Abia Central: A clap for Gov. T.A Orji

By Madubuko Hart

 

Abia State is agog as Governor Theodore Orji has won the Abia Central Senatorial District seat in the March 28 elections. His winning has shown that victory comes with it many followers, but the defeated is like an orphan. It was B. Justin Shier who wrote in “Zero Sum”, saying, son, when lives are being spent in the battlefield – actual human lives – those high-minded concepts lose their meaning. 

 

 

Governor Orji did not spend any life to win. He made sure that the state was peaceful and calm. There was no politically motivated killing in the state. And Abia people reciprocated his gestures and have said with their votes that what matters in any competition is victory. According to B. Justin Shier, if you have blades, you’ll use blades. If you have rocks, you’ll use rocks. If there’s nothing but sand, you’ll throw the damn sand. A true war is only waged when men don’t want to live to see what failure looks like. You do what it takes to win. You go wherever necessity takes you.

 

 

The governor defeated his opponents without hiccups, because he is loved by his people and is very popular. He attained the victory under the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) that declared him winner said that he sampled a total of 65,653 votes to defeat other contenders.

 

 

The former contenders included Ahamdi Nweke of the All progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) that scored 46,070 votes to place second; Iheanacho Obioma of the APC scored 10,204 votes; Daniel Nnanna of the Labour party got 351 votes; Onyekwere Chris of the Progressives Peoples Alliance (PPA) 1,429; Chuks Chimereze of the UDP 591 and Enyinnaya Agu of the UPP 289.

 

 

According to the information by the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Mr. Charles Ajunwa, the result of the election was announced at the Umuahia North Local LGA Headquarters, by the senatorial collating officer, Prof. Innocent Aja Okoro. 

 

The true character of Governor Orji has been revealed in victory. Those who worked for him are the statement of Theodore Roosevelt, which is that the credit belongs to those who are actually in the arena, who strive valiantly; who know the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, and spend themselves in a worthy cause; who at best know the triumph of high achievement; and who, at worst, if they fail, fail while daring greatly, so that their place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat. 

 

When the governor actually made a statement in February 2014 that his people encouraged him to run for the senate, some discordant voices thought that he was dreaming. But here is the result of that encouragement – victory. He made that declaration at a civic reception organised in his honour by the people of Ikwuano, Umuahia North and Umuahia South LGAs. 

 

Ordinarily, the governor did not want to contest, but for the pressure from his people towards that angle. In the words of the governor on the day he was declaring: “For some time now, there has been so much pressure coming from different groups, communities, individuals and organisations that I should run for the senate. Since this is coming from my people, I have no choice than to accept the demand.” 

 

Today, the governor has proved his authenticity and pointed out the inability of those who wanted to pull him down before the election. The truth remains the truth. No amount of dick swinging, pussy licking or ass kissing by the opposition could smear the governor. People like Ajunwa are celebrating this victory; he is not losing the power of celebration. Ajunwa was among the persons who fought media-wise in seeing that the governor was elected senator instead he would be amused or entertained. Ochendo’s boys and girls all over the world are celebrating reverence and appreciation.

 

Governor Orji has the grace, which is the celebration of life. His win has made his political foes to take out their fingers out of their ears. The story of the success of Governor Orji would be told a million times in different ways and different persons might start to know and understand what grace and victory means, what to be loved by a person’s people mean, what to be a true leader means and what to clap for Governor Orji means. He is a winner beyond measure.

 

Hart writes from Lagos

Governor T.A Orji promises to continue to invest in Education

 Abia State Governor, Chief Theodore Orji has said that the education sector remains an important sector that no leader should play with and promised to continue to accord priority to the sector.
The Governor said that it is for that reason that government has concentrated effort at enhancing the education sector in the state with a view to taking the sector to the next level.

Governor Orji  who was receiving a delegation of the Abia State Council of Tertiary Institutions and Colleges at the Government House, Umuahia, stated that his administration has made positive impact in the education sector which have earned the state accolades, pointing out that despite all odds the state has maintained the second position in WAEC for second consecutive years.
According to him, the feat achieved by the state in the education sector is as a result of combination of efforts by the government, teachers and students in the state.

He said that apart from sustaining tuition free education, free school bus programme, building of new classroom blocks and rehabilitation of others  the government has also handed secondary schools back to their original owners while plans were on to hand over primary schools back soon.

Earlier, the state president, Abia State Council of body of Alumni Associations of Colleges and Tertiary Institutions and Commissioner for Special Duties, Deacon Sunny Agomuo extolled the Governor for excelling in the education sector, pointing out that the association does not involve itself in partisan politics but supports the government of the day.
In an address earlier, the secretary of the group, Chief SN Nwariaku also commended the governor on his laudable innovations in education including his initiative to hand over schools to voluntary organizations as well as his wisdom in handing over Government College, Umuahia to the old Boys Association of that school in addition to the revitalization of scholarship and bursary schemes among others.

Highlight of the occasion was the conferment of the award of Icon of Education on the Governor by the association in view of his outstanding achievements in the field of education in the state.

Abia: Orji’s shoes are big but I’ll run faster — Dr Okezie Ikpeazu

Says I can’t be anybody’s stooge

AMID a tight campaign schedule, the Abia State Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Governorship Candidate, Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu, in this encounter spoke among others on his plans for Abia and how to actualise them, if elected. He admitted that Governor Orji has set a hurdle in terms of achievements but said he will run faster because he is younger.

BY Clifford Ndujihe

His take on comments that he is a neophyte and stooge of Governor Theodore Orji

I had my doctorate degree before my 30th birthday. I have taught in four universities, including being the external examiner of master’s degree students of University of Nigeria, Nsukka. It is not possible for someone to think of me as a stooge. All this can only exist within the realms of political propaganda. Almost every candidate in the race was once in the PDP, so apparently they all wanted to be stooges. They started singing different tunes when the PDP people said, “we want change but we want to change into certainty not into darkness’ and the civil servants said, “we want someone who can keep our jobs and pay us, not someone who will do right-sizing or down-sizing and retrench us at the end of the day.”

Okezie Ikpeazu
Okezie Ikpeazu
There is no governor in Nigeria that is anybody’s stooge. And if you played a role in canvassing for votes or helped a governor to be elected, you can’t expect the governor to be your stooge. You can only bring ideas that are beautiful on the table and if its falls into the main frame of a focused administration.

Superior logic

Abia people know that I am the only person that is humble enough to entertain all shades of opinion, logic and suggestions. If your logic is superior we will go and test it. If mine is superior you go with me. I am not coming with any airs of arrogance. I am humble enough to say that I need the support of the people of Abia and hopeful that they will give me.

The challenge of taking over and matching Governor Orji’s records?

The governor has enormous goodwill and he has carried himself as a gentleman. He has a lot of respect among the elders, and the common people of Abia. He is a huge challenge. But I know that by the time the people understand my style, the difference will show. I will try to be as meticulous as Orji but I will run faster because I am younger.

His plans: The first plan is our people. Abia is peopled by people with capacity in various areas. Our human capital is second to none and we are the best traders and very good in commerce. We are also very good with the things we can do with our hands. So in the years ahead we want to leverage on these advantages that God has given us to make sure that the economy of Abia rests on strong pillars of trade and commerce, small and medium scale enterprises.

Of course we are in oil and gas but we want to let the advantage of oil and gas recede to the background because we are just marginal producers. So oil will not be on the front burner of our economic decisions in the days ahead.

We have another advantage. If you look at Aba for example, the city is at the confluence of about seven other cities in the South-East and South-South. The city is about 30 minutes drive to Ikot Ekpene, Port Harcourt, Owerri and Umuahia among others. The strategic location of this city makes it what sugar is to ants and it attracts people. So we must leverage this strategic geographical location of Aba to place world class infrastructure around Aba so that we can return trade and commerce and build industrial clusters using the German model.

What I mean by that is the apprenticeship system where we have family line businesses. But government must intervene in terms of giving access to world class finishing and equipment so that there can be mass production, finished products that can compete for space in shops in top shops in European markets.

European markets

We will also do a mass reorientation of the way our people think. The time has gone when people will talk down on the people of Abia. We want to say that we are the best in the world and that we will attract the attention of not only the best in Nigeria but also in Africa to Abia in the days ahead. This is our focus.

Plans for Aba… People talk about Aba just because they are thinking about votes. I talk about Aba with more passion because that is where I come from. I don’t have a house in any other part of the world than in Aba. Nobody is more interested in the Aba problem as myself, because you can’t be more Catholic than the Pope. And nobody has a better plan for Aba. First, I have a proper diagnostics of the Aba problem. Aba’s problem is rooted in the fact that infrastructural stock, in terms of drainage, houses, roads, have been static for awhile and the population has grown geometrically. And when that happens, it means that there will be more pressure on the roads and the drainages and they will start collapsing.

The drainage system has remained unmanned and unserviced because it is underground. Once you have underground drainage system, you must maintain it. You must go through it every year. And it has been left for almost 50 years and some people have also constructed buildings across the drainage system. We have three storey buildings and churches across the drainage systems.

What we want to do is first of all to do a ring road around Aba. I said earlier that Aba is in the centre of our plans because it is at the confluence of the states in the South-East South-South and our industrial clusters are going to take off from Aba. What you can get in Aba in terms of internally generated revenue can help you develop other parts of Abia including Umunneochi and other places.

So we want to do a ring road while we revisit the existing roads, remodel them and redesign them.

We have two options on draining and de-flooding. One, there is an underground drainage system, which has been silted to the brim and that is why each time it rains there will flooding.

Underground drainage

So, do we open up and use open drainage system or do we continue with the underground system where we have to get experts to open the underground drainage for it to enter into the Aba River? But draining straight into the Aba River is also not environmentally sustainable. So we are thinking about a secondary water plant around Aba River that would capture the storm water, treat it up to secondary level and then return it to the river so that aquatic life can thrive.

Do you have the political will to redesign Aba given the houses that will be affected?

Politically and socially, you have to localize your strengths and weaknesses. What did it take the incumbent governor to remove the market in Umuahia to Ubani? He is a son of the soil. His people are the people that own shops there and he found the political will.

For those who have constructed buildings across the drainages, those buildings will go. One kilometre of drainage will serve the entire city of five million people but a single house will serve just a family. We can’t allow your selfishness to put us all at risk. So we must do what we need to do when we get there.

Gov. Orji and new meaning to governance (1)

By the time Governor Theodore Orji of Abia State runs his full circle on the hot seat, he would not only have left a legacy of a stable state and a stable polity, he would be adding a new lexicon to the political books and a new theory to political philosophy. I call it ‘Ochendoism’. Many years to come, students of the history of ideas and students of political philosophy would marvel at the fact that, quite contrary to the popular norm, Governor Orji did not set out to propound a theory. He did not consciously set out to add to the body of knowledge. Yet, he gave a new meaning to governance. Ochendoism, as a new form of government, is a historical accident.

As a peculiar historical progression, Ochendoism is far more than an academic theory for an intellectual exercise and exploration. The theory is a new norm of governance and a new culture of political administration as demonstrated by Orji in his adventures in Abia. Simply defined, Ochendoism is the government of rebirth, restitution and rebuilding; the government of the three Rs (RRR). It is an ethical imperative that saw a leader healing a traumatized people and rebuilding a polarized and fractured polity. It is the vision of a new rebirth that drove a leader to create a new beginning and a new society out of the wreckages of the past.

Essentially, the theory expands the frontiers of governance to add the agenda of peace and equity as a cardinal mandate of the king. It distills from the time-honoured definitions of power and democracy to prescribe, for the leader, the moral mandate of causing an attitudinal change, creating a new culture and evolving a new state out of an orientation that leaned towards barbarism. In this new Abia, Orji demystified the office of the executive governor and the leader presented himself as an ordinary mortal with feelings, remorse and compassion – with flesh and blood. In this spirit, the governor opened himself to hear and feel the thought and concerns of every citizen. He received every message directly and replied every message directly.

Ochendoism is revolutionary in practice as it breaks all class structures and creates a synergy between idealism in power and pragmatism. Orji demonstrated that the king must be the leader of all men and must appreciate the varieties of our common humanity. He dispersed power and created a rainbow coalition that involved the broad spectrum of the Abia society. Every group had a voice and a good representation.

Indeed, history must note that Ochendoism as a political philosophy emerged out of pragmatic action. Governor Orji’s political birth was into a raging war. He inherited nothing but war. History placed on his laps a society that was visibly at war, a state that was highly polarised and where the parties were at daggers-drawn. Thus, his first major preoccupation was with social reconstruction. He would only succeed if he breaks off from the festering chain of an overbearing predecessor, pull the state and the people out of a cultural captivity and create a new world order. He took the bull by the horns and stamped his feet on the soil of Abia State as a visionary leader.

Having ousted a regime of anarchy with all its bloody vestiges and brought a ray of hope to a speechless people, he ignored the Mosaic code of “an eye for an eye” and set out on the path of truth and reconciliation. He threw out an olive branch and threw the door of government house open and in the frenzy of the new freedom, all Abians, in one collective spirit, began to speak in one voice and enlisted into the new vision of Abia State. Thus, one major hallmark of Ochendoism is the building of bridges of understanding and the rebuilding of relationships. With a united house, he was now able to move on to the higher spiritual ground of restitution.

Apart from servicing debts incurred by the fallen dynasty, he commenced a large-scale programme of making amends and correcting the excesses of the past administration. This saw to the birth of many social-welfarist programmes like the Ochendo Youth Empowerment Programme, which transformed Abia into a yellow state; the Hannah May Foundation, the pet humanitarian programme of the first lady; the student bursary scheme and the student free city buses. There are many more. Borne out of a bitter experience of a generational youth deviance which manifested in the regime of criminality by the Abia youths, with the vice of kidnapping almost grounding the state, the empowerment programme is an effort at social reconstruction and capacity building. The resultant effect is the prevailing social stability in the state.

Significantly, Ochendoism sees the society as one common entity and seeks to resolve the primordial sentiments that have created barriers and divisions in the polity. It seeks to address the issues of inequity, domination and the imbalance of power. This is the background that informs the insistence of Ochendo that power must shift to Abia South of Ukwa Ngwa extraction. He is working very hard to achieve it. By seeking to break this jinx of power exclusion, Governor Orji demonstrated that the role of the leader is not just to manage men and the resources of the state but to assuage the inner resentments and outer sentiments among groups that created deep-seated spirit of disunity and apprehension in the polity.

By driving on the plank of the three Rs, Governor Orji created a new template for political administration and left an invaluable asset and legacy to the study and practice of political power. As the clock gradually ticks and the curtain winds slowly, Orji   will confidently step out to the market square to show himself approved a workman who does not need to be ashamed. Very soon, he would demand for his crown. He would say after Paul of Tarsus: “I have fought the good fight. I have finished the race. I have kept the faith.”

Godwin Adindu

There are more Igbos in PDP than APGA – Orji

Governor Theodore Orji of Abia State has punctured the claims by members of the All Progressive Grand Alliance canvassing votes in the state with the slogan  that ‘APGA is the only Igbo party’, dismissing the claims as a propaganda meant to deceive the gullible.

Orji, who was speaking on Thursday at a meeting with professional associations in Umuahia, said there was no iota of truth in the claims that APGA was an Igbo party, contending that the ruling Peoples Democratic Party has more Igbo members than APGA.

He said, “APGA is not Igbo party because if it is, it will be controlling all five Igbo states. It  was by accident that APGA won in Anambra State and the point man, Peter Obi, has since left APGA for PDP because he knows there is no way there.

“All those in APGA are people who left PDP; and don’t allow them to deceive you by claiming that APGA is Igbo party. PDP is a national party, which has better agenda for Ndigbo than APGA.
“APGA only adopted President Goodluck Jonathan because it has no alternative. If it thinks it has a better material, let it field its own candidate and it will fail.

“Stop listening to them when they come around to tell you to vote for Jonathan for the Presidency and APGA candidates for other elections. Their claims that Jonathan has asked them to go to APGA and contest is false because Jonathan cannot work against his party. They are not better connected to Jonathan than we are.”

Orji told the forum, attended by representatives of over 20 professional bodies in the state, that his administration had posted remarkable achievements despite declining federal allocations.
He said his performance would better be appreciated in view of the fact that he had not gone to raise funds in the capital market unlike many of his counterparts “believed to have performed wonders.”
The governor explained that his refusal to borrow money from the capital market was based on his resolve not to mortgage his successor or encumber him with debt servicing.

Orji said he would not want his successor to share his ugly  experience as he inherited huge debt from his predecessor, a development he lamented, stagnated the state’s economy.
He added that his administration had made a mark in intangible democratic gains such as peace and security, apart from identifiable physical development he said had been recorded .

Orji expressed joy that apart from emancipating the state from political bondage, his administration had also extricated the state from idolatry imposed on it by his predecessor .
“We incurred the wrath of God by the worship of effigies and demi-gods introduced by the past administration but with your support, I fought and set the state free from all such anomalies,” the governor said.

Photos Speak: Dame Patience Jonathan visits Abia, gets honoured by Her Maternal Ohuhu Clan of Umuahia.

Dame Patience Jonathan wife of the President FRN being received on 

arrival in Umuahia by the Abia state Governor, Theodore Orji 

for a grand civic reception organized in her honour by the Ohuhu clan 

in Umuahia North LGA.

 Dame Patience Jonathan, wife of the President of FRN
unveiling the plaque of the proposed site for Ohuhu Civic Centre
Project during her Home Coming to Ohuhu Clan in Umuahia. With her from
L-R are Abia state Governor, Theodore Orji, Wife of Former Anambra
state Governor Lady Obi, Wife of Abia state Governor Mercy Orji,and
Wife of Anambra state Governor Lady Obiano.

Dame Patience Jonathan, wife of the President of FRN
acknowledging greeting from the appreciative Ohuhu people during her
Home Coming to Ohuhu Clan in Umuahia. with her from L-R are  Abia
state Governor, Theodore Orji, Wife of Former Anambra state Governor
Lady Obi and Wife of Abia state Governor Mercy Orji.

Uzor Kalu's Tenure vs T.A Orji's Tenure in Pictures

SOUTH EAST PDP disowns Orji Kalu

The South-East zone of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has refuted rumours about former governor of Abia State, Orji Uzor Kalu, returning to the party.

The party’s National Vice Chairman, South East zone, Col. Austin Akobundu (rtd), who confirmed this said that the rumours were figments of the peddlers’ imagination.

Speaking in Enugu, Akobundu said, “He is neither registered in his Igbere ward nor recognized as having done so in Bende local government area, let alone being accepted at the state level of the party as a returnee.

“For the avoidance of doubt, Orji Uzor Kalu is not member of PDP. The fact that he visited some friends at the national secretariat of party in Abuja and later took photograph with some unsuspecting national officers and former political office holders as published in two national dailies does not make him a member of the PDP. The party has constitution, guidelines and laid down rules by which it conducts its affairs including how returnees should be reunited.

“Kalu, we should recall, was a governor at a time when our dear National Chairman, Alhaji Adamu Ma’azu, was holding sway in Bauchi State. That Kalu had gone to our national headquarters to felicitate with his erstwhile colleague probably in company of others does not automatically qualify him as a member of the PDP.”
It will be recalled that the former governor left the PDP in 2011, after he lost the Abia North Senate race.

Ex-aides berate Uzor Kalu over attack on Abia state

By Emeka Okafor

Special Correspondent, Umuahia

Not satisfied by the alleged renewed media attack orchestrated by the former governor of Abia State, Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu, against his successor’s administration, political office holders during his eight-year tenure have called their former boss to order.

The former political office holders under the aegis of Forum of Abia State Political Office Holders 1999-2007 made the declaration in a communiqué issued at the end of its meeting in Umuahia , on Tuesday .

In the communiqué signed by 20 former political office holders under former Governor Kalu they said they were drawn to state the facts on the happenings in the state to correct perceived serialised publications by the ex-governor.

Consequently, the former Commissioner under former governor’s administration, Chief ACB Agbazuere described the renewed attacks of their former boss against Governor Orji as “an unveiled affront on the sensibilities, integrity and collective psyche of peace-loving Abians who today are enjoying an unprecedented era of good leadership since the exit of Orji Uzor Kalu.”

“As stakeholders of the state and having served under the administration of former Governor Kalu and currently under Governor Theodore Orji we are in the better position to put records straight,” the forum stated.

“That the Forum feels satisfied with the level of security, unity and peace that currently pervades Abia State under the leadership of Governor T.A. Orji, unlike what the situation was between 1999 and 2007.

The forum further applauded the administration of Governor Orji for the various infrastructural programmes that have transformed the state capital, Umuahia, “which hitherto was a merely glorified village wearing the status of a state capital.”

The forum thanked the people of the state for their support to the administration of Governor Orji and enjoined them not to be distracted by the antics of those who allegedly are working against the development of the state under Governor Orji.

ORJI UZOR KALU: FACE OF A PATHOLOGICAL LIAR

 Orji Uzor Kalu

ADVERTORIAL

Ukpai Ukairo Esq.

This advertorial posted to major newspapers in Nigeria is in reaction to the lies and lies of Orji Uzor Kalu in his newspaper, SUN, which he established with part of the funds he looted from the public treasury of Abia State when he was Governor from 1999 to 2007.
This piece is one of the ways of ensuring that Orji Uzor Kalu, a political Ebola Virus Disease, is lawfully quarantined by the people of Abia State.

PROLOGUE:
We have not forgotten
We shall not forget
His years of infamy!

1. Orji Uzor Kalu, a former civilian governor of Abia State murdered sleep in REIGN OF TERROR BY ABIA TRIMVIRATE, Saturday Sun, August 9, 2014 p.71 which appeared in KALU LEADERSHIP SERIES (KLS), his regular weekly column in his personal newspaper. The need to challenge the preposterous claims and set the records straight is the raison d’etre for this intervention. It is my sincere expectation that the conversation will be unhindered in the interest of developmental politics founded on facts and not fiction. But, first thing first! Let me hoist a tapestry of the character disposition of Orji Uzor Kalu in order to foreground our discussion.
2. I need state immediately that I do not buy Sun Newspapers. This is because the alter ego of the stable, Orji Uzor Kalu, for reasons that will appear clear hereunder, is an unserious character with grandiose disposition carefully crafted to hoodwink with unwary.
3. Again, I also doubt the propriety of a newspaper owner creating a column for himself in his newspaper where he enjoys the uninhibited license of publishing his articles at will, without regard to quality whilst enjoying an unlimited access to those who will permit or deny a rejoinder. This is an issue which I think the NPAN should look at.
4. Finally, KLS is one of those crafty designs for image – laundering of Orji Uzor Kalu. The truth is that he has no leadership credentials except as is enough to deceive and cheat. When he celebrated his one hundred days in office during his first tenure I published a letter to him where I predicted that he will impose unmitigated disaster upon Abia State. I regret that I was proved right. Leadership is reflected in family and public life. On both fronts, Orji Uzor Kalu is not a good market. That is why he cannot teach any positive values. If you listen to Orji Uzor Kalu speak ex tempore in public, you will know that even KLS is a product of faceless writers who are in his payroll. It is not a case of somebody knowing how to write but being handicapped in public speaking. He simply cannot deliver a coherent message with the same artificial erudition that characterized KLS.
5. The capacity of Orji Uzor Kalu to lie is legendary. But, it has served him so well that he has elevated it to an arts form. This was how, growing up in the 70s, he grafted Kalu to his name because he wanted to be seen as the son of Chief Nnanna Kalu, a business mogul from Abiriba who at the time was a household name in business circles in Aba. In Igbere, the village of Orji Uzor Kalu, everyone knows that “Kalu” does not feature in the family tree of Orji Uzor Kalu.
6. The same trait was again at play when Orji Uzor Kalu mounted the podium in Borno State of old at the launching of a development fund and made a donation of a sum of money that was mind – boggling. As it later turned out, when the cartons with which the money was delivered were opened, pieces of paper were the content.
7. Of course, it is well known that Orji Uzor Kalu falsely claims to have been a student in University of Maiduguri. According to the fable, which he craftly weaved, he voluntarily abandoned his course of study because some of his co – students who were expelled following a students’ protest were not recalled with him. This story line is of course a tortoise – said – this – and – that story. It is historic fact that the students who were expelled went to court and the titanic legal battle they waged moved from the High Court to the Supreme Court.
8. Again, it is an established fact that Orji Uzor Kalu remains the only Nigerian who flaunts a High Court Order that validated a WAEC result in the name of one Orji Uzor Johnson as his WAEC Certificate. For those who might have forgotten, the story is worth retelling, albeit, briefly. While Orji Uzor Kalu was Governor, a certain character whose whereabouts is presently unknown claimed that the WAEC result of Orji Uzor Kalu did not belong to him. Pronto, Orji Uzor Kalu approached the High Court presided over by Hon. Justice S.N. Imo, who was the Chief Judge at that time. In that suit, he filed against WAEC, he claimed that the WASC result in the name of Johnson belonged to Orji Uzor Kalu. In the fastest legal proceedings ever conducted in any judicial system, the Chief Judge granted all the reliefs.
9. It is worth recalling that it was the WAEC result and the Court judgment that Orji Uzor Kalu later used to procure admission for a full – time degree course in Abia State University whilst being the Visitor to the said University in his capacity as the Governor of Abia State. Interestingly, with the severance of his fraudulent influence, the Senate of the University has since recalled the Certificate.
10. NOW TO THE ARTICLE: The unimpeachable Truth is that all the core assertions in the said article are false in the extreme. They represent the quintessential trait of the character flaw of Orji Uzor Kalu; a capacity to lie and lie with aplomb
11. In the very first paragraph of the article, Orji Uzor Kalu claims that Chief T.A. Orji, the Governor of Abia State, is engaging in “campaign of hate against me and the people of Abia State”. This is an absolute lie. Orji Uzor Kalu is a victim of the repercussions of his misdeeds in Abia State. That is the reason he cannot freely walk the streets of Aba and accordingly has carefully avoided a visit to the town he grew up and I dare say, loved to be.
12. Few years ago, he was booed at a particular road junction in Aba – Owerri Road when he was identified in a pothole – induced traffic jam. On that fateful day sachet water and oranges were freely hurled at the vehicle of the former Governor. Trust Aba people in their disavowed of evil! It is the distaste by the people of Aba for the eight years of waste under Orji Uzor Kalu that he attributes to the Governor. As I write, I challenge any one who cares to visit the numerous drinking joints in Aba and mention either the name of Orji Uzor Kalu or his mother.
13. The claim that Chief T.A. Orji is engaged in a campaign of hate against the people of Abia State is a lie taken too far. There is nothing at all no matter how minor to support such wild accusation. It is thus not surprising that Orji Uzor Kalu could not cite a single example of such campaign. As somebody who has lived in Aba since 1972, I have no hesitation in saying that the assertion that Abia State is under siege is a make – belief.
14. However, one thing is clear. The havoc Orji Uzor Kalu and the mother wrecked on the people of Abia State is far too fresh that they have reason to fear for their lives. What are the facts to back up this assertion? Under Orji Uzor Kalu and mother, several hapless political jobbers were railroaded to different shrines where they took oath of personal allegiance. The victims of this idolatry are very much alive and they are bitter.
15. Again, it was Orji Uzor Kalu that masterminded the storming of the Abia State House of Assembly sometime in his first tenure in office. The House of Assembly was damaged and several House members wounded by the thugs who were openly identified. The reaction of Orji Uzor Kalu was predictable. He donated Ten Million Naira only for the repair of the damaged property. Nobody was arrested and nobody was prosecuted.
16. Again, Orji Uzor Kalu should remember that “Orie Ohabiam 32”. If he has forgotten, I need to remind him that thirty – two young men died in a cell maintained by a Vigilante Group midwifed by him. Nobody was arrested. Nobody was prosecuted. The families of the victims were never compensated. The bitterness against Orji Uzor Kalu is so potent that it can permeate his high security walls.
17. Also, Orji Uzor Kalu should remember the two youngsters from Ubakala, aka Ubakala Two, who were killed at White House, Umuahia. Every hand pointed at the Governor and the mother and until now nobody was prosecuted.
18. There are several other cases of mysterious deaths under the nose of Orji Uzor Kalu. However, let me bore readers which such other examples. Let me conclude by challenging Orji Uzor Kalu to cite one example of mysterious death since 2007 which can be traced, even remotely, to Chief T.A. Orji.
19. Let us remember our initial thesis: Orji Uzor Kalu is a pathological liar. Thus, when he asserts that “what we have in Abia State is total siege”, you can be assured that a spin doctor is at work. When Orji Uzor Kalu and his mother were in charge, they looted several lands meant for public purpose. A clear example is the scramble for Ayaba Umueze land which was acquired for a Teaching Hospital. In a brazen display of non – parallel greed Orji Uzor Kalu shared out the land to Slok Nig. Ltd., his company, his brothers, mothers and co – travelers in perfidy.
20. Still in their demonstrable lust for money Orji Uzor Kalu’s mother converted every open space in markets in Aba for the building of stalls which were allotted, for re – sale, to members of Nweke Cabinet – a reference to all the favour – seeking hangers – on who regularly thronged the residence of Orji Uzor Kalu’s mother at Nweke Street, Eziama – Aba, a sub – GRA in Aba.
21. In addition, open spaces were converted into Motor Parks, Kiosks stands and shops which ensured the environmental defacement of the entire Enyimba City. It is these illegal structures, the manifestation of the debasement of values under Orji Uzor Kalu, that are being demolished. Orji Uzor Kalu is only crying because when they erected the structures they knew of the illegality but had proclaimed to the beneficiaries that nothing could happen. In the celebrated language of that time: Usu eneweghi onu (bats cannot bite).
22. Accordingly, when Orji Uzor Kalu contends that Abia State is no more congenial he is right in a way. For evil men, fraudsters and idolaters Abia State is no more congenial. However, for the persons who are genuine in their aspiration for development; Abia State remains the destination for good returns on investments. It is a known fact that Aba houses the highest number of SMEI in sub – Sahara Africa which is the reason the biggest private electric power generating plant is being established in Aba.
23. I must however concede that the sacking of non – indigenes by the Chief T.A. Orji administration was inconsistent with the status of Abia State as a cosmopolitan State. Accordingly, I was one of those that urged for a reversal of the policy. It is heart – warming that the policy has been reviewed leading to the on – going re – engagement of workers.
24. For the umpteenth time, let me say that it is not true that we live in fear in Abia State. On the contrary, the air of freedom is unprecedented. Today a private radio station in Aba offers everybody the platform to air views that were not possible in the heady days of Orji Uzor Kalu’s administration. In 2013, the Aba Marathon became a symbol of the air of freedom in Aba. The claim therefore, that nowhere is safe in Abia State is the figment of a mind that is haunted by the evil deeds of the past. Think of Lady Macbeth seeing spots of blood in her hand or Greet Birnam Wood charging towards Macbeth in battle.
25. Let me at this stage address the issue of double – taxation in Aba. I agree that this is a major issue in governance. As a tax practitioner and a legal practitioner, it is real. However, two quick points are necessary. It is national problem as all the states are involved. Again, it was worse during the time of Orji Uzor Kalu. I can recall vividly that the regime of illegal tax started with illegal levies imposed on landlords in Aba. Without any law in place, the agents of Orji Uzor Kalu moved into action and started forcing payments of diverse sums. At the same time, commercial bus drivers started paying what was then known as thirty naira, for short, which was said to have been approved by “mama” a reference to the mother of Orji Uzor Kalu. The ferocity, with which the payment of levies was enforced, when Orji Uzor Kalu was governor, is still recalled with anger in Aba.
26. Let us fast forward to now. Recently, Governor T.A. Orji convoked a tax summit in Abia State. The summit was a reaction to criticisms of the regime of multiple taxations in Abia State. During the time of Orji Uzor Kalu such a platform was not possible because “bats had no mouth”. The outcome of the summit has not been made public but Governor T.A. Orji has already directed the suspension of all revenue agents pending when all the taxes are harmonized. I dare say that such directive was not possible under Orji Uzor Kalu arising from the insatiable appetite to grab.
27. I am honestly amazed at Orji Uzor Kalu’s complaint about the air waves being inundated with praise singing and booth – licking. When he was Governor, his mother became on radio; a political Amazon of our time. She was daily equated with having intellectual and political prowess with every great woman in history. Such was the time! Today, while it is generally accepted that the tone of some pronouncements on the air waves are handiwork of overzealous fans of the Ochendo Magic there is nothing near the absurd level that heralded the Orji Uzor Kalu era. It is not for nothing that the NBC at the time, imposed a fine of N500,000.00 on the State Radio Station in lieu of revoking the license.
28. I dare say that the comparison of Abia State and Borno State is absurd to the extreme. This is reason I can safely say that Orji Uzor Kalu is living in a make – belief world. The camaraderie in Abia State is palpable. The Youth Empowerment Scheme of Chief T.A. Orji has put smiles on the faces of uncountable families. Orji Uzor Kalu as governor distributed wheel barrows, old vehicles, abandoned by his aides and motorcycles. Today, what Chief T.A. Orji is distributing are vehicles that are in good stead for transportation. The difference, as they say, is clear!
29. Orji Uzor Kalu claims that when he was governor he “treated people with dignity, respect and love”. This is absolute nonsense. We need to know whether oath – taking before diverse shrines was consistent with respect for the dignity of the human person. It is also worthy to recall that Orji Uzor Kalu insulted every known politician in Abia State. His caustic attack on Chief Ojo Maduekwe is a metaphor for the point I am making. In this respect, it will be recalled that, out of clear mischief, he stoutly claimed that the name “OJO” was not of Igbo origin and therefore that Chief Ojo Maduekwe was not an Igbo man.
30. While America was fighting the evil of Taliban, Orji Uzor Kalu conjectured it as a fitting name for all other politicians who refused to kiss the poisoned chalice of mother and son for filthy lucre. With the toga of Taliban stuck on every politician, except his ilk, the message to his agents was clear: treat the opposition in the same manner Americans were treating the Taliban in Afghanistan! For Orji Uzor Kalu to turn around few years later to claim a behavioural pattern that is inconsistent with his avowed public stance is another manifestation of the lies and lies of Orji Uzor Kalu.
31. It is laughable that Orji Uzor Kalu can claim he groomed Governor T.A. Orji. As I write this piece, Orji Uzor Kalu has no graduate certificate from any University in the world. Yet, he has the effrontery to claim that he groomed a graduate of a foremost University in Nigeria, the University of Ibadan! This is absolutely unbelievable. Orji Uzor Kalu grew up in the ghetto in Aba and by the time he became Governor all he had to his name, as shown in his certificate with which he contested elections in 1999 and 2003 is his (?) WAEC Certificate. Another known attribute then was that he was widely traveled and a close friend to some military autocrats. Some also falsely thought he had money, not rich because even today, his character flaws betray him as being poor. How then is it possible that Orji Uzor Kalu groomed Chief T.A. Orji. On the contrary, it was Chief T.A. Orji that did all he could to attain a turn – around of Orji Uzor Kalu from seeing everything as “business” and “game” to the real issues of governance. Regrettably, Orji Uzor Kalu was and remains merely a “game man”; somebody who cheats, deceives and lies for personal advantage or gains.
32. That Orji Uzor Kalu attempts to stick on Governor T.A. Orji the “traits of arrogance, meanness, brutality or greed” is shocking because there is no action of the Governor that can be cited in support except in respect of the absolute and damming rejection of the Orji Uzor Kalu’s negative tendencies. It was the negative tendencies highlighted by Orji Uzor kalu that garlanded his administration. Every Abian recalls that at the height of his infamy Orji Uzor Kalu asserted that his family will be in charge of Abia Governance for fifty years. It was also at this time that he threw up his brother, over night, to run and win election under Action Congress to represent Aba North/South Federal Constituency. The hapless brother, thrown up to highlight Orji Uzor Kalu ‘s political dexterity was later referred to as ‘deaf and dumb” because not for once did he make any contribution in the House of Represnetatives.
33. Let me remind Orji Uzor Kalu that rejection of veil is obedience to God. And he who loves God has no business with die – hard sinners. The position of Chief T.A. Orji , as I understand it, comes to this, metaphorically speaking , : I either serve (nay work) with God or mammon and because I am serving (working) with God I will show absolute and irrevocable rejection of mammon.
34. Orji Uzor Kalu claims he openly fraternized with everybody when he was Governor. This is absolute false. I can attest that he once attended Chief Ojo Maduekwe’s daughter’s traditional marriage when no invitation was extended to him. That was a clear example of an uncivilized man who saw the whole thing as a game to bemuse his host. It is remarkable that even after that visit the political darts they hauled at each other became more furious. So, what was the aim of the visit? Pretended love by a hypocrite. I do not think a well bred technocrat like Chief T.A. Orji is caught out for such charade!
35. One of the attributes of Orji Uzor Kalu, as earlier highlighted, is the uncanny ability to make assertions that will appear true to the unwary. He came up with this strategy when he rhetorically asked if Chief T.A. Orji “will have the courage to walk the streets as many of us today when he leaves office as Governor?” Inherent in this statement is that Orji Uzor Kalu can walk the streets freely. I know he can do so in the streets of London, New York, Washington and even Lagos. Let him try it in Aba or any other part of Abia State except Igbere.
36. Before Orji Uzor Kalu became governor, he was the poster boy of good life in Aba. He was the stand – by boy of the rich with whom he enjoyed to associate with. Because he attended primary School in CKC, Aba , Secondary Schools in Eziama High School Aba and Government College, Umuahia; he walked the streets with joy – filled approbation. Even as Governor he enjoyed this sociable image which he cultivated as a façade of deceit. But that was then. Today, his person throws up disdain and opprobrium. I challenge him to test the water; not in Igbere but in other parts of Abia State.
37. For clarity, it needs to be said that each of the assertions of Orji Uzor Kalu in his article are either premised on false ground or intentionally skewed. He claims he never visited government house after he left office. That may be true. But he always desired Government House to be visiting him and the mother. The competence and moral fortitude of Chief T.A. Orji are evident in his ability to reject such contraption; an attitude that Orji Uzor Kalu calls meanness.
38. It is right to underscore the fact that Orji Uzor Kalu claims that he does not embark on wild goose chase. But, that is exactly the opposite of Orji Uzor Kalu. While Governor of Abia State he demonstrated his character flaw. In his first 100 days in office, he set up a Committee headed by the venerable Chief Akwuiwu (SAN) to investigate illegal sale of property in GRA, Abia State. The report was never made public. Also, Orji Uzor Kal, as governor, set up a Panel of Inquiry into what was known as “Igbere crisis”. Of course, not a word was heard of the report. Also, it was the same “game – man” – trait that made the Governor to set up a Committee on hand over of schools to their owners. Of course, no school was handed over to the original owners until the end of his tenure. Several other examples could be pointed out but the above three are, in my view enough, to support our contention.
39. It is right that Orji Uzor Kalu is preaching moral rectitude, peace and harmony. But he has to step out now and apologize to Ndi Abia. His Government of Mamatocracy characterized by deceit, blood letteing and idolatry are still fresh. His was the typical Egypt. His write – up shows that he is an unrepentant sinner. He needs our prayers only but not our association. We in Abia State have long left Egypt. There is no going back “Enyi Abia Alawala!”.
40. Finally, it is apt to stress that Chief T.A. Orji is humane, honest and caring. These are the attributes that are rare in most leaders. He should not be distracted by the likes of Orji Uzor Kalu. As the great Zik said, “History will vindicate the just”.

Ukpai Ukairo
Lawyer – Politician
Principal Solicitor, Ukpa Ukairo and Associates
Aba.
Immediate Past legal Adviser, PDP South East Zone

*****Breaking News: Ex Abia Governor fingered over Dimgba Igwe's mysterious death ****

Dimgba Igwe a renowned Journalist and one of the pioneer Editors of the Sun Newspaper is dead.

Dimgba Igwe we learnt was killed by a hit and run car in what appears to be an assassination while jogging this morning around his residence in Okota area of Lagos where he lives.

The Newspaper columnist who worked with defunct Concord and later became the pioneer Editor of the Sun Newspapers with Mike Awoyinfa was sacked by Orji Uzor Kalu few years ago over his stand against Kalu's interference in the paper.

Mr Igwe and Awoyinfa floated a paper that didn't survive as Kalu pleaded with him to come back. Igwe who is from Igbere accepted partially to maintain his column, he was later made the Vice chairman editorial board of the Sun but that did not change his principle as he continued to challenge Kalu's unprofessional style of running the Sun Newspapers

We gathered that Mr. Dimgba Igwe who is popular with the entire work force has become a thorn In Ouks flesh as he confronted the publisher over the 8 months salary he is owing them. A staff of the SUN told us that Dimgba had a shouting match with kalu few days ago on the salary issue. Igwe told kalu to bury his face in shame as he can't pay them. It was learnt that kalu who was visibly shaken swore to deal with Igwe.

However, according to an insider report, accusing fingers are being pointed at kalu for Igwe's mysterious death. As at the time of writing this report, some SUN NEWSPAPERS Staff have deserted the Kirikiri area office of the Sun Newspapers.

The Publisher of the SUN, Kalu yet to visit the family, he is said to have been in Lagos. Every phone contact made to get him to comment on the death of Mr. Dimgba were unsuccessful.

RIP Oga Dimgba but your killers will not hide forever

Arthur Eze battles Orji Uzor Kalu ... Denies saying Abia State stinks

 Orji Uzor Kalu and Arthur Eze - 'when the going was good'

 

By Osa Eresoyen, Anambra

 

Billionaire businessman Arthur Eze has refuted reports in SUN Newspapers alluding that he described Abia State as stinking at the occasion of the 23^rd Anniversary celebration of Abia State held on August 27, 2014 in Umuahia.

 

Eze, who is obviously miffed by the report carried by an “anonymous’ reporter  and published only in the The SUN newspapers described the story as cheap political blackmail coming from a man who is obviously drowning and needs help. 

 

Addressing newsmen this morning at his palatial Ukpo Country Home, Arthur wondered why it was only in SUN that the so called purported statement that “Abia Stinks” would be published.

In his words, “ I know that Orji Uzor Kalu is suffering from severe annihilation from a State he misruled for eight years (1999 – 2007). I did not imagine that he would choose to join me in his wild goose chase of smearing the personality of a Governor who is strategically repositioning Abia, recovering it from the ruins of the wasted years of Orji Uzor Kalu”.

Arthur Eze described as preposterous the art of hatchet job which Orji Uzor Kalu has perfected over the years. Continuing, Arthur said that he would not have said Abia Stinks considering that he only plied the Enugu Portharcout Express Road leading to Abia from Enugu. “I would not have said that about Abia because when I drove from the Abia Tower to the Michael Okpara Auditorium venue of the Abia Day celebrations, I beheld a completely beautiful vista, noting landmark developmental efforts across the length and breadth of the about 3Kms from the tower to the venue. People who attended the event (not a faceless SUN reporter who never attended the ceremony) would agree that I bemoaned the state of the federal roads, especially the Abia end of it where I plied to get to Umuahia”

 

The Statement read in part:

“I am a diligent party man, and only urged Governor Theodore Orji to take advantage of his relationship with the President to hasten construction of the Enugu – PH express Road. I also remember urging my friend the Governor to consider improved palliative measures within the Abia end of the Express Road as a help to the federal government while the construction lasts”.

“It is either Orji Uzor Kalu does not visit home or what he said in his paper is a reflection of what he wishes for his people, otherwise he ought to know that even if Abia is not superbly developed, no one who plies Abia Tower to Okpara Auditorium would rightly say that Abia Stinks. Rather, one would see the effort of the Governor in curing the city of madness largely caused by Orji Uzor Kalu. The serenity of the old market site, the beautiful scene of the newly remodeled Okpara Square and the cleanliness of the surroundings from Mission Hill down to Bank Road and Okpara Auditorium can only be described as “stinking” by a man of Orji’s Caliber”.

 

“If Orji Uzor Kalu knows how distraught  I am with him, he would not mention me in any of his childish political fights. Here was a man I had obliged marrying my sister thinking that he is reasonable. Till date Ifeoma, my sister; his wife has remained in the State of a vegetable, losing her sanity and being entirely useless to her kinsmen. The least Orji Uzor should do is to find a way of rehabilitating my sister rather than involve in his senseless charade against his own people”

“If I refused to take him to the President in his bid to return to PDP, it is because of my personal conviction that he needs to make up with his Abia people. I had told him severally that Party Politics starts from the grassroots and a man so widely rejected by the grassroots like him has no business in Jonathan’s PDP. I will not go back on that even if he uses the whole machinery of blackmail available to him to smear my personality”.

 

“I want to state for the records that I never refereed to Abia as stinking and will never say that. My honoring the invitation to attend the Abia Day celebrations was a mark of honor to Chief Theodore Orji, one honest politician I have encountered. It is as a result of my personal conviction, predicated on verifiable evidences that the current Governor of Abia State is gradually transforming Abia after several years of neglect”.

 

“Orji Uzor Knows that I have the capacity to drive him out of Nigeria. He knows I am not given to cheap publicity and would do anything to protect the integrity I have earned over the years. I am giving the SUN Newspapers and their agents, 72 hours to retract that obnoxious statement credited to me either which I will resort to tandard legal means to seek redress”.

“I urge my friends from Abia to ignore Orji Uzor Kalu as God in his infinite mercy , just and fair nature has already confined him (Orji Uzor) to a state of perpetual agony”.

PPA Chieftain Lampoons Kalu for attacking Orji

Factional deputy national chairman of the Progressive Peoples Alliance(PPA), Ogbuishi Benjamin Oborota, has described the recent press attack by former Abia State governor, Chief Orji Uzor Kalu, on incumbent Governor Theodore Orji as “myopic and an afterthought”.

Reacting to Kalu’s description of Orji as a chameleon, Oborota said the write up was “an expose to the shallowness of the former governor who maintained a chief of staff for eight years without discovering him.”

He said it was disappointing that someone who prides himself as a master strategist could not uncover a chameleon in his cabinet for eight years, to the extent that he would recommend a chameleon to succeed him as governor. “This shows the daftness of the master strategist, and further confirms that his writings might actually have been authored by surrogates as suspected in several quarters,” he added.

He said that Kalu’s claim that he never knew the true nature of Orji was false because all persons who had any business to do in Abia State when the former governor held sway knew that the state would have collapsed on Kalu’s head but for the then versatile chief of state, who is the current governor.

The PPA deputy chairman said that under Kalu, Abia State had descended to such decay that merit was thrown overboard in favour of “mamacracy where allegiance to the former governor’s mother determined progress in appointment and the award of contracts.”

He maintained that during the years between 1999 and 2007, Abia was under siege where governance was turned into a family business.

Oborota said that the assumption of office in 2007 by Orji staved the trend of political migration of Abians who had fled intimidation, kidnap, economic strangulation and assassinations to Abuja and Lagos.

He noted that Kalu fell out with Orji when his failed attempt to corner the state’s monthly allocation was resisted by the latter, “which resulted in the unprecedented query of a sitting governor by a political party.”

He expressed surprise at Kalu’s blind claim that Abia had lagged behind during Orji’s tenure, wondering when last the former governor visited the state.

He urged Kalu to visit Umuahia with the view to marvelling at the great transformation of the city centre where the dilapidated main market, auto spare parts market and the industrial estate he had ignored for eight years have been relocated and modernised, creating space for these massive developments currently ongoing.

Abia at 23: How Orji re-destined “God’s own State”

By  Uche Nwosu

At the beginning of every generation God creates a leader who emancipates his people and refocuses them to the part of reformation. Such leader comes rarely, except when they are needed to lead crusade against slavery, savagery and uncertainty like Moses in the bible did. They are great men because God has made him so. According to Henri Frederic Amiel, a Swiss writer, “Great men are the real men: in them nature has succeeded”. Accordingly, Gov TA Orji, the man that is steering the ship of Abia state is a great man that has succeeded in rewriting the history of this “God’s Own State”. As Abia marks its 23^rd year Anniversary under the administration of this indefatigable administrator, it is pertinent to recall Abia’s position before he took over as its chief executive officer.
Having been created on August 27, 1991, Abia was bereft of quality infrastructures because, either by omission or commission, the military that ruled the Old Imo State where it was carved out from shied away from carrying out a sustained developmental process on its territory. And so when Abia state was created by the Ibrahim Babangida’s administration the challenge of the absence of quality infrastructure became its bane.

The problem was so pronounced that the then military administrator, Navy Captain Frank Ajobena had to resort to converting school buildings and personal houses of residents of Umuahia to offices and government houses. Against this backdrop, the Library Avenue Primary School not only became a government office but a cabinet office. The Emeka Emerua house, situated at the GRA Umuahia near the school was renovated to serve as the Abia government house. Ironically, that is where government house Abia state is currently situated until the current Gov TA Orji’s intervention.
It was also on record that Ajobena also embarked on the reconstruction of some roads and buildings to accommodate the army of public and civil servant who, having being disengaged from the civil service at Owerri, had to travel from Owerri to Umuahia on daily basis, to perform their official assignments. Even though he tried to position the state to a level that befits a modern state, Abia remained a huge glorified local government.

Indeed, it was so until the administration of Dr Ogbonnaya Onu. Though his was a diarchy (a combination of civilian and military government), Onu’s administration that came on stream in January 1992 was terminated with other governors when General Sani Abacha staged his November 17, 1993 coup d’état. The unceremonious removal of the government left his dreams unfulfilled and made Abia worst for it.

Consequently, Abia continued to grope in darkness; seeking for a Messiah that did not come under subsequent military regimes in the state. Though, it had some flashes of good governance during the military regimes of late Col Ike Nwosu, Group Captain TemiEjoor, Col Moses Fasanya and Col Anthony Obi, the state was far from attaining its Eldorado, as the state still lacked basic and developmental infrastructure in Umuahia and Aba, its two major cities.
However, in May 29, 1999 the fourth republic was ushered into the country and Abia had its second civilian administration. There were high expectations as the People Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Orji Uzor Kalu was sworn in as the second executive governor of Abia state. Actually, what were considered Kalu’s modest achievements in his eight-year administration were blurred by invectives and verbal onslaughts he unleashed against the central government under the leadership of President Olusegun Obasanjo.

As a result, Abia was considered an enemy state and yanked off from the scheme of things. In this regard, the expectation of the people that their state had returned to the track of sanity, progress and development following the commencement of a democratic government were dashed by Kalu’s quirkiness. And Abia was worse for it. It indeed cringed under the suffocating pang of unforgiving Obasanjo, who did all but allow Abia have any meaningful project from the federal government until he handed over to President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua.

The state of affairs in Abia continued to be pitiable until the incumbent governor Chief TA Orji took over in May 29, 2007 as the third executive governor of the state. Even though Ochendo had a frustrating start, he cautiously steered away from obstacles and clogs laid on his way to governance. These impediments were meant to derail his administration. He began by reconciling the state with the Yar’Adua led federal government; an accomplishment that translated to the present President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan.

Determined to work in order to move Abia in next level, Gov Orji began what today are known as Abia Legacy Projects. He indeed carried out a revolution that saw to the building of housing estates in Aba and Umuahia; construction of roads, enhancing rule of law and quick dispensation of justice by building modern office complexes and residential structure for judiciary officers.
Before he became governor Abia political space was polarized as politicians of Abia origin based in Abuja pitted themselves against their counterparts in Abia state. But Ochendo stopped this by remarkably assembling hitherto political enemies to one large and accommodating umbrella. It has been considered as a masterstroke. In fact it is interesting to witness those politicians who disagreed politically since 1999 come together under a common front to move the state forward.

Gov Orji has carried out the revolution to all sectors, be it political, economic and social. Since his second tenure in office (at the renewal of his mandate in May 29, 2011),  theIbeku born technocrat has built not less than 2,000kms of roads scattered across the state which include Nkata-Alike-Umuahia, Umueze-Agbo-UbaniIbeku, dualization of Tower-Isieke, Ibeku,Umuafia-Agbama, Umuafia-Ndume, Okwoyi, Umukabia,Ohuhu-Mkpa, Okagwe-OmaekpuOhafia ring road, UkwuMango, Old Express/Samek, Abia Polytechnic pedestrian bridge, Danfodio and East street.
There are others too which space cannot accommodate. But suffice it to say that Sir Orji has gone out of his way to provide security by empowering women and youth with skill acquisition and vehicles to sustain them and work as employer of labour. In other subsectors such as healthcare, housing, electricity, security, peace, education, transportation, tourism, infrastructure etc, the Abia state government under the leadership of Gov TA Orji performed excellently. It is on record that the specialist and diagnostic hospital at Aba and Umuahia which it built is yet to be equaled in terms of medical equipment.

On women affairs, the state government through the office of the wife of the Abia state governor, Lady Mercy Odochi Orji has given premium to the development of women and children as well as indigent and elderly and persons living in disability. Over 200 women of various levels have received trainings from the office. Even in education, the Ochendo administration has invested huge sum towards qualitative education. In fact it is its core priority areas. There is a functional free transport services for students in Aba and Umuahia. Scholarships have also been instituted by the government.

As Abia Celebrates its 23^rd Anniversary it is pertinent at this juncture to salute the vision and courage of the elder statesman and founding fathers like Dr. Michael Okpara, the Premier of the defunct Eastern Region who led the crusade to create Abia state; Dr. AkanuIbiam, Dr. Maxwell Agbara, Dr AnaghaEzikpe, Eze Bernard Enweremadu, Chief Ugorji Eke, Chief Nnanna Kalu, Chief S.N Nwagbara, Eze IssacIkonne, Chief Emmanuel Adiele, Chief Bob Ogbuagu, Eze C. N Nwosu ( who led the students body) and of course the good and hard working people of the state for their resolve to build an ingenious state.

• Nwosu, a Public Affairs Commentator, wrote in from Umuahia, Abia state.

Still on Orji’s transformation programme in Abia

By Ben Duru
Bureau Chief, Umuahia

According to Mahatman Ghandi, “We cannot be speakers who do not listen. But neither can we be listeners who do not speak.” The above clearly paints the picture of two classes of people whose positions concerning the well-being of Abia State have become suspect. Following the spirited efforts put up by these classes of people, majority of them from neighbouring states, political analysts have insisted that the number seemed to be increasing because the earlier postulations of their predecessors had failed and would continue to fail. The analysts posit that the horde of ‘hired writers’ paid to cleverly and ingloriously cast aspersions on the performances of incumbent Governor Theodore Orji were finding it very difficult to carry out the hatchet jobs without incurring the wrath of the people, who, for the first time in their lives, have seen the real dividends of democracy delivered to them without much hassles.

Dr. Jonas Olemba, a political analyst based in Aba, insisted that majority of those who have either written anything on Abia State and those who would write in the future were terrible speakers that had failed to listen to the words of the real Abians they are pretending to be writing about. According to him, “these are the first class of people identified by the late sage Ghandi. These writers, very good writers, I must confess, only visit the state based on the brief they have received and visit only the places they have been told to visit. They also speak to those they have been asked to talk to and swiftly return to their base, put up their write up and pocket whatever had been provided for the job. These set of writers, if you have followed them, as I have done, are not from Abia State, because there are very few people from the state that would completely disregard the monumental democracy dividends which the present administration have put on ground to write in the contrary.”
Continuing, he said that the reasons for his position were not far-fetched. “You will notice that none of these writers have ever mentioned in their write-ups that there was a time that Abia State, especially Aba, which they seemed to have suddenly developed huge love and affection for, was under the siege of armed robbers, kidnappers and where vices were a daily occurrence. They totally failed to mention in their write-ups that during this period, none of them could venture into the state or to Aba, but remained in the comfort of their homes outside the state, leaving the masses of the city to bear the brunt. They take for granted that during the period of insecurity, most businesses relocated, influential people stayed away from Abia and the area became a pariah of some sort. Today, nobody is talking about that era because one man stood up against these criminal elements and sent them outside the state. He secured the integrity of the ordinary Abian on the streets, who had become the laughing stock of his friends and colleagues either at the Ariaria Market or Government offices in Lagos and Abuja.”

Olemba maintained further that it was easy to forget the times when events were in the contrary, especially when such events had been clinically dealt a mortal blow, adding that what Abians and non-Abians passed through in the hands of the criminals were better imagined than described. Furthermore, he averred that “assuming Governor Orji did not do anything and the insecurity had continued, what would have been the position of those commenting on the events in the state? I think those in the class of speaking without listening to what the people are saying, have only exposed themselves to the fact that they are not writing to effect a change, but simply to satisfy some cravings of those whose major occupation is to ensure the subjugation of Abia State as a third rate state, where the people would never be able to hold their heads high in the comity of states.”
The political analyst also said that those in the class of listeners without speaking are the traders at the various markets scattered across the three senatorial districts, who would not let their voices be heard, but are always the first to attend a government function, eat, drink, listen to all the speeches made at the event, clap more than everyone else, but would never lift their voice in the defence or against what they had heard.

“If you corner this people to ask them why they are keeping quiet, they will readily tell you that people have already said what they had in mind and that there was no other reason for them to speak. These classes of Abians are found in top government offices in Umuahia and elsewhere and what they will do will you shock you, if you have ever sat with them at any function. I can tell you authoritatively that if you go to the Abia State Secretariat, which the governor built recently, and ask the first set of workers that had moved in what their impressions were on the performance of the governor vis-a-vis the state of their affairs before now; they will simply laugh it off. But what the governor has done for them is of monumental importance, taking into cognizance the suffering that the workers have had to put up with since the creation of the state in 1991.”

Speaking in the same vein, Mrs. Nkemjika Okafor, a businesswoman based at Ariaria Aba, wondered why people tend to look the other way when something they cannot imagine happens that has brought smiles on the faces of people. She expressed pain that in the last three years of the present administration, changes have occurred in Aba and its environs more than all the previous administrations put together, yet some handful of people could throw caution to the wind and still speak negatively.

She said: “The South East is peopled by individuals interested in selfish efforts, and once someone comes with the intention of the whole, they quickly move in to either destabilize or rubbish him. This is what I see happening in Abia State. If I were told that a man would be so selfless and courageous to do away with a stamped hegemony and establish a train where every Abian could join at will without let or hindrance, I would say it was not possible, but I have seen it in Governor Theodore Orji. And let me say this, no matter how hard they may try to rubbish him, he still remains the best thing that has happened to the state and would eventually be crowned the greatest, when he vacates office, because he will be dressed in the same garb as the former governor of Old Imo State Dee Sam Onunaka Mbakwe, may God bless his soul.”

Aba, no doubt, is the hotbed of Abia State, taking into cognizance the fact that it is the commercial city, where the good, the bad and the ugly converge. It is another capital in her own right and deserves every attention from governments at all levels. This is what makes Abia State to be different from most of the other states in the South East and South/South. However, the rot in the city preceded the present administration, same as the other parts of the state, including the capital city of Umuahia. Therefore, the task of revolutionary transformation will never be a one-off thing.1 The truth is that the present administration may not been readily seen or appreciated because it is like the foundation-laying of a building, irrespective of its height.

Any foundation, whether done by a white or black man, is always messy and dirty. The amount of funds buried in the sand is not known the outsider, it is only known to the owner of the structure. Once the DPC of a building is done, the messy sight is covered up and what the eye sees is the beauty onwards. This is exactly what is happening in Abia, which is why the governor has always called for the understanding of the people. Consistently, the governor had said he cannot finish the work in eight years, but the foundation has been laid for a stronger, better, growing and economic viable Abia. She needs the support of all and sundry and such support will be done through the government that has shown goodwill and capacity to provide a level playing field for all and sundry to play their own part.

DAILY INDEPENDENT