By Ndubuisi Orji
Comrade Sam Obinna Igwe, leader of World Ibeku Congress (WIC) and also Agenda for Abia Advancement (AAA) has described the one year anniversary of the governor of Abia State, Dr Okezie Ikpeazu as a waste of time and resources.
Igwe in this interview speaks on various issues concerning Abia State and declares that Dr Ikpeazu will be kicked out of office on or before 2019. He wonders why the former governor, Senator T. A Orji has not returned to kirikiri maximum prison from where he became the state’s Chief Executive after the expiration of his immunity  on May 29th, 2015.
Excerpts:
Abia State government celebrated one year in office few days ago; what’s your assessment?
Yes, such a celebration can only be organised by a government without conscience. No sane government celebrates looting of public funds, infrastructural decay ; non-payment of workers and teachers salaries, pensioners’ entitlements, the abject poverty of their people . There is nothing to celebrate in Abia. So, what the government did as one year anniversary is a mockery of the people and shame to themselves.
But the government insists it has made tremendous achievements in the last 365 days
Yes, they made achievements on the pages of newspapers, Internet and billboards. Yes, they spent millions of Abia money on one year in office in the media. Now, let us critically review the activities of the Ikpeazu-led administration
Today marks exactly one year that we became re-enslaved in our land.
Abia witnessed the highest level of electoral fraud in Africa’s history that saw to the emergence of Dr Ikpeazu as governor. The Dr Ikpeazu’s led government arrived as a stillbirth on 29/5/2015.
On assumption office , the government of Dr Ikpeazu  pointed out   five cardinal areas they intend to pay great attention. They include Agriculture, Oil and Gas, Commerce, Industry and Education.
How far has the government performed on Agriculture?
This sector employs 70 per cent of the state workforce, being the second economic sector of Abia but was abandoned by the state government in the last one year.
What about education which is also a critical sector?
The government promised a year ago that they will feed all pupils in our schools at least three times in a week. Today, not even a single Abia child has been fed in our schools, yet the governor, without shame and integrity celebrated Children’s day with the children.
Friends  of Abia School Adoption Initiative (FASAI)  was also another fraudulent initiative aimed at siphoning government’s money. The government played host to a team from Australia who came to Abia State to train seven teachers each from the 17 Local Government Areas of Abia. This initiative is a waste of Abia money and a Scam as the said government should have directed that money to the payment of teachers salaries, five months unpaid salaries, eight years unpaid leave allowance.
The last time teachers and workers in Abia State received salaries as at when due in Abia was during the government of Dr Orji Uzor Kalu. As a matter of fact before December, workers / teachers smile to the banks to celebrate Christmas in a lovely happy mood with their family. However, since the era of Chief T.A Orji and his godson, the incumbent governor, teachers celebrate Christmas and Easter with about four to five months unpaid wages. The records are there. You can verify this by confirming from teachers themselves. The ikpeazu government, also initiated the Education for Employment (E4E) programme without any impact on the educational sector
Has the government also failed on the industry sector?
The Dr Ikpeazu-led administration claimed it took artisans to Turkey, arranged fair financing packages, engaged in unprecedented publicity for Made-in-Abia products, travelled to the United States of America to bring in investors.  Today, where are the investors? Important industries like International Glass Industry, Aba , Golden Guinea Umuahia remained abandoned.
What about commerce which people of the state are known for?
The  constituted  Abia State Markets Development Committee and the Aba Urban Renewal Agency are now tools used by the government to destroy the houses / buildings of the people perceived to have voted against the PDP without genuine arrangement for compensation.  The intentions of the government to forcefully take away properties and shops belonging to people who are not PDP must be resisted by the people .
What is your take on Ikpeazu’s efforts on road construction?
The Ikpeazu administration claimed to have flagged off over 60 roads in the three Senatorial Zones of Abia State and  completed 30 of those roads which have all been commissioned and opened for use and that the roads will last for a minimum of 30 years before they require rehabilitation. All the roads listed to have been constructed in Aba are already death traps. While the Ohafia bridge also claimed to have been reconstructed is a sham. Governmentclaims it completed the following roads: Kamalu Street, Ukaegbu, Umuola, Ehere, Umuocham, MCC/Umuojima, Oomne Drive, Owerri road, Echefu Street, ENUC , Hospital, Jubilee, St. Michaels, Azikiwe, East, Park, School, Pond, Okwunka and Cameroun road. Others are Queens, Owerrinta, Kaduna Street, Abam, Awolowo street, Umuwaya, Road II, Federal Low-Cost Housing Estate, Niger road, Uwalaka Street, Spur to Factory road, Reconstruction of Okon-Aku Main Bridge in Ohafia, Reconstruction of Imo-Ndinkpa bridge, Umunneochi LGA.
On street light, the Ikpeazu government said they spent millions of Abia money. The question is: What are the duties / functions  of the LGAs in Abia State? What kind of projects do they execute if the state government spent millions of our money on streetlights ? Another Fraud !
What about the area of security?
This area recorded massive failure. Ndi Abia sleep with their eyes open. Kidnapping business became commercialised. The hoodlums hired to rig elections for the PDP in Abia State became jobless after the elections and needed to feed from the system that abandoned them.
Kidnapping became so alarming that Senator Akpabio had to accuse the state governor of Abia for commercialising kidnaping in Nigeria.
Now you can see there is nothing to celebrate in the last 365days in Abia.
The government just appointed LGA Transition Committee Chairman and their deputies to oversee the 17 LGAs in the State. Are you comfortable with that?
Of course not. You see I have told Ndi Igbo that we are our own worst enemies. The little power we have, we deny our own people the right to choose ; we deny our own people the benefits of democracy. Can you imagine that in the last decade, Abia State Government has failed to conduct Local Government Elections as mandated by the constitution of Nigeria? Do you know that the last governor to conduct LGA elections in Abia was Dr Orji Uzor Kalu ? During the era of the dictator called Chief T.A Orji, Abia people were so badly enslaved that we were denied our rights. Section 7 of The 1999 constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria gave recognition to only democratically elected persons to head the councils. The people will not accept that charade of appointment. The governor by virtue of this interview should as a matter of good conscience commence the process of conducting elections into the LGAs within 90 days. Failure to return our councils to democratic practice, we would have no option than to commence legal action against the state & urge the Federal Government to stop further allocation to Abia since our LGA allocations in the past years are unaccounted for.
What’s your opinion on the state of the nation especially on the anti-corruption crusade of President Buhari?
As an Abian , I will answer this question as it relates to the suffering people of Abia. I recall the pain, agony, intimidation and harassment Ndi Abia went through under the tyrannic era of the past and present government. I remember how the former governor locked out PMB and the APC team out of the stadium and prevented them from using that venue for Campaign in Abia State in 2015. That is a state where the governor’s son had so much powers that he  mandated the traditional rulers council chairman, Eze Eberechi  Dick  to revoke the title of Ogbuagu of Igbo land bestowed on President Buhari by Eze  Ikonne?
Ndi Abia went through hell under the past government and are presently into another 365 days of hell.
As I speak to you, there  are lots of petitions written against the past government of Abia State headed by Chief T.A Orji  who is now retired in the Senate. Prior to his becoming governor of Abia, he had also an existing case with the EFCC; as a matter of fact, he was only granted bail in 2007. Ndi Abia expected that he would have returned  to kirikiri maximum prison from where he became governor in 2007 after the expiration of his immunity  on May 29, 2015. As a Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, he has no immunity from public prosecution; so, why is he still free? Former Governor Orji Uzor Kalu of Abia State  and Jones Udeogu  (Former Director of finance Government House ) whom they were all charged before he became governor have been re-arraigned in court but Chief T.A Orji is not mentioned at all. Abia People wonder why President Buhari’s anti-corruption war is yet to be seen in Abia. It will amount to a mockery to the People of Abia if former Governor T.A Orji is not arraigned in court despite all the petitions on the table of the EFCC or is the EFCC telling the impoverished and looted People of Abia that the 2007 file and recent petitions against Chief T.A Orji have gone missing ?

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