Okey Sampson, Aba
Abia State Governor, Okezie Ikpeazu, has called on Abians to be patient with his administration as he strives to build an Abia that everyone will be proud of.
Governor Ikpeazu said that he is committed to building an infrastructure especially roads that will stand the test of time
He stated this at the 28th anniversary celebration of Abia State held at the International Conference Center,Umuahia.
Governor Ikpeazu who admitted that there is huge infrastructure gap in the state that beckons for attention especially in the major cities of Aba, Umuahia and Ohafia, said his administration is not oblivious of that fact.
He said that he wants to be remembered for the few roads he built that outlived him than many without significance.
He regretted that Abia is not where it should be at 28 but assured that Abians will have every reason to smile at the end of the day.
He applauded the robust relationship between the three arms of the government, attributing it to the peace enjoyed in the state.
The governor who described the day as a milestone in the history of the state reiterated his commitment to ensure that the light handed over to him by his predecessors will not go off in his time.
He used the forum to pay tributes to his forebearers.
Speaking, Chairman of the State Advisory Council, Anagha Ezikpe explained the reasons behind the formation of the state.
He noted that the Abia Chatter of Equity was formulated in 1981 with the aim of ensuring even distribution of power and resources across the three senatorial zones of the state.
Meanwhile, the state chapter of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) has said that after 28 years of its creation, the state was still crawling and has not moved towards meeting the aspiration and dream of the founding fathers.
In a statement signed by its publicity secretary, Chief Ebere Uzoukwa, the party traced the problem of the state to poor leadership.
“We, therefore, wish to reiterate that Abia, as envisioned and created, has not sojourned towards meeting the aspiration and dream of the founding fathers.
“This is as the bane of our problems, as a people and entity, isexpressly and unarguably traced to poor and mundane leadership.
“It is incontrovertible that after 28 years, Abia as a state has remained sickly and stagnant without conspicuously registering economic gains and strides of development as well as social advancement.
“The most recent and successive administrations have colossally failed in all endeavours to drive the vision upon which Abia was created.”
The statement said the occasion of 28th anniversary should call for sober reflection given the fact that nothing at all in the state suggests celebration of any kind.
“The situation, as bad as it is, also given the obvious failures of the present PDP administration, should elicit the consciousness to collectively fight towards exterminating the monster called ‘bad governance’ bedeviling our dear state to, among other things, pave way for development and progress in Abia.”