The Nation Newspaper

Tag: ABA

  • Reps to debate Aba market shooting

    The shooting on July 31 at Ariaria International Market, Aba, Abia State will be tabled on the floor of the House of Representatives, a member representing Aba North and South Federal Constituency, Hon. Ossy Prestige has said.

    One of the victims of the shooting has been buried, while others wounded are still nursing their injuries at various hospitals.

    Officers of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Abia State Command who invaded the market said they were searching for drug offenders, and had to shoot into the air when the traders allegedly attacked them.

    The police have started investigating the incident.

    Hon. Prestige who visited the scene of the incident, promised to table it before his colleagues on the floor of the House.

    Prestige visited the injured victims at Holy Wounds Christian Hospital at 169 Faulks Road and Horstman Orthopedic Hospital along Okigwe Road where they are receiving treatment, promising to their medical bills.

    He also urged the doctors to ensure that the victims get the best treatment.

    The lawmaker who was visibly angry over the unprofessional conduct of the NDLEA personnel vowed to ensure that those involved in injuring and killing innocent Abians and Nigerians would be brought to book.

    While appealing to the shoe makers to remain calm and go about their normal businesses described the shooting in such a crowded market and the height of insensitivity and unprofessional conduct of personnel who were assumed to have been properly trained on how to handle firearms at all times.

    He used the opportunity to reiterate his campaign commitment with the people of his constituency that he had promised to dedicate his time at the National Assembly to serve their interest.

    Some of the injured victims who spoke at the two hospitals thanked the lawmaker for his kind gestures and thanked him for coming to their rescue.

     

  • Call for state of emergency in Aba’

    A body of Nigeria ethnic nationalities, under the aegis of The Youth of Nigeria (TYON), has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to declare a state of emergency in Aba, the commercial nerve of Abia State.

    In a communiqué at the end of its three-day quarterly conference in Aba, TYON decried the pathetic state of the ancient town, lamenting that Aba had become a shadow of itself and called for government’s urgent intervention.

    It called on the Federal Government to look into the infrastructural problems facing other ancient cities such as Ibadan, Kaduna, Port Harcourt, and Zaria.

    The communiqué, signed by the Acting Secretary Eric Oluwole, and Deputy Public Relations Officer Emmanuel Zopmal, hailed the efforts of the Buhari-led administration in addressing the insurgency in the Northeast.

  • Ikpeazu urged to extend road upgrade beyond Aba

    Ikpeazu urged to extend road upgrade beyond Aba

    While road rehabilitation in Aba, the commercial nerve of the Abia State, has impressed many, Governor Okezie Ikpeazu has been urged to extend the upgrade to other neighbouring towns.

    A chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state, Elder Goodluck Njoku made the appeal, even as he hailed the governor for his efforts.

    Njoku described the de-silting of drainage and rehabilitation of roads as a boost to trade and mark of good governance.

    “You can see that the governor has lived up to his words to change the face of the city. Road rehabilitation is going simultaneously in every part of the city including Umuahia, Umunneochi and Arochukwu. Aba has become a huge construction site. You can see the dredging of the Aba River which is a very laudable step because it will check the problem of flooding in Aba. There have been lots of improvements in these areas. The issue of multiple taxation has been a hydra -headed problem and waste management has received a great attention. I commend his Gov. Ikpeazu’s efforts; he started on a good and should keep the flag flying.”

    The PDP chief also enjoined residents of the state to support the ongoing rehabilitation efforts by disposing their waste at designated points.

    Said he “Residents of the state, particularly Aba, must play their part to enable the governor actualize his vision for the state. I know that expectations are too high, but people must be patient. Gov. Okezie Ikpeazu is a man of remarkable experience. He has been very outstanding in all his endeavours in life. I am sure he will put up a team capable of achieving his good intentions and be able to work out something for the good of the state. Though there are great challenges but Gov. Ikepazu has the capacity to overcome them.”

    He advised the governor to ensure that Aba town is decongested through embarking on development of satellite towns which would open up areas and opportunities for the residents of the state.

    “I believe Aba town is over populated, there is a great need to open up and develop other areas close to Aba to decongest the town. Adjoining towns like Owerri-Nta, Obehie, Osisioma Ngwa, Umuoba would perfectly fill the gap. It is not good that development has been concentrated in Aba urban since the town was founded. Gov. Ikpeazu, being the man I know, has a great vision for the state. I am not speaking for him but I know that he has a burning desire to transform Abia state to the next level.”

  • Aba’s date with history

    The proponents of the restructuring of the Nigeria nation are unrelenting. Some youths, with almost uncontrollable emotion, in collaboration with some sleepy-eyed conservatives have continued to remind us of the opportunism that pervades the political space of this country.

    The doctrine of restructuring Nigeria started in 1951, mostly in the Western Region. The doctrine was a self-serving political gimmick which unfortunately and unashamedly took notice of the natural resources of the three major components to which politicians divided Nigeria. In the Western Region stretching from Lagos to Asaba, the economy was buoyant, relying mostly on cocoa, kolanut, forest resources and human capital. In like manner, the Eastern block starting from Onitsha to Calabar and Port Harcourt was bountifully endowed with palm produce (palm kernel, palm oil and palm kernel oil). The North, a thoroughly agrarian society grew groundnut, millet, other grains, etc. The North therefore constituted the food basket of the nation. In terms of relativity, the economies of the three regions were buoyant enough as to be able to sustain a reasonable level of standard of living. Together these primary products earned appreciable foreign exchange. As of this time, the early 50’s, crude oil and gas have not been discovered in commercial quantity.

    The major advocates of restructuring (the West) thought that the bounties of nature in form of agricultural products would continue. In part therefore it was a self-serving political doctrine which by today’s calculation and climate change is no more realistic.

    Coincidentally, apart from changing political situation in the country, the economies of the major component units began to change dramatically. The eastern block which also comprised peoples other than those in the Ibo states suddenly found themselves in the fortunate circumstance of having crude oil, literally in their compounds and near homesteads. Almost at the same time, the production of primary exports began to shrink dramatically in the West and in the North, making the proponents of restructuring less vocal in the West, but the seed of the political slogan has been planted.

    With the full integration of the Nigerian economy, export of crude oil and gas took the front burner resulting into about 80-85% of our foreign exchange earnings. Yet, the remnants of the political opportunism of yester-years persist. The resurgence occurs occasionally before and during national elections when ‘migrant’ politicians move from one political party to another. For example during the last dispensation in Nigeria, President Goodluck Jonathan thought vainly that the best way to ‘capture’ the West was to inform the politicians that he would implement the reforms recommended by the last Confab, including what the West and Eastern blocks called ‘restructuring’. Indeed during the campaign, tribal chieftains in the South-south and their collaborators in the South-west pleaded passionately for restructuring. Unfortunately our national rulers who gave tacit support for such misadventure were hoodwinked and manipulated.

    During the last Confab, the delegations from South-west were loudest in favour of restructuring the Nigeria polity. I was wondering what kind of restructuring would take place considering the level of representation even of the states in the West at the Confab.  For example, by sheer manipulation, Ekiti was represented by five members, Ondo nine, Ogun 19, inclusive of the opportunists called Civil Society Groups. In a restructured Nigerian society, the imbalance even in the West would be so obvious that we would be exchanging one imperialism with another (with Ekiti five and Ogun 19!). This of course is totally unacceptable.

    The above reference is in fact a minor issue compared with the near-catastrophe that will befall a section of the Nigeria society, if ‘restructured’. Restructuring in its entirety means annexing, managing of internal resources and unlike the present system where the components of the federation dip their hands in to the national till, a restructured Nigeria bordering on confederation will make the federating units assume authority on all matters, except defence and external affairs while contributing funds to the national treasury.

    I keep on wondering whether our politicians in West, some of whom have gone round the parties, ever appreciate the near disastrous condition of our resources, cocoa plantations and our palm produce. For example, Nigeria once third producer and exporter of cocoa, (behind Ghana and Ivory Coast), is today at the bottom of the international league including Brazil. Where will the Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) come from to sustain a confederating Western Nigeria?

    I observe some young people who found themselves (husband and wife) at the National Conference now declaring themselves itinerant professors and making themselves available for incoherent lecture circuits in Nigeria. I am amused by the repetitive position of aged, if not saline Afenifere stalwarts who over the last 70 years have said nothing new. Apostles of ‘true federalism’ and ‘restructuring’ remind us of the 50’s and 60’s in the Western Region. In spite of the economic growth and funds available to government, development efforts and projects did not go round in the region. In my part of the region, Ondo Province, now Ondo and Ekiti states, there were no tarred roads, no pipe-borne water, only one hospital and no government sponsored educational institution. Is this the ‘true federalism’ we want?

    With all the above, one would ask what does the country need to survive as a nation? Minus our sluggish judicial system, there is nothing wrong basically with the present system. Problem is our institutions are not strong enough and we have not been led by the leadership that a nation like ours deserves. We only hope the present dispensation will bring out the change in our country and a quick adjudication of the problems that arise in the administration of the country.

    • Fasuan, MON, JP writes from Ado-Ekiti
  • Soldiers rescue female kidnap victim in Aba

    Soldiers rescue female kidnap victim in Aba

    Soldiers serving in 144, Asa under Ohafia 14 Brigade of the Nigerian Army, Abia State have recorded another success in their quest to tackle rising crime and insecurity in the state.

    The soldiers it was gathered rescued a female victim identified as Mrs. Rita Anaekwe, killed a member of the gang and arrested two others.

    Nation gathered that Mrs. Anaekwe, a business woman was abducted in her house on Anaekwe Street, Umuleta village, Obinkwu in Ukwa West Local Government after the gang had access into the woman’s compound through the backyard’s fence that they broke.

    They were said to have killed the family’s dog that had confronted them before they have full control of the house even as it was gathered that the woman’s husband was not at home when the incident happened.

    The hoodlums it was gathered collected the woman’s jewelries, cash and other valuables and later abducted her to their hideout with the family’s Pathfinder SUV

    Soldiers at 144 battalion was said to have been alerted over the development by a family source immediately after the incident, causing them to swing into action on how to rescue the woman.

    It was gathered that the hoodlums on sighting the army personnel, engaged them in a shootout but was however overpowered by the soldiers, killing a member of the kidnapping gang and arrested two members of the kidnapping gang.

    The woman was said to have been rescued unhurt while police from the Aba Area Command having been alerted of the incident also recovered her vehicle which had since been given back to her.

    The Commanding officer of 144 battalion, Lt. Col. Kasim Umar Sidi confirmed the incident and added that they were investigating the matter.

     

    Sidi added that his men were after fleeing members of the gang whom he said would soon be tracked down and arrested.

  • Seven exciting things to do in Aba

    Seven exciting things to do in Aba

    Say what you want about Aba – just do not call it boring. Fondly referred to as Enyimba city and regarded as the commercial hub of Abia State, south-east Nigeria, there is no shortage of things to do in the metropolis.

    The joy of Aba is at the street level, where everyday life unfolds with bewildering variety. If you are visiting and have no clue on what to do for fun, Jovago.com, Africa’s No. 1 online hotel booking portal has a roundup of the 7 fun things to do in this town.

    Visit the museum

    Although Aba is a compact city, it boasts of a great museum called the National Museum of Colonial History, a Federal Government establishment which serves as a research center and houses the history of the evolution of the State from pre-colonial till date.

    The museum is frequently visited by tourists as well as children for educational purposes. Spend time at this museum soaking up all the information you can on Nigeria’s rich history as well as the popular Aba Women Riot of 1929.

    Enjoy a sumptuous meal at Jevenik

    Jevenik Restaurant is a warm and friendly eatery that serves mouthwatering local dishes, simple continental meals such as fried rice and pasta, fries as well as tasty desserts that leave you deeply satisfied.

    The food is always delicious; portions are generous and come with an option of several different combos, and side orders.

    Like most restaurants in the city, you can’t book or pre-order and you are likely to have to queue on weekends. It might sound like a lot of stress, but, the food never lets you down. A stop here is well worth your time.

    Spend an evening at ICONS lounge

    Located within the Luxury City Hotel and Towers, ICONS lounge plays host to a health club, nightclub and Suya spot.

    This is where true music-heads in Aba looking for an authentic fix go to when they want to dance until the sun comes up. For ear-splitting beats and some hip gyrating, load your wallet with cash and hit the dance floor here. However, be prepared to walk out without a dime in your wallet at the end of the night as this spot is one of the priciest in the metropolis. Also, look out for the legendary Lady’s Night, which start at 6pm every Wednesday.

    Go swimming at terminus

    Terminus Hotel is quite popular in the city as the best hub for swimming. While this is free for those lodged at the hotel, visitors are allowed to take a dip for a token.

    This spot offers plenty of space for adults, tourists and neighborhood children to soak but it stays quiet, especially during midday hours. You can visit the hotel’s bar for a drink or the restaurant for some tasty delights.  However, ensure to leave your Kindle and electronic devices in your hotel room to avoid damage by water.

    Try a bus experience

    Like most places around the country, Aba has quite a number of options when it comes to public transportation. They include keke-na-peps, danfo buses and taxis.

    Take a joy ride on one of the buses from any major road junction and experience the fun of public transportation in Aba. There is always a funny or interesting story to tell afterwards, no matter how short the distance. It is also much more fun when you understand the local dialect – Igbo – or  have someone who can interpret it to you.You don’t want to take pictures or make videos in transit as other passengers may find it distasteful.

    Try the mutton suya at Aba Sports Club

    One of the oldest sports clubs in the town, this center still stands as a prime place for relaxation and mutton barbecue.

    On hand to take your order are waiters and suya ‘chefs’ who create the tastiest medley of roasted beef.

    Although not as fancy as other famous spots, around the country, the service is quite impressive and the flavour of the chops keeps you pinned to table ordering for more. A trip to Aba is not complete without exploring the piping hot meat, just off the grill at this Club.

    Explore Ahia Ohuru (New Market)

    This market may not be as popular as Ariaria International Market, however it is one of the largest trade centers in the city and the best place to experience the reality of Aba life. There are a variety of commodities on sale – including clothing, food items, furniture, shoes and art –  at the market. If you have no intention of doing actual shopping, a tour around the market in the morning is still an interesting thing to do.

  • FRSC tackles gridlock in Aba

    FRSC tackles gridlock in Aba

    Apart from bad roads and poor electricity supply, traffic congestion is another headache of residents of Aba, the commercial hub of the region. The good news: Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) is tackling it.

    This gridlock usually occurs during the morning and evening rush hours but sometimes even in the afternoon too.

    Apart from about 40 per cent of the intra-city roads in the commercial town, other factors that constitute gridlock include broken down and sometimes abandoned vehicles which sometimes stay on the road for up to a month or more before they are removed from the road.

    Regular visitors to the commercial city would attest to the frustration of motorists driving in or out of the town. Such motorists are often trapped in traffic especially along the Aba-Owerri Road leading in and out of the city through the Osisioma axis.

    Mercifully, the Aba unit of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) has begun evacuation of abandoned vehicles on major roads and streets in the commercial town.

    In a chat with The Nation, the Aba Unit Commander, FRSC, Mrs. Okora Awassam said that the need to keep the roads free from traffic congestion cannot be overemphasised.

    Awassam regretting the high level of indiscipline among drivers in Aba said that the agency would to tow vehicles abandoned on the road to their office along the Enugu-Aba-Port Harcourt Expressway which would be released to the owner after the payment of fine.

    “For weeks now, we have been going round clearing some of the abandoned vehicles on the road with our towing truck that was brought to us some weeks and within the period of time that we are going to be with the truck, it will be used to tow vehicles off the road and will be taken to our command unit where the driver or the owner of the vehicle will pay some fine before he will be allowed to leave with the vehicle.

    “What we need the public to do is to let us know where a broken down vehicle is abandoned on the road which is preventing free flow of traffic, we will definitely be there. We also have our bike person who uses the bike to rove round the streets and where it was spotted that a car is blocking or preventing free-flow of traffic, our towing van will be called upon to come and remove such on the road.

    “If you notice very well, you will see that we have started also removing abandoned cars on the expressway too. You will notice that some people after their vehicle breaks down on the road will leave it for a long time which is not in the interest of drivers and other road users because sometimes some drivers unknowingly ram into such stationary car. So, all we need from the public is for them to provide us with the right information and the exact location”.

    The FRSC boss who warned drivers especially commercial drivers to avoid drunk driving, disclosed that the agency would continue to engage the drivers from time-to-time with various awareness campaign exercises in their respective parks to ensure that the drivers imbibed the road safety consciousness and always have in mind that not only that they need to drive their passengers safely to their destinations, their (drivers family) also need them to come back home alive.

  • Traders defy orders to open for business

    Traders in Aba, Abia State on Thursday defied the orders of a pro-Biafra group, Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), asking them not to open for business on Tuesday.
    The order The Nation gathered was in solidarity with their Onitsha counterparts who had last week protested the relocation of some members of the Boko Haram sect at the Ekwulobia Prisons, Aguata Local Government Area of Anambra State.
    According to Police report, members of the pro-Biafra group had vowed to host a protest in commercial city which they expected traders of Ariaria International Market Aba to participate.
    The Aba Police Area Commander in a television in one of the local cable television stations in the state on Monday night urged Abia and Aba residents to defy the group’s directive and go about their normal businesses.
    Our reporter who monitored the situation in Aba reports that various markets in Aba opened for business as some security personnel on mufti were spotted in some corners around Ariaria International Market.
    A convoy of a combined team of security agencies (police,army among others) numbering 15 were sighted parading major roads in the commercial hub of Abia State, apparently to douse the tension.
    An unconfirmed report has it that there was partial adherence to the order by traders in Ariaria from 7am to at about 8:30am when Toyota Hilux with handful of soldiers came to the area and ordered that the shops should open for business.
    The authorities of the market could not be reached for comments but a trader who gave his name as Chukwuma said there was partial paralysis of commercial activities around the Ariaria market as most people had feared of being attacked.
    He added that they later opened for business after soldiers and other security agencies had left the area with assurance that they were in control of the security situation in Aba and within the market.
  • Grandma among paraded suspects in Aba

    Grandma among paraded suspects in Aba

    The police in Abia State have paraded three suspected members of a robbery gang allegedly specialising in dispossessing victims of their cars and other valuables.

    Two women have also been nabbed in the kidnap of a baby only a few weeks old. One of the suspects is said to be a grandmother, the other her daughter.

    The male suspects Promise Sunday, two commercial motorcyclists Uche Nwachukwu and Ugochukwu Okoro, both of Mgbarakuma village in Umuahia South Local Government Area of the state were arrested and brought to the Ubakala Police Station by soldiers after they allegedly robbed two female victims.

    The gang was said to have collected from their victim a handbag containing clothing valued at N27,500, shoes valued N7,500, necklace and earrings valued at N1,700, cream and perfume valued N2,000, one Samsung Galaxy X4, two Tecno phone valued N40,000, two Nokia phones valued N9,000, totalling N79,700.

    The victims who names were given as Jenifer Ekpeme of Okpuala Ngwa and Tochi Ngwaba of Umuode both in Isiala Ngwa North Local Government Area were said to have engaged the services of Promise Sunday and Uche Nwachukwu not knowing that the duo had evil intention against them.

    The Commissioner of Police, Joshiak Habila who spoke through the Command’s Public Relations Officer, Ezekiel Onyeke said that the suspects were followed by Ugochukwu Okoro in another motorcycle as he later joined his friends to rob the victims after brandishing machete and threatened to cut them to sizes if they refuses to cooperate with them.

    Onyeke said luck ran out on the gang when detectives from Ubakala Police station swooped on them.

    According to Onyeke, the police team was able to recover from the gang, three out of the four phones, necklace/earring, perfume/pomade, two machetes, three motorcycles, one Army face cap, one LG TV, one Sony/LG DVD, one Kenwood deck, two speakers and one standing fan.

    He said that investigation into the matter were still ongoing.

    In another development, two women whose names were yet to be obtained as at the time of this report, have been arrested at Umunna Nsulu in Isiala Ngwa North Local Government Area of the state by the police.

    The women, according to reports, were arrested by police over the role the grandmother and her daughter played in an alleged abduction of a week old baby by yet to be identified abductors.

    The initial report was that unknown gunmen attacked the resident of the family to abduct the baby after the mother had allegedly lost one of her children during childbirth.

    According to a source who pleaded anonymous, “The situation in the first instance attracted pity by members of the community but the women shot themselves in the foot when they told police that they raised alarm which the people living around their house countered. Because, according to them, there is no way that the two women could have raised alarm without members of the family not being aware.

    “In fact, a member of the kinsmen had claimed that the women were overheard making arrangements for a shop before the incident happened which raised suspicions that they connived with the abductors to sell the baby”.

    The state Police Public Relations Officer, Onyeke in a telephone chat confirmed the incident though he said he was out of the state on official assignment.

    According the PPRO, who said he was yet to be properly briefed on the matter by the divisional police in whose jurisdiction the incident happened, added that the matter and the suspects have been transferred to the state CID for further investigation into the matter.

  • ‘We did more in Aba than any other administration’

    ‘We did more in Aba than any other administration’

    Former Governor Theodore Orji of Abia State was among the two-term governors who handed power over to their successors. He ascended to power in a turbulent manner. During his tenure, his erstwhile principal hung on his tail. He spoke with Steve Osuji and Taiwo Ogundipe in Umuahia, the state capital, on partisan issues.

    What do you think you would miss the most after you would have left office?

    I don’t think I’ll be missing much because I’ll still be in touch with my people who have elected me to go to the Senate. I would have been pained if I was severed from my people So I would not be missing much; the only thing is I will be in the Senate. But constantly I will be coming home to be in touch with my people. These are my people who love me and I love them; who voted for me to be governor for eight years. They voted for me in the first instance in 2007, voted again massively for me in 2011 to continue, and voted for me again to go to the Senate. They have shown me love, they have spoken that they want me. So, I will not be missing them because I’ll be coming home to interact with them.

    Looking back after eight years, are there things you wish you had done better or which you couldn’t accomplish?

    Yes, of course. Aba has been the problem. Because of what people are saying, what I should have done was to concentrate solely on Aba, maybe that way people would agree you we were doing something. But I wasn’t elected by Aba people alone; the whole of Abia people voted for me to be governor, therefore I had to touch everywhere; this is what I was doing. Maybe if I had left Umuahia and the other areas and concentrated on Aba, poured all the State’s money in Aba, they would been hailing me today that I have done very well. But I am satisfied in my conscience that I touched every part of Abia in terms of spreading dividends of democracy. And for you to concentrate on Aba alone, it means that all the money that we got would go into that place, because the work there is enormous in terms of infrastructure. People expected me to think that if I had known I should have poured all the money into Aba, but it’s not possible. This is the state capital; it has to look like a state capital. People don’t talk about Umuahia, it’s only people who come here who say, ‘he has improved Umuahia’, which I have done and brought it to the status of a state capital. People overlook that. Because of the strategic nature of Aba, that’s why all attention is on it. If I am a governor that seeks attention, a TV governor, yes, of course, I would have probably been in Aba every day, leaving the rest of the state, but it would not be fair in my conscience that I concentrated the resources of Abia State in just one area.

    What would you advise your successor on the best way to tackle Aba’s problem?

    He’s an Aba man. So, already, he knows the problems and he’s going to tackle them. And that’s why we believe in this equity that I’m telling you; because as an Aba man, he’s going to work and build up that place. Not that I didn’t make a mark in Aba, if I tell you what we have done in Aba you will marvel. I actually made a mark there more any other administration.

    Mention a few, sir…

    If you go to Aba now, we are building a modern shopping mall at Osisioma. We’ve been able to keep Aba clean. Till now; before now it wasn’t like this. I remember vividly before 2007, Aba-Port Harcourt Road at Osisioma was a mountain of refuse that would not allow you to pass, and if you were passing you must hold a handkerchief and cover your nose. It was bad to the extent that el-Rufai made a mockery of the government on seat then (Gov. Orji Uzor Kalu’s era). But our own situation has not reached that stage. We’ve been able to at least see that the hygiene situation in Aba is controlled.

    What of erosion? We’ve controlled erosion. The only overhead bridge that you have in Aba now, just across the polytechnic – the polytechnic is on the Aba-Owerri road – every day vehicles knocked down students. Bus stop is there and we had to build the only overhead bridge there. What of the roads that we have repaired and new ones that we have built in Aba? Are people saying that we have been here for eight years and we have not repaired any road in Aba, we have not built any road in Aba? The infrastructural decay was so much that as you are working on one street they want you to come and work on another; if you repair this road now, they will be pointing at another one for you. Eight years is not enough for you to repair all the roads in Aba, and it’s capital-intensive. The money must be there too. Therefore, we repaired many roads in Aba. If the commissioner for works is here, I would give you the details of all the roads. We built new ones; at least the one that leads to Geometric, the power plant, a fresh road to allow the company bring in equipment and we named it Geometric Road.

    Security?

    What of security? There was a time, and I always tell Aba people if there’s no other thing you remember me for, you will remember me because I secured your city. During the kidnapping era, all of them ran away. Aba was a ghost town. It reminded me of the war period. I went to Aba myself with Gen. Sarkin Bello who was the commander at that time. We went to Okwa west where the kidnapping was going on and we saw in Aba nobody, all of them had run away. But, eventually, by the help of God, we were able to restore security in Aba and people have come back.  All the same, we have made our own impact in Aba more than any other administration, check it. And we expect also that the incoming government will make their own impact and improve on what we did.

    What is going to be your agenda in the Senate?

    I think the primary function of a law maker is to initiate good bills that will be for the good of society. We will initiate good bills for good governance. We will also try as senator to interface with our colleagues, interface with ministers, interface with ministries to attract some projects to our constituency and area. And you know we are in opposition now (laugh), we will also offer good opposition, not destructive opposition, not pull him down opposition; but constructive opposition in directing government of the day on good courses of action.

    Talking about the opposition, what’s your take as a leader of the Southeast. Did they vote right?

    Well, people voted according to their conscience. And if you look, with hindsight, that has been the pattern of voting in the Southeast. The PDP is strong in the Southeast and that’s what the people showed; you would not say that they voted wrongly, they voted according to their conscience. They were not forced to vote for any person. All the parties came and campaigned, and they went for PDP because they are for PDP. PDP is strong in the Southeast. PDP has Anambra, it has Abia, it has Ebonyi, it has Enugu State; sorry, Anambra is APGA, though it used to be PDP, and Imo is APC. So you see that PDP is dominant here.

    Don’t you think you will be short-changed, somehow, in national politics?

    No, we are in opposition. You can’t short-change us, we will shout. You have to give us our due; you have to give us what belongs to us. And for you to make an impact in the Southeast, if you want to make an inroad, you will have to perform. People will see what you are doing and when they appreciate it they will vote for you. It’s not by force, it’s by performance. It’s by what you do for the people – what you do for them will attract them; if you treat them shabbily, they will vote for you shabbily.

    Let’s go back to the election. Did you achieve your mission, according to the charter of equity?

    By Ikpeazu’s victory in the last election, the charter of equity was well served and that was what guided us in what we did. Let me also tell you that the best charter of equity is the Bible; not the one human beings have done. The best charter of equity is the Bible for Christians, and the Quran for Muslims. And in the Bible, God said I am a God of fairness, I am a God of justice and I am a God of equity. How do you translate that to reality? It’s by what you have done. Since the Bible has said God is a God of fairness, justice and equity. We are supposed to interpret these things and implement them as a witness of God; that’s what we did.

    Now referring to charter of equity, which is in line with what I’m telling you, so we are covered very well when we embarked on this mission, and our party, PDP, considered all this that I’m telling you. We said in Abia, we have three senatorial zones; fairness, justice and equity (three words). So, Abia North has done its bit, and that’s fairness; Abia Central is doing its own, and that justice; Abia South should have their own, and that should be equity. That’s what has catapulted us to this position that we are now and it has worked out because it is based on solid foundation.

    How did your predecessors fare in this charter of equity pact?

    Did they talk about it? I can’t remember any of my predecessors that has said this thing, rather some of them were saying that they would hold power for donkey years; that power can never move. Go and ask the Ukwa-Ngwa people, they will tell you. They were the people who were saying it that past governors were specific and said power would never come to them. And that’s why, today, they are very appreciative, that somebody has come and said, ’ah, you are my people, we are one.’ This thing should rotate like this, so that every person can have a taste of power and can show his performance in governance.

    Is this the first time power is going to that side?

    Since Adam and Eve, since they were created, Ukwa-Ngwa people have never been governor; either military or civilian. This is the first time, and that’s why they are happy.

    And there’s peace?

    Yes, there’s peace.

    The main contender, from which part is he?

    He’s from Arochukwu

     Should anybody fault that power should go to the other side

    That is the problem. That’s why we are not very comfortable with his stance because we believe as a true son of Abia, he should allow peace to reign. He is not from Ukwa-Ngwa he’s from Arochukwu local government, his house is there. He has a very big house in Arochukwu local government, that’s his place. But because of his ambition, he wants to be governor by all means. He now decided to deny that he is from Arochukwu. Even where he says he comes from doesn’t favour him because it’s in Abia Central. And when he came to me on this issue, I told him, that we, as a party, have decided that this thing should move this way. He said that he’s an Ukwa-Ngwa man; that’s what he told me. If you are then go and convince them, because there’s no way they can appreciate you more than their own son. So that’s the problem he’s having, because what we have done is built on solid foundation, religiously and otherwise.

    Let’s go national now. The economic problem in the country whereby some states are not able to pay  workers’ salaries, what do you think is happening?

    You know our main source of income is the oil, and when the price falls it affects every other thing. It’s a global problem, it’s affecting us now. What you have said is correct; many states are owing. Like my state, even though we are not owing civil servants, there are some parastatals that are supposed to be self-sustaining that we are owing, and teachers also. It’s not peculiar to Abia, it’s everywhere. We just ask those that are being owed to be patient and that with time they will be paid. This is not the first time this kind of thing is happening. It happened before. When the economy is bad it affects every other sector.

    What are the immediate and long term steps we should begin to look at towards solving this problem?

    The immediate problem is to tell the people to brace up for lean times. Then internally generated revenue; people have to pay their taxes, as there are many who don’t pay taxes. If you go to some to pay taxes they would bring out machete and pursue you. So, we have to drive for internally generated revenue with all amount of seriousness so that you don’t depend on the federal government for allocation. And people have to be resourceful also; people have to be self-sustaining. Everybody should not be looking for white collar jobs – you want to go and work in the ministry, you want to go and work in the bank, you want to go and work in oil sector. We want you to be self-sustaining, open up your own business and grow. Let there be less dependence on government, so that government can concentrate on other things; every month, the fund you use to pay salaries is more than what you use to work.

    In your major legacy projects, what percentage would you give yourself?

    I will give myself 85 %, because I can’t score myself 100%, which is an A in the legacy projects that I have done. First, I was able to bring together all Abians; before, this place was polarised. I was able to bring all of them together, it’s a major achievement. Now, I was able to bring security, which is essential. Whenever I am talking about the legacy projects, I describe them as tangibles and intangibles. The ones I’m telling you are the intangible ones; the cohesion I have brought in Abia, the politics I have brought in Abia, the focusing of Abia people’s mentality is something, the fear of God also that we have brought into Abia, which is one of the things people neglect. You dare not come to Abia and mention any shrines anymore they will stones you. So, these are some of the intangible legacy projects that we are leaving behind.

    The tangible ones are there for all to see in every sector. Starting with the foundational ones; the foundation we have laid? We have a new secretariat for civil servants, before now, civil servants were all scattered in town. If you go now you see a new secretariat, and they have moved in. The BCA (Broadcasting Corporation of Abia) if you go to their office now, you have a sense of belonging working there, the International Conference Centre, where we held the thanksgiving ceremony, is world class. The court premises, the new ones we have built and those that we have renovated, the schools that we have built and renovated many of them, the hospitals that we have built and I will commission three this week when equipment have been put there in local government areas that have not had a general hospital before. Is it the Specialist Hospital or Diagnostic Centre we have here in Umuahia? Is it the youth empowerment that we are doing, that has energised most of our youths? These are the legacy projects. Right now, we have a new Government House that is almost ready. We’ve never had a Government House since Abia was created, it has not been easy. And it’s about 80% complete. I had intended spending a night there at least before handing over, but because the way our finances have turned around negatively. This month is the worst in terms of allocation from the Federation Account.