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Tag: abia

  • Abia to hold carnival

    The Abia State government is to hold the first-ever carnival where the indigenes of the state who are in

    show business will be urged to showcase their talents and let the people who have not seen them to see them and admire what they have been doing outside the state.

    Speaking in Umuahia, the Chief of Staff [COS] to the governor, Cosmos Ndukwe, said that the carnival, which has the theme, “showcasing our cultural heritage”, is part of the fruitful restoration and transformation of the state through displaying the rich culture of the state.

    Ndukwe said many people do not know that the sizeable percentage of those who make entertainment industry tick in the country are Abians, adding that the people of the state are eager to see them live.

    He explained that there are many tourism sites in the state, and that many more are being discovered on daily basis, stressing that the carnival will afford those coming for the event to see what the state has to offer in the tourism industry.

    The COS said: “This carnival will offer Abia youths a dynamic tool for self-expression and exploration and provide a platform for us to prove to the world what tourism destination we as a state have become”.

    Ndukwe said the carnival will feature rich cultural displays which will have financial rewards for the youths of the state who have distinguished themselves, especially in the social world.

    He said: “As it has always been the case, the reward would be to boost their endeavours, while serving as a formidable springboard for the upcoming ones. We intend to gather our best together for the world to appreciate”.

    The COS said the organisers of the carnival will exploit their relationship with the corporate world to source for funds and called other distinguished Abians both at home and abroad to identify with the noble cause.

    He explained that the state government is already talking with some of the corporate bodies and distinguished Abians to see how they can key into the great opportunity to help themselves, the state and the people.

  • Abia rewards 12 pupils with cash, scholarships

    Abia State Governor Theodore Orji has given scholarship to 12 pupils who came first in the Pre-Centenary Inter-state Presidential debate for primary schools and the inter-state science exhibition for primary schools in Abuja.

    The governor spoke in Umuahia when he received the 12 pupils and their teachers.

    The scholarship to the 12 pupils will take them up to the university level. They will also get N100,000 in appreciation of their feat.

    Six of the pupils took part in the Pre-Centenary Inter-state Presidential debate for primary schools and the other six took part in a competition by the Science Teachers’ Association of Nigeria.

    Orji said: “I don’t want this pledge to end here. I will approve same and get the money out for them to deposit in their banks.”

    He gave the N1 million to the teachers.

    He said: “This is for the good works you the teachers have done on the pupils to make them come first during the presidential debate and science exhibition.”

     

  • Who succeeds Orji in Abia?

    Who succeeds Orji in Abia?

    Abia State Governor Theodore Orji will complete his second term  in 2015. Correspondent UGOCHUKWU UGOJI-EKE writes on the succession battle in the state chapter of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

    Six years ago, Abia State Governor Theodore Orji succeeded his former boss, Chief Orji Kalu, against all odds. He was in detention when he won the governorship election. In two years, he will face the same challenge of succession. The resolution of the challenge, observers contend, will be crucial to his post-2015 political calculations.

    Since the state was created, Abia North District has monopolised the number one seat. The first governor, Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu, hails from Uburu in the present day Ebonyi State. The second governor, Dr. Kalu, hails from Uburu, Bende Local Government. Orji, a native of Ibeku Kingdom, served him as the Chief of Staff.

    Following the protracted feud between Kalu and former President Olusegun Obasanjo, the former governor defected from the PDP to the Progressive Peoples Party (PPA), on which platform Orji was elected. But when crisis broke out between Kalu and Orji, the latter defected to the PDP. Although Kalu has also returned to the PDP, the crisis between them has not abated. Today, in Abia State, the internal opposition leader in the ruling PDP is the former governor.

    Both Kalu and Orji are from the Bende Division. Therefore, as agreed by the founding fathers of the state, power should rotate to the Old Aba Division, which is the Ngwa/Ukwa axis.

    Party sources said that Orji is interested in implementing the rotational agreement between the Old Aba and Bende. However, there are some hurdles to cross. Despite the fact that the governor had assured the people of old Aba division that a man from that area will succeed him, some politicians from the South are still itching to succeed the governor. Their argument is that, when Kalu and Orji were struggling to become governors, the people of the Bende Division also showed interest in the race.

    The governor has insisted on the previous agreement. At a recent meeting with the traditional rulers from Isiala Ngwa, Orji said: “Mark my words, the people of Abia South are going to produce the next governor of the state”.

    The assurance has become a tonic for the PDP chiefs from the Abia South. Traditional rulers from the zone have also added their voice. The Umuola Egbelu monarch, Eze Love Wogu, called on the political parties zone the governorship to the district in the interest of equity, justice and fair play. He said there is no shortage of competent politicians to fill the slot. Eze Wogu said that it will be wrong for the position to go to another district in 2015, urging the Ukwa/Ngwa people to also put their house in order.

    The monarch said that the leaders of the area will back any candidate from the zone. “So long as he or she comes from Ukwa/Ngwa area, we are ready to back the candidate”, he maintained.

    The traditional ruler recalled that the state had subscribed to “a charter of equity” as its guiding principle, which says that elective positions would be shared between the old Aba and old Bende, adding that the charter must be obeyed in the interest of political stability.

    Eze Wogu said that, since the creation of the state 22 years ago, the people of Old Bende have ruled the state. “Therefore, it is expedient that power should rotate to Ukwa/Ngwa for the political stability of the state”, he stressed.

    The monarch praised the governor for endorsing power shift. He said that courage is rare in politics, urging him to maintain that integrity till the end of his tenure. The state has two blocs, the old Bende and old Aba, and not the senatorial zones. This issue of senatorial zones should be discarded. The Ukwa/Ngwa people should be allowed to compete for the post of the governor. The people of the old Aba are one happy family”, he said.

    On whether the zone can agree on a consensus candidate, Eze Wogu said that decision cannot be taken by traditional rulers. “But, it is the right of the political parties to do that through their primaries or congress and not the people or the Ezes”, he added.

    He noted that the governor had already made a promise to his people that he would want the governor of Ukwa/Ngwa extraction to succeed him, “We are expecting the governor to fulfill his promise to this group of people, as a promise is like a debt, which must be paid”, Eze Wogu said.

    The traditional ruler said that as the people of Ukwa/Ngwa clamour for power shift, they should also remain dedicated to the struggle for the creation of Aba State. He said, if the new state is created, there will be a balanced equilibrium among the six geo-political zones.

    So far, six governorship aspirants are on the track. Although they have not openly declared their intention, they are holding consultations with the stakeholders. They have been visiting home more regularly in recent times. All of them are from the old Aba Division. They are Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, Senator Nkechi Nwogu, Chris Nkwonta, Labour and Productivity Minister Emeka Wogu, Acho Nwakanma, and F. Nwoso, a lawyer. Others may still join the race next year.

    Nwoso is an experienced lawyer and friend of the governor. He has handed some legal briefs for the PDP. Many party chieftains admire him for his humility and dedication to the PDP cause. But, he is not perceived as a politician in the real sense of the word.

    Wogu is a popular politician and he enjoys intimacy with the governor. He also seems to have political structure. But his close associates denied his ambition, saying that he prefer to focus on his ministerial job for now.

    Abaribe has a good profile. In the Senate, he is not a bench warmer. He is the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Media.

    Nwogu is an Amazon. She has the supporters of the women and youths. She also has a grassroots appeal.

    Nwakanma is a former deputy governor. He also close to the governor.

    However, a source said that, since Orji will want to remain relevant in the state after his tenure, he may support a candidate, who will do his bidding, defend his legacies; a candidate who will accord him the respect of a leader. However, many people fear that this may not be possible because permanent political loyalty is a scare commodity in Abia politics.

  • ‘Keeping someone in prison without trial is illegal, wicked’

    ‘Keeping someone in prison without trial is illegal, wicked’

    When was the idea of Prisonners’  Right Advocacy Initiative (PRAI)  conceived and why?
    PRAI was conceived when I was a youth corps member in Abia State. I remembered when I was in the university, we visited prisons often and since then, I had promised to look into the plight of prisoners and many innocent people languishing in prison and promised myself and God that when I am through with the university, we would assist them. We even promised some of the inmates that we are going to assist them when we are through.
    When I served in Abia State, immediately after my call, I assisted a lot of prisoners there. For this, I won the best corper award for the state and on finishing youth service, I thought it would be good to continue the good work as it is, hence the floating of PRAI. We started doing our work at the Kirikiri Maximum Prison.

    Who motivated you into floating the NGO ?
    When I was in Abia State in 2009/2010, there was this boy called Chidi. I can’t remember his surname again, who was in prison for nine years awaiting trial. He was arrested on his way from a football match and dumped in the prison. While there, because of his incarceration, his dad died, his mother died and he almost lost his sight until we visited and got him out. That was one peculiar case that really motivated me. And also the first set of inmates that I filed fundamental rights application for at the Kirikiri Maximum Prison. The inmates had spent upwards of 13 years awaiting trial. One of them even developed a kidney disease; one was attacked by some thugs. He was stabbed and with the injury, he was kept in prison unattended. He was there for six years. These stories I am telling you, for most of the inmates, they lost their families while there. Because of their problem, some of them developed hypertension probabaly because of thinking and they died. These are some of the cases that motivated me at the earlier stage.
    How many ATs have earned freedom through the initiative?
    We have had over a 100 in that category and that was from 2011 to date and they are mainly from Kirikiri Maximum Prison. I remembered that when the CJ, Justice Phillips came on board, that was the time we heard written on behalf of about 131 prison inmates, out of which we later filed matter for 106. I think we had written in that letter the age and names of the inmates and others in prison across Lagos State. I think this motivated the AG to further have discussion with the CJ. You would remember that about 233 inmates were released and they were largely from the list we forwarded to the AG.

    So, how would you describe the journey so far?
    It has been fulfilling and it has also been very hard because we had done this from my pocket, from the meagre amount I earned from the practice in the law firm I work with. It has been more of a personal effort up to date. But we have not been deterred by the fact that we don’t have funds or foreign sponsorship. This is our own way of giving back to the society and we definitey believe that there is a reward for everything one does even when we do not know that they were watching us. At the IBA conference, there is this award for Pro Bono lawyers. Though I did not win, there are a lot of applications, but from feelers we got from the IBA, particularly, Channels Television journalist who posted on her Twitter page, I was recognised, in fact, the only Nigerian recognised for this particlar award. A lot of people forwarded applications but they recognised only a few. Our application was qualitative enough to be so recognised. That was fulfilling. The person who won it has been at it for 12 years. I have just been at it for two years. I know that as we move on, we would get recognition by the grace of God and that is fulfilling.

    Does it ever occurred to you that some of these people whose cases you take up might become a problem to the society?
    We are not judging. Our problem is not in their incarceration, so to speak, if it had been done the right way. There is no justification for keeping someone in prison longer than is necessary. He should be tried and tried appropriately. There is no reason for keeping an underage in prison, for instance. That is one of the issues we are facing. They have no business in the prison. They are to be in correctional centres, which I am not sure are adequate enough. If the law says they should not be there, then they should not be there. Because what we have done is to follow the law strictly. One of the cases we are handling is that of those people allegedly killed by the police from Makinde Station in Oshodi. The bottom line is not whether they are guilty or not. What we are advocating is that they have a right, which is very fundamental. And we try in our little way to rehabilitate them within our means, even if we feel that they have been unjustly kept there, even if they are criminals. Because we are not the courts and trial has not been done to determine that.

    Aside from handling the problem of awaiting trials, what other matters do you take?
    I am a lawyer. I practise and I do general matters. I am also an arbitrator and I am a member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and practise law – labour laws, medical laws, civil and criminal laws. So, I do general matters. I am also involved in sports. I have another NGO trying to develop future champions. We have Q-Madi Martial Arts Development Initiative and we have done a lot and all of my boys will be going for junior Olympics by the grace of God.
    Recently, a retired Justice of the Supreme Court suggested that we expunge issue of jurisdiction from our statute books to fast-track quick dispensation of matters in court. What is your position on this?
    I do not support that it should be totally expunged from our laws because there are some cases in which it might be justified. It is not in all cases that jurisdiction might be seen as frivolous because the court should have the power of what it wants to do. So, I am not in support of it. But it must be used rarely.

    What is your perception of corruption in the judiciary?
    Well, I have not done any matter which I suspect that a judge have been biased. But I have heard about it. We have done cases that were decided on their merit. And we have done others not so decided, but I believe that there is corruption in the judiciary. I believe that thete should be full steps taken against corrupt judges. May be when one or two or three are sent to prison, others would sit up. And I think the issue of corruption should be tackled from the home to the top. So, if parents did not cut corners for their children to gain promotion to the next class, for instance, these are some of the simplest cases of corruption, I think the society would be better for it. Let us start from the lowest ebb up to the top echelon- the executive, the legislature and the judiciary. I think the corruption in the judiciary mirrored what is happening in the society. Almost all facets of the society is corrupt. The only reason we focus on the judiciary is because the judiciary is the last arbiter and if they are corrupt then you can be sure that there won’t be any light at the end of our tunnel.

    As somebody conversant with the law, what advise will you give the Senator Okurounmu-led committee on National Dialogue?
    First and foremost is the issue of the environment. I do not envisage a situation where Nigerians would be called upon to come and dialogue. I don’t know how realistic this can be. I cannt imagine the venue that would use for such. The first issue should be on the criteria for the selection of delegates because it must be the mirror of the lowest of the low. Those who feel the pinch must be represented. Those are my minute duties about the area of delegation. And I think the committee should just ensure that they are open minded. I also support the call that that there should be no limit; that there should be no agenda setting. Let everybody come there and pour out their minds and hopefully, we would get a good result this time around. When most committee are set up, I am most times pessimistic about the result, espcially by this government. But let us see the requirements. I doubt if it will solve our problems, but let’s see give it a trial. Let’s see, may be, this will solve our problem. I don’t think so, but let’s see  how far  it goes because the problem of this country is mainly that of corruption and I don’t see this conference as solving the problem of corruption.

    Why law? Would you have preferred another profession?
    Well, when I was growing up, I didn’t know any other profession as I knew law because my dad is a lawyer. I wanted to become a lawyer because he was a lawyer. So, I grew up finding myself in law. Having come into law, aiding people, seeing people progressing every day, solving the problems of the downtrodden and putting smiles on their faces has made me love law all the more.

    So has it been practising in the same chamber with your father?
    It is just like practising anywhere. I don’t see much advantage in it. It is more or less like being at home. May be, that would give you some leverage to also do some things and I am speaking to my father I have known over the years. So I know how to get him to accede to my request. May be, that is just all about it.

    So, when were you called to the bar?
    I was called to the bar in 2009. So, I am about five years in practice.

    Since you started practice, what has been the challenges?
    The challenges majorly is the delay in courts, frequent adjournments, cases taking years in court. These have been the major challenges.

    So, what do you see as the way out of this?
    May be as it was said at the stakeholders forum during the begining of the new legal year that lawyers should be informed when the court is not sitting and it must be for just cause, especially when it has to do with criminal matters. I am presently handling a criminal matter where the earliest adjournment you have is two to three months and this person has been in prison since the year 2000. We woke up the Ministry of Justice by filing a fundamental right application and he was charged to court last year. Since he was charged to court, we have heard adjournments upon adjournments and the case is yet to be concluded. I think the judiciary should be alive to its duty. There must be adequate monitoring. Where a case stays longer than is necessary, the judge should be queried.

    What is your most memorable experience?
    Sincerely, I can’t pinpoint any because I had so many and we have so many works in progress. We have won so many cases. So, I can’t think of any particular moment that is more memorable than the other. But any time I win a case, I am happy.

    And when you lose?
    Unfortunately, I am yet to lose any. And even if I lose, the world goes on as if we had a good a case and won it.

    Your first day in court, was it with your father or you went alone?
    My first day in court was in Abia State  while I was serving as a youth corps member. There was nothing special about it because the way we were trained in the law school, I was very thorough and we were already used to the system. When I led my team to the court, the magistrate who presided said we did practically well even better than lawyers who practise outside. We started the new curriculum at the law school and we were well- groomed. So, I didn’t see it as anything special.

    Would you support those advocating a review of the Law School curriculum?
    I do not see anybody who attended the Law School and who participated fully in its activities the way we did when the new curriculum started and who was in Lagos campus, may be in other campuses, I do not see anybody who attended Lagos campus saying he was not well groomed or asking for a drastic change in the curriculum of the law school. The curriculum that we met was African and was the best.

     

     

     

  • APC decries attack on Abia members

    APC decries attack on Abia members

    •It’s an assault on democracy, says party

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) has condemned the attack by suspected Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) thugs on its members in Abia State. The party also decried the disruption of the party’s meeting on September 17, saying the kind of intolerance and brigandage demonstrated by the PDP government negate the very essence of democracy.

    In a statement in Lagos yesterday by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party described such an unprovoked attack, carried out by 10 young men armed with guns, machetes and wooden sticks as very dangerous and a manifestation of misdirected aggression.

    It said if parties that hold sway in a certain state would not allow other parties to meet, then a direct arrow would have been fired at the very heart of democracy and the nation’s Constitution.

    “Freedom of association is guaranteed by the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The intolerance demonstrated by the PDP government in Abia State, which unleashed hired party thugs on a peaceful gathering of the APC in Abia Central Senatorial District on September 17, is undoubtedly a violation of the Constitution and an attack on democracy itself.

    “It is the same intolerance that has driven the larger PDP to the brink of extinction, the same anti-democratic acts that have seen one faction of the ruling party unleash the security agencies against the other, and the same impunity that has turned a ruling party to an agent of destabilisation of the polity,’’ APC said.

    The party praised its members in Abia for being law-abiding and for refusing to descend to the same level of brigandage as the PDP, considering the scale of the attacks that left several APC members injured and 10 vehicles, 15 motorcycles, 500 plastic chairs, public address system and others destroyed.

    “We are particularly impressed by the maturity of the APC leaders in Abia who, instead of engaging the PDP thugs in a fire-for-fire stance, showed utmost restraint and then reported the incident to the Commissioner of Police.

    “We hereby call on the police and other security agencies in the state to prevent a recurrence of such attacks. We urge the PDP-run government in the state to allow democracy to thrive, while appealing to our members in Abia to remain peaceful,’’ APC said.

  • Coming of Abia industrial city

    Who says leadership is all about staying by the side to cynically and sentimentally criticise even when you are not capable of doing better? Leadership is all about having a vision, seeing beyond today, and planning for future. That was what the present government in Abia State has shown with her recent plans to relocate the popular Ariaria market in the commercial city of Aba to Osisioma community which is just about one kilometre from Aba town.

    The plan is a welcome development and a step in the right direction. One of the greatest problems facing the commercial city of Aba today is the congestion caused by the abuse of the master plan of the city by residents in connivance with some corrupt officials of the successive governments in the state before now. Before now, no government in the state has ever thought of decongesting Aba through the relocation of some markets and expansion of the area.

    But today, the present government has taken the bull by the horn by entering into a Memorandum of Understanding with a private development company to construct ultramodern workshops and warehouses on about 200 hectares of land to be structured on build, operate and manage basis for 35 years. The project, known as Abia International Industrial City (ABIIC) is expected to gulp $1billion dollars with an estimated 200,000 jobs to be created in the process.

    The move is sequel to an advice from former World Bank President, Paul Wolfowitz and Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister for the Economy, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, both of whom visited the market back in 2005 to assess its economic potentials. Even though the relocation exercise would be voluntary, no right thinking person or trader hates good thing. When the project is completed, it is expected that most traders in Ariaria Market will not delay in relocating to the city because of the conducive and strategic nature of the place after completion. The city will attract more investors to the state and will also uplift the commercial city of Aba to international standard.

    On its part, the state government has been in high-level talks with various organisations, some of which include the Bank of Industry (BOI), United Nations Development Organisation (UNIDO), Central Bank of Nigeria CBN, Nigeria Investment Promotion Council (NIPC), Ministries of Trade and Investment as well as that of Labour and Productivity to see how they could be factored in making the project a great success. The project which is expected to take off September will have its first phase completed by December 2014.

    Naturally, a lot of people would be wondering why this initiative now when the current administration has less than two years in office. The issue is that the project has been conceptualized to outlive the current administration and to explore other viable means of income to the state. The project was borne out of the need to establish key sectors of the economy that have the potential to transit Abia State specifically and Nigeria ultimately from being dependent entirely on the oil sector and unlock the several other economic fortunes of the state.

    With this development, the state government has proved critics wrong again that nothing good comes to the state. Before investors would be prepared to invest such huge money in the state, they must have done their feasibility study which must have proved positive that they would not only get their returns, but that the atmosphere is conducive and devoid of insecurity for them to operate. It has equally demonstrated the state government’s mastery of Public-Private Partnership initiatives (PPP), coming so soon after the partnership agreement with MEDICURE which brought about the successful completion and commissioning of Abia Specialist and Diagnostic Hospital Umuahia. The government has also extended the same gestures to other investors in the state. That is why Nigerians have not heard any case of disagreement between the state government and investors in the state, a development that has encouraged investors to be trooping into the state to explore investment opportunities.

    One could only imagine what would have been the state of Aba today had the government in the state in 2005 hearkened to the advice of the then World Bank President, Wolfowitz and Okonjo-Iweala on the need to build industrial city centre in Aba. That they did not is yet another indication of how visionless and greedy those who pretend to be the leaders of the people are. Of course, such candid and salutary advice from world economic experts was an anathema – particularly as few politically connected individuals actually owned most of the shops in Ariaria market! Heeding the advice would have been tantamount to going against the express wishes of Mama Excellency. That was the major reason the government in the state then did not give it thought.

    It is of course significant that the project is coming on board at a time Geometric Power Nigeria Limited has completed her power plant in Aba; this is another indication that the project would be a huge success. With this, it is expected that by the end of the next year, the commercial city will attain the status of a global industrial city.

     

    • Dr. Ukaegbu, an investment analyst wrote from Abuja

     

     

  • Abia taskforce not terrorist— chairman

    The chairman, Abia State Taskforce on Environment and Allied Matters, Capt. Awa Udonsi Agwu(rtd), has denied allegation that his team was unleashing terror on private motor park owners in Aba, the commercial hub of the state.

    Private park owners during a peaceful protest in the commercial city of the state had alleged that their businesses suffered great losses due to what they described as constant harassment by the taskforce team in the last one year.

    However, Capt. Agwu at press briefing denied the allegation, stressing that the taskforce in the last one year has exhibited high sense of civility in carrying out its assignments and has never had any cause to embarrass or being embarrassed by any individual in the cities of Umuahia and Aba respectively.

    According to him, “when we moved into the mandate of removing illegal and unauthorised motor parks, asking them to go back to government approved parks, we knew it might not be an easy task because of the level of money available to those that run illegal parks. We are quite aware, but government has the total resolve to return Aba to its original master plan. And the master plan of Aba included in any form the positions these parks found themselves up-to-date.”

    On the allegation that the taskforce failed to consult private park owners before embarking on the closure of illegal motor parks, the taskforce chairman said, “We are in a democracy and we run the government of Abia State under Dr. T.A Orji who believes much in dialogue.”

    Chief Ifeanyichukwu Anaele, the owner of Bicoz Mass Transit, while reacting to the allegation that his company and another transporter, Galloping Motors, sponsored the protest to incite the public and sabotage the efforts of the state government to promote sanity in the transport business in Aba and other parts of the state, described it as false.

    Anaele said that transporters in Aba has been solidly behind the actions of the state government in restoring sanity in the city and wondered why transport owners would want to incite the public or sabotage the state government as was alleged by the taskforce chairman.

  • Abia IGR has improved—Accountant-General

    The Accountant-General of Abia State, Gabriel Onyendilefu, says that the internally generated revenue [IGR] of the state has continued to be on the increase since the removal of multiple revenue collecting agents in the state.

    Speaking with The Nation in Umuahia, the state capital, Onyendilefu said that the use of one revenue collecting agent in the state has made the misappropriation of public funds by fraudulent revenue collecting agents to be a thing of the past, and thus increased the revenue base of the state.

    Onyendilefu said that the enumeration of the houses in the state and their status will make the owners to pay the stipulated infrastructure levy, adding that it is part of the way for the state to increase the IGR of the state.

    He said that the state hitherto generated between N95 million N120 million, “But now with the closing of the avenue through which the funds of the state are lost, we have noticed that we are getting up to N650 million every month”

    The Accountant-General said that the state IGR could have gone higher than what it is now “if not for the uncooperative attitude of the people of the state who find it difficult to pay their legitimate taxes like in other states.”

    He said, “the issue of fund management to competing demands has not been easy, given the type of state we have , where people have a lot of expectations from government, but we have fared better now than six years ago, as many things have changed in the state since then.”

  • ‘Orji’s legacies’ll endure in Abia’

    A lawyer, Okey Ogbonna, has said Governor Theodore Orji’s legacies will endure in Abia State.

    In an interview on the 22nd anniversary of the state’s creation, Ogbonna said the governor has placed the state on a sound footing.

    “Governor Orji’s legacies will endure. He has taken Abia to the next level of development. His vision transcends all sectors. When you consider the state of development in Abia before he took over in 2007, Abia was nowhere in the area of development.

    “He built the International Conference Centre, secretariat, High Court complexes in Aba and Umuahia, restoration of master plan of Aba, dialysis and ophthalmology centres, new health centres and housing estates. So many youths and women have been empowered.

    “The governor has revamped the agricultural sector with his liberation farms and the resuscitation of the palm and rubber estates as well as the distribution of improved seedling and fertilisers to farmers.

    “Orji has blazed the trail by embarking on massive rehabilitation of roads in Aba and Umuahia.”

    Ogbonna, who was a former Commissioner for Commerce and Industry, said the governor has lived up to the ideals of the founding fathers.”

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • Abia govt to train 40,000 artisans

    Forty thousand artisans and local entrepreneurs of Abia State origin are to be trained to perfect their skills in goods and craft productions that meet international standard.

    The artisans who hitherto lacked capacity building and skills to deliver good production lines would be exposed to 40 different specialised, identified and commercially viable areas to produce products that could be exported abroad.

    The artisans would be trained by international experts from the United States, Thailand, and South Africa and would be certificated by the Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike.

    This was made known at the recent South-East, South-South orientation programme for partners and stakeholders of the Global Export Market Access and Expo (GEMAEXPO) of the unifying Nigerian project in Umuahia.

    At the flag off of the programme, the wife of the state governor, Lady Mercy Odochi Orji said GEMAEXPO would teach the young artisans and exporters modern dimension of international business transaction and to discover and understand the inherent opportunities in the global market and meet the expected standard therein.

    Lady Orji said the programme was aimed at replicating the Asian Tigers economic ingenuity and foresight by galvanising the artisans to exploits and produce crafts that would compete favourably in any economy in order to accelerate our own economic development.

    She commended the state governor, Chief Theodore Orji for making the state investors’ friendly, adding that some of the policies put in place and legacy projects going on are testimonies of the government commitment to restore the economic fortunes of Abia and for Aba to

    regain its lost glory as the Japan of Africa.