From Okey Sampson, Umuahia
Governor Alex Otti has said a new chapter has opened in the history of Abia State was opened on March 18, following his election as Governor of the state.
Otti stated this in his broadcast to the people of Abia, to mark the 32nd anniversary of the creation of the state.
In the broadcast titled, “Our Duty to the Next Generation” the governor recalled the state’s rough journey since creation and said today has offered the people the opportunity to strive harder to meet the expectations of the founding fathers of the state.
“As you are aware, a new chapter was opened for us on the 18th of March this year when we trooped out in our numbers to elect the kind of leadership we believe the state deserved for so long but has never had; a leadership that is dedicated to unlocking the dormant potentials of our land.
“I must thank you all again for demonstrating that peculiar courage that had long defined us. All throughout history, the people that lived in the geographical area now known as Abia stood at the forefront of every struggle against injustice.
“The events of that very special Saturday in March and the days of anxiety that followed, once again showed that indeed, we are a people who will always meet danger with unmatched courage”.
While urging the people to as the celebrate, hold their heads high for not being allowed to be defeated, he informed them that he has used the last 12 weeks since May 29 in setting up a governance architecture that is a marked departure from the past.
“We will be hundred days in office within the first week of September and I am excited that on the testimony of several honest observers, the state is clearly on the right track.
“On assumption of office in May, I quickly identified critical areas that required urgent government intervention to restore normalcy in the midst of chaos and general sense of helplessness.
“I declared a state of emergency on refuse disposal in Aba and Umuahia and appointed a team to execute the mandate and deliver results as quickly as possible. I am glad to report that our environment is getting cleaner.
“When we came in, doctors working in the public health facilities in the state were on strike and the system was in a state of general collapse as the hospitals were shut down for months and patients, even those in very critical conditions, were turned away.
“Before declaring a state of emergency in the health sector, I appealed to the striking doctors to call off their strike and gave them my word that it would be an anathema for any health worker in the state to be refused their legitimate entitlements under my watch”.
Otti thanked the doctors for heeding his call and for returning to work shortly after, adding, “We have since commenced the immediate rehabilitation of three major secondary health facilities across the three senatorial zones in the state. The rehabilitation efforts have reached advanced stage and I am very happy with the progress of work”.
On ensuring ban improved healthcare delivery for the people, Otti said presently, is administration is engaging several multilateral agencies and organizations to further support Government’s primary healthcare centres for optimal service delivery, especially in the rural communities.
The Governor gave insight to what his administration was doing to ensure quality education for the people and urged parents to always ensure their children were given the right education.
He disclosed that because of Aba to the state, government was putting everything in place to make the roads are motorable and results seen.
“It gives me great amount of joy to report that across major parts of Aba, we are reclaiming roads that had been abandoned for decades, de-silting drainages and making vehicular movement within the city much easier.
Our plans and programmes for Aba are far more strategic and as the days go by, you would be seeing demonstrable proof that indeed, Aba’s time has come”.
Otti stated that Government was putting up programmes from business digitization processes that would put Aba on the global enterprise map to structured real estate developments, urban renewal programmes and investments in energy and power infrastructure for improved industrial output.
He said Government was squarely tackling the security challenges in the state with the setting up of “Operation Crush” which was doing well.
“Our fathers fought for the creation of this state in the confidence that its potentials for greatness would be best actualised by becoming a distinct entity, defined by peculiar traditions and values of the people. Actualising this potential has become a sacred obligation, a duty we owe the next generation and we cannot afford to fail for that would be the ultimate betrayal”.
Otti thanked the founding fathers of the state for their vision and for insisting that justice and fairness must be the basic conditions of their existence as a people.
He equally thanked all the military administrators and governors the state has had in the last 32 years for in one way or the other, contributing to the development of the state.