance to initiate his own ideas. If you bring ideas he doesn’t like, he will jettison the ideas and take his. So we didn’t install him to manipulate him. Manipulate him for what? I have been governor for eight years. I’m satisfied that I have been governor of Abia State and I’m moving to another level. So I don’t have such interest whether remotely or otherwise, it has never crossed my mind and it will never cross my mind. My interest in Abia today is for Abia to be governed very well, for Abia to move to the next level, so we don’t have any intention of manipulating any person at all, all we want is the best for Abia so that she can catch up with the rest of the states in Nigeria and we see that best in Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu and the overwhelming support and votes he received across the state is also an indication that the people also see him as the best for them.

In the first election of April 11, you were very critical of INEC, what is your assessment in the rerun poll?

They have improved a lot since the last election. You know the first election which was the Presidential election, the card readers were not working, they were non-functional in almost every part of the state, materials for the election got to the units very late, which made the election to start very late. But with time they improved, the card readers started working well, materials got to the units early and the INEC staff, both permanent and adhoc became more efficient. So I must really commend them and say that they have tried, they have improved tremendously and if they retain this process, the next election will be very good.

Was there any time, along the way, that it seemed that the PDP would not win the governorship election? If there was, at what point was this?

No, no, no, no, it never looked dicey to me at any point because I know this is an election. I was very confident that PDP will win come rain, come sunshine. I had that confidence and I still have that confidence because PDP is on ground, PDP has the structure because for you to win an election you must have a structure. It was a question of oiling the structure, reengineering the structure to start functioning again. Unfortunately, people we were contesting the election with, they had no structure, these are people who were just coming from the corporate world, they have not been in politics, but PDP has been on the ground for a very long time, so there was no fear at all we wouldn’t win, I never entertained such fear, I was confident from the onset and that confidence has remained in me till now.

THE CHALLENGES THAT DR. OKEZIE IKPEAZU WOULD HAVE TO ADDRESS AS GOVERNOR OF ABIA STATE.

SCRIPTED BY CHIEF (SIR) DON UBANI
In the history of the Jews, one learns that time, perseverance and resoluteness can always combine effectively to heal wounds of many decades. After many years of persecution, it was only on November 29, 1947 that the United Nations’ General Assembly passed a resolution for the establishment of a Jewish state of Israel within Palestine. That resolution was known as Resolution 181 of the United Nations.
Though both British government that had a colonial mandate on Palestine and Arab countries were vehemently opposed to the establishment of the Jewish state of Israel, God had to use the forthrightness, diplomatic wizardry and Military confidence of President Harry Truman of the United States of America to make the aspiration of the Jews for a return to their promised land that flows with milk and honey a fait accompli.

The experience of the Jews tells us that no matter how painful a situation might be, no conspiracy, marginalization, deprivation or hardship lasts forever. In the true holiness of God, nature would always guarantee a reprieve for the oppressed.
Like the Jews of the middle- East of Asia, the people of Ukwa and Ngwa had witnessed and become victims ofdeliberate marginalization, degradation and frustration since Nigeria’s One Hundred and One years of imperialist establishment. Despite being the most highly populated sub-ethnic group within the Igbo Nation and the most economically endowed zone within the South- Eastern boundaries of Nigeria, the travails and woes of the people of Old Aba Division have been unparalleled in the annals of the history of Nigeria, the defunct Eastern Region, the Thirty-Month-Old Biafran Republic that was synonymous with a pogrom agenda against the people of the then Abaprovince, defunct East- Central State, Old Imo State and Abia State. Not minding that the people are the most accommodating, hospitable and reliable in matters of collective agenda and subordination to leadership, the people of old Aba Division have beenthe most hated, maligned, degraded, unappreciated and under-rated.
As God would have it, every socio-econo-political suppression has its climax and once any anti- human agenda gets to its peak, God intervenes and reverses the order. Even from within the rank and file of the oppressive jingoists, a replica of the American President, Harry Truman, who came to the rescue of the Jews, could be divinely raised.

For a jinx of one hundred and one years to have been broken, the people of Ukwa and Ngwa, apart from being eternally faithful and thankful to God, would always remember and appreciate Governor Theodore Ahamefule Orji, being the Abia equivalence of Harry Truman, who became a divine catalyst in the liberation struggle of the people of Ukwa and Ngwa. If Chief T.A. Orji had hearkened to the voice of his kith and kin of the old Bende geo-political divide, a group that has already governed Abia State consecutively for Sixteen years despite not being as numerous in population as the people of Ukwa and Ngwa and not being equal in the number of registration areas and Local government areas with the latter, he would not have consented to the voice of equity that mildly demanded that power shifted to the Old Aba Division.
To the glory of God, whatever has a beginning definitely would have an end. The many years of political marginalization, economic deprivation and social degradation of the Old Aba Division have been crowned with a meritorious emergence of a quintessential academic, a scholar of note, a consummate administrator and a man whose words, body language and deeds are encompassed in humility of incomparable order; Dr. Okezie Chibuikem Ikpeazu, as first Executive Governor of Abia State of the Old Aba Divisional extraction.
It is, however, very important to note that Dr. OkezieIkpeazu is coming as governor when, not only AbiaState but Nigeria as a whole is at the nadir of economic squalor and collapse. A governor that is coming in at a moment when governments are finding it extremely difficult, if not impossible, to pay their public servants, pensioners, political appointees, address questions of escalating infrastructural decay, cope with the problems of daily increasing youth unemployment,with its attendant youth restiveness and bring themselves to terms with sky-rocketing wave of poverty amongst the Nigerian Citizenry, mainly due to corruption and poor governance, is, indeed, uncompromisingly required to gird up his loins. As at present, the fact is obvious that the economy of Nigeria has nose-dived to a near-zero level due to predictable fluctuations in the global oil sector.

Co-incidentally, both the federal and state governments in Nigeria were recklessly oblivious that a time would come when the oil and gas sectors of the national economy would receive devastating knocks. The people at the helm of affairs abysmally failed to plan for the rainy day and imprudently depended on easy and seamless revenue from the oil and gas sectors of the economy. They were not visionary to use their share of the cheap fund to develop alternative sources of wealth generation. Today, every government in Nigeria is like a mansion covered with darkness in the brightness of a sunny day. This unfortunate development arose only due to profligacy, embezzlement and outright corruption within the leadership echelon.
On assumption of office as a governor on May 29, 2015, Dr. Ikpeazu would have to be very meticulous, prudent and extra vigilant in addressing the herculean task of governance. The first thing he fundamentally has to do is to make a clear choice between strict adherence to the norms and principles of good governance and playing to the gallery. For him to achieve the desired goals of transparent governance, he must be able to call a spade by its name and not merely an instrument of digging.
To start with, taking into consideration the present economic reality in Nigeria in general and Abia State in particular, the Dr. Ikpeazu Administration may have to carefully select the agenda his administration would have to pursue. A five-point agenda may be apt and structurally achievable by the administration. The five areas the administration may have to focus on are; (1) security (2) Infrastructural recovery of Aba (3) Education (4) Agriculture and (5) Integrated structural economic transformation of the state, with improved power supply.

Abia state, if properly co-ordinated and managed, has all it takes to be among the very economically vibrant states within the global economy. On assumption ofoffice, it is advised that the governor would approachthe capital market for a bond of thirty billion naira. With this bond, especially if prudently deployed and utilized, his administration would be able to recover the commercial nerve of Abia State, which is Aba, in terms of infrastructure. The truth of the matter is that if Aba could be infrastructurally recovered, the problem of revenue accruable to the state would be meaningfully minimized. It had been said severally on different fora that an infrastructurally-enhanced Aba is capable of generating, at least, three billion naira every two months, as long as the revenue machinery is anchored on transparency and accountability.
Pragmatic agriculture must, of necessity, be given a boost. In this case, mechanised agriculture, which encompasses tractorization, should be encouraged. The people of the state should be made to appreciate that co-operative undertakings are the key to economic development. It is expected that the government of Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu would establish effective synergy with the chambers of commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture in the state to bring about an industrial revolution of inexorable magnitude in Abia State, like what has happened and is still happening in China and the Asian Tigers.
In selecting the persons that would work in his administration, considerations need be given to individuals with vision, mission, unstained record of integrity and transparency, knowledge, undiluted loyalty and frankness in assessing issues. They should not be persons with inclination to materialism at the expense of performance and overall credibility.Experience has shown that some government appointees, when given money to execute government projects either handle them higgledy-piggledy or even fail to execute the project at all.

Again, it would be advised that the in-coming government observes budgetary discipline in the management of her finances. In this case, emphasis has to be placed on capital budget. For any state to grow, it should be able to run minimal ratio of sixty percent capital and thirty percent recurrent budget.
In order to stimulate economic developments in the grass-roots, it is imperative that the local government councils have to be allowed to leave up to their constitutional responsibilities.
Finally, the governor-elect is advised to look at his election as a call to service. From the record already available, Dr Okezie Ikpeazu has not been associated with material insatiability in the course of his public engagement, so far, in the state. He is expected to always appreciate the simple fact that many public officials, who converted their positions to sources oflooting of the people’s treasury now fail elections evenin the polling units where they cast their votes. This, therefore, gives credence to the saying that a good name is better than gold. This also implies that if Dr Okezie Ikpeazu prudently and transparently manages the common wealth of Abia people in his first four years, his second tenure would be a mere formality and the person he would wish to succeed him would not be confronted with animosity and odium of exceptional magnitude.
Chief (Sir) Don Ubani

BREAKING NEWS: Alex Otti withdraws from Abia guber race

Information reaching our news desk indicates that the APGA Gubernatorial candidate for the Abia State supplementary election may have decided to throw in the towel. According to some sources in his team, Dr Alex Otti appears to be uninterested with the supplementary election following the refusal of INEC to cancel the results of the following Local Government Areas: Osisioma PDP 42,122 APGA 1017 Obingwa PDP 82, 240 APGA 1952 and Isiala Ngwa North PDP 19798 APGA 6853.

We had reported earlier that Dr Alex Otti and his Party, APGA filled a protest to JEGA when the results of Osisioma, Obingwa and Isiala Ngwa North which were erroneously cancelled and reversed by the INEC RO in Abia following an observation made by an Observer during the State Result Collation. As it stands, Supplementary Elections will be held only at those Polling Units and Wards in Abia State that were cancelled by the RO, this was made clear by INEC as confirmed by JEGA at a press briefing during the week.

ABIA RE-RUN POLLS: SEPA CAUTIONS INEC, MILITARY AGAINST MANIPULATION OF RESULTS

...Calls For Otti's Probe

A socio-political group known as South East Progressives Assembly(SEPA) has cautioned against electoral fraud and irregularities that may be perpetrated to subvert the popular will of Abia people and undemocratically award the governorship of the state to Dr. Alex Otti of the All Progressives Grand Alliance(APGA) during the Saturday April 25 rerun election in the affected polling units of the state.
SEPA in a statement signed by Ebere Uzoukwa and Comrade Munonye Maximus, President and Secretary respectively and made available to newsmen alleged a possible collaboration between the military and some corrupt INEC officials to divert the results sheets and fabricate outrageous figures that will award victory to the APGA candidate at the end of the day.

The statement reads: "The South East Progressives Assembly has been alerted of the nocturnal meetings involving the Abia State Gubernatorial candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance(APGA), Dr. Alex Otti, some INEC officials, representatives of the State Returning Officer, Prof. Benjamin Ozumba and top military officer from 82 Division of the Nigerian Army to perfect plans on how to rig the Saturday April 25 rerun election and possibly return the ex-Diamond bank chief as governor of Abia state at all cost. We gathered that the said meetings have the sponsorship of a former governor of Abia state, a former Chief of Army Staff also from Abia state and the Nigerian-born African richest businessman. A whopping sum of One Billion Naira(N1,000,000,000) is said to have been earmarked to prosecute and actualize this infamous project of 'Return Alex Otti At All Cost'.

It is therefore our fervent wish to remind INEC and other stakeholders that Abia people have already spoken on April 11 through their massive votes to the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP), Dr. Okezie Victor Ikpeazu.  He presently leads Dr. Alex Otti of APGA with 80,053 votes. The total votes in contention in the affected polling units though with 179,224 registered voters are not more than 90,000 after considering non- collection of PVCs and other recurring factors. Therefore, with voter apathy that will naturally characterize the election and INEC only approved card reader accreditation, no sane person can ever predict victory for Dr. Alex Otti as he cannot garner votes that will cancel Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu's  83,053 lead. This obvious fact perhaps informed the reason why Otti and his co-travelers desperately plan to fabricate results to steal Dr. Ikpeazu's mandate on Saturday April 25. But we are optimistic that Abia people will definitely resist any move to subvert their collective will and aspiration.

Again having observed this unimaginable level of desperation that drives Dr. Alex Otti inordinate ambition to take over Abia at all cost, SEPA opted to independently investigate this ex-banker in respect to his activities as an employee of the Diamond bank. Our findings are revealing and shocking. As a socio-political group that lacks powers to indict, we therefore seizing this opportunity to call upon relevant government authorities such as the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to as a matter of urgency commence investigation on Dr. Alex Otti. But one thing we must not fail to disclose is that the Arochukwu-born ex-banker is desperately seeking constitutional immunity to evade prosecution".

Alex Otti induce INEC REC in Abia

Alex Otti was at INEC office yesterday to induce the INEC REC after Results of Obingwa, Osisioma and Isiala Ngwa South was declared in favour of PDP. Their initial action in canceling was illegal and beyond their powers, most likely induced.

Now they're delaying the declaration unnecessarily after reversing the illegal cancellation. So far, Osisioma results has been declared and Obingwa was just about to be officially declared before the APGA agent, one Ahamdi Nweke attacked the Inec returning officer which resulted for today postponement by 9 am.
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#‎AbiaDecides‬

Breaking News!!! INEC Abuja disqualifies APGA candidate in Aba North state constituency

INEC Abuja has disqualified Emeka Nnamani APGA candidate for Aba North state constituency. Emeka Nnamani aka Labi, an indigene of Enugu resident in Aba, is among the names of candidates disqualified ahead of tomorrows election.

According INEC on its website, Mr Nnamani after thorough investigation over petitions filed against his eligibility, was discovered not to have a degree from Absu as he claimed. Nnamani was rusticated by the school authority in 1993 over his involvement in cult activities that resulted in the death of two students.

He is also said to be a well known ex convict and a drug dealer. Nnamani has been on the wanted list of the police the website stated