Gov Orji: I Won’t Pass Debt Burden to My Successor

Abia State Governor, Chief Theodore Orji, on Tuesday explained why he had continued to resist the temptation of going to the bond market to raise funds despite the financial challenges facing the state. He said he cannot afford to create a situation where his successor would inherit debt burden.

Orji bared his mind at a meeting with teachers following complaints over the irregularity in the payment of their salaries, saying he could have taken bonds and pay salaries and when his successor takes over he would be serving the bond instead of paying salaries.

“I don’t want my successor to suffer what I suffered,” he said, adding that he was saddled with huge debt burden when he took office hence he had decided to break the cycle.

The governor told the teachers that the fall in the revenue of the state, especially the ones accuring from federal allocation was impacting negatively on the ability of government to meet up with its financial obligations to the teachers regularly.
“We are incapacitated financially and finance is the engine room of governance,” he said.

According to him, there was need to explain the real situation of things to the teachers and appeal to their conscience and make them understand that everything does not end in demonstration of protest.”

He said the arrears of salaries were already being cleared, adding, “We will continue paying you all the debts we owe you. We will pay.”

Orji assured the teachers that he held them in high esteem that was why the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state chose a teacher, Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu, who also came from a family of teachers as the party’s governorship candidate. He urged Abia teachers to support him.

Earlier in his remarks, Ikpeazu assured the teachers that he would take care of their welfare and asked them to back his governorship ambition as the future would be made bright for them.

He said while he would strive to pay their salaries and allowances as at when due, the teachers should brace up to reciprocate by increasing their productivity and increase the quality of students and pupils that come out from Abia schools.
Meanwhile, the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) in the state, Dr Alex Otti, has promised to abolish multiple taxation in the state, if elected.

Otti, according to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) made the promise at Ubakala in Umuahia while addressing his party supporters during his campaign tour of Bende and Umuahia South Local Government Areas of the state.
He expressed concern that the residents of the state, especially the traders, market men and women, artisans, transporters, industrialists and other business concerns, were being over-taxed.

He said many businesses, particularly in Aba and Umuahia, were adversely affected by the development and that many of them had relocated to other states.
The APGA governorship hopeful decried the non-payment of teachers’ salaries, as well as pensions and gratuities by the government.

“I use this opportunity to call on the outgoing administration to pay the arrears of pensions and teachers’ salaries. “But if they failed to pay, by May 29, when we take over government, I will pay the salary and pension arrears.’’

Otti promised to deploy his international connection and exposure in attracting investment to the state, so that jobs would be created for the teeming unemployed youths

He promised to transform Umuahia, Aba and Ohafia, saying that he would redesign and rebuild Aba.

He also promised to build a “state-of-the-art’’ specialist hospital in each of the three cities to enhance efficient healthcare delivery and check medical tourism outside the state.

He promised that the condition of service and salary of medical doctors would be attractive to lure back home Abia-born medical doctors plying their trade outside Nigeria.

The former Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Diamond Bank, who attributed his success in life to the quality of education he had, promised to introduce free and compulsory education in the state, if elected.

He promised not to receive any salary for the period of his tenure, if elected governor, as he would forfeit it to the development of the state.

“I believe that why God blessed you is for you to be a blessing to others,” he said.

Igbo Is The Strongest Pillar Of My Administration - Jonathan

Seven states; Rivers, Abia, Imo, Ebonyi, Anambra, Enugu and Delta converged yesterday in Enugu under the auspices of the apex Igbo socio-cultural group, Ohaneze Ndigbo to mark this year’s Igbo day at the Micheal Okpara square.

The annual event which is stipulated to commemorate the efforts of Igbo heroes who contributed steeply in championing the cause of Igbo had as its theme, “uplift the homeland” with an inter-denomitional service.

While presenting President Goodluck Jonathans’ address, his representative, Minister of Power, Prof. Chinedu Nebo expressed profound gratitude to Igbo for,”being the greatest pillar of support to my person and administration. My administration have taken cognizance of the unalloyed support of the Igbo. Igbo is the ethnic group that has supported my administration greatly and I promise that it will not be taken for granted”.

“This is evident in the level of Federal attention the infrastructure in the south-east is receiving as examplified and in the roads, commencement of international operations at the Akanu-Ibiam airport, Enugu, the dredging of the river Niger to boost inland water ways transport. The Akanu-Ibiam airport will have all the trappings of an international airport. Federal Government is working assiduously to build Aerotropolis and inject vibrancy at the cargo terminals, befitting of international standards” said the President.

President Jonathan disclosed that Igbo has been frontal in the believe of the co-operate existence of Nigeria adding that the Igbo is the highest investor in Nigeria’s economy even as he explained that,’Igbo carry the banner of Christianity and culture as they traverse the country in search of greener pastures typical of a republican’.

He further urged Igbo youths to eschew the vices of kidnapping, armed robbery and assassination while appealing to them to imbibe the virtues of their forebearers in their various endeavours.

Contributing, the Governor of Enugu state, Barr. Sullivan Chime represented by the Commissioner for Culture and Tourism, Chief Joe Mamelu urged,”Igbo to uphold the practice of speaking Igbo language wherever they find themselves to forestall the language from going into extinction”.

In his remark, the President General of Ohaneze Ndigbo, Chief Gary Enwo-Igariwey poisted that the way forward for Ndigbo is,”to speak with one voice in a clear direction. Emphasis must be in generating and directing these energies towards growth poles. We must unite in pursing commercial and industrial objectives and much more importantly, political challenges”.

“We reiterate for emphasis that Ndigbo must seek the Presidency of this country at the expiration of the tenure of the south-south. This is in keeping with our stand that equity,justice and fair-play demand that we, the only zone remaining to hold the prime office in the country, should be allowed by our fellow Nigerians to so occupy it in unbroken succession after the south-south. This is an appeal to the political class of Ndigbo to put their house in order. We cannot afford to play a second fiddle forever” Igariwey noted.