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Tag: Ikpeazu

  • ‘Critics of Ikpeazu’s bond for infrastructure wrong’

    ‘Critics of Ikpeazu’s bond for infrastructure wrong’

    President of the Igbo Question Movement (IQM), Mr Ben Onyechere yesterday faulted those opposed to Abia State Governor Okezie Ikpeazu’s bid to obtain a bond to help boost infrastructural development.

    The political analyst and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chief said the governor should be encouraged in his bid to transform Abia rather than being vilified.

    “It is only people who are enemies of progress that can speak against such intention of government to the extent of a paid advertorial in which they advertised their ignorance and ineptitude,” he said.

    According to him, the criticism by a faction of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) in Abia is a manifestation of a negative attitude towards the state’s developmental programme and “depicts mindless politicisation of the future of Abia.”

    “They have shown that they are not perturbed by the nature of infrastructure in Aba for which reason they have embarked on a fruitless campaign of calumny against the entirety of Abia State, otherwise how can anybody stand or sit against the much needed fund intended for the upgrading of facilities such as moribund industries which can generate employment for the teeming youths of Abia?

    “It is for this reason that it is clearly indicative that these people have no genuine intention for Abia citizenry, otherwise they will not discourage the intention of rehabilitation of infrastructure in Abia.

    “In as much as payment of salaries is very cogent and uppermost to the Ikpeazu’s administration, it should be understood that the few months of salary backlog is not peculiar to Abia State alone which is the reason for the impending bailout by the Federal Government.

    “As at today the governor has instructed the financial department to clear such backlogs with immediate effect, for which reason he has forfeited his own allowances. Be it loan or bond, it is penitent that government must seek other ways of generating fund to expand the economy of the state so that commerce for which Abia people are known can pick up again,” Onyechere said.

  • ‘No regrets endorsing Ikpeazu’

    The factional chairman of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Prince Nnanna Ukaegbu said that he and the section of the party he leads endorsed and campaigned for Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu.

    Ukaegbu was fielding questions from reporters in Aba, Abia State.

    He said his faction supported Ikpeazu because he was only the best candidate among the lot that were aspiring for the number one position in the state and that he believed the governor will deliver the dividends of democracy to Abians.

    He also hailed Ikpeazu’s prudent management of funds.

    The APGA chairman who also vied to represent Aba North and South Federal Constituency, called on Abians and other political parties in the state to support the Okezie-led administration, warning people who are disparaging the governor.

  • Ikpeazu’s ’ll restore peace in Abia

    Ikpeazu’s ’ll restore peace in Abia

    Ben Onyechere is a former Special Assistant to former Vice President Alex Ekwueme. In this interview with MUSA ODOSHIMOKHE, he speaks about the agitation for power shift to Abia North and what the Ikpeazu Administration portends for Abia State. 

    How is Abia State coping with the shortfall in revenue allocation?

    Abia State is one of the few states in the federation that is not encumbered by a huge debt profile. This was because the immediate past administration entrenched some prudent financial management mechanism and this has been imbibed by the current administration. However, this is not to say  that the state’s revenue position is perfect, particularly with the slump in the price oil crude oil globally. This is the major reason why most states cannot meet their obligations, particularly with regards to payment of workers’ salaries. This governor is not unaware of the expectations of Abia people for a quick turn around of the revenue position. This is why on assumption of office he embarked on immediate reconstruction of roads in Aba as a platform to assess and enhance the status of revenue generation in the state. He is trying to devise  ways to maximise the state’s revenue generation potential at the moment. All efforts are geared towards ensuring that the Aba Integrated Power Project being carried out by Geometric Power Limited comes on stream soon. The project is intended to provide electricity to the commercial hub of Aba.

    How is the governor tackling crime, which the state is noted for?

    The problem with Abia State really is challenges of interest articulation and aggregation. The major agitation was  centered around the clamour for power shift, and with the effective achievement of that ambition, the state has been united more than ever before. The level cohesiveness that transpired across all social or political divide in reaching this goal was instructive. Prior to the election the generality of the elites had formed an understanding to remain together and speak with one voice. This was what added impetus to the quick resolution of the power shift; it was agreed that the core Ngwa or Abia South should produce the governor. This has brought unparralled peace in the state because the governor became a natural selection among  the lot who came out.  This was based  on factors such the fact that he is a full-blooded Ngwa man. This is in addition to the fact that Abia is a PDP state. Besides, he is a grassroots politician who has learned the ropes because of his service  to the state in an official capacity. In contrast, his opponents were all living  outside the state and have little or no idea of the nitty gritty of home politics. The case of Alex Otto is peculiar because he had never been involved in politics at any level before he was drafted to come and run for the primaries. But, when he could no longer cope with the rigours, he decamped to APGA, in spite of the fact that the party had an existing candidate. The crisis that engulfed the party afterwards was a result of his entry into the race on the party’s platform. It is, however, preposterous that the same man is claiming that he was rigged out. APGA members voted in protest for the PDP because of the way and manner the existenting candidate was displaced. The people of Abia had through their choice of Ikpeazu, who lives in Aba, rejected the plan of the other candidate to colaterize the state apparatus which could have resulted in the mortgaging of future generations of the state. The problem with the opposition really is that they underestimated  the political consciousness and enlightenment of Abia people, otherwise you could not hastily resign your appointment from diaspora and expect to arm twist every body including the incumbent whom he had lobbied previously.

    What will the new government do differently?

    As you know, governance is a continuum and you cannot completely break from the past. But, that notwithstanding, he intends to improve on the achievements of his predecessor, by focusing on improving revenue generation. This will be used to revive ailing industries, so as create more jobs for the teeming unemployed youths. The upgrade of infrastructure, particularly roads, is uppermost in his mind.

    What is the guarantee that he will not fall out with his predecessor?

    As you know, respect is reciprocal; what normally brews problem is when a former governor starts demanding too much cash from his successor. But, luckily, ochendo is a good man and he may not indulge in such.

     

  • Declare Abia debt profile, APGA urges Ikpeazu

    Declare Abia debt profile, APGA urges Ikpeazu

    The All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) in Abia State has urged Governor Okezie Ikpeazu to disclose the financial position of the state and the debt he inherited from his predecessor, Theodore Orji.

    According to it, the inability of the Ikpezu-led government to disclose the amount left in state coffers one month after assuming office makes the PDP-administration ‘a deceptive government’.

    The party lamented that Orji didn’t make public, the debt and cash he was leaving for his successor.

    Chairman Augustine Ehiemere, at a press conference, said Abians deserved to know the true financial status of Abia.

    “The PDP-led government should as a matter of duty and responsibility, disclose the true financial status of Abia.”

    Ehiemere emphasised that the purported claim by the state government to have obtained $200m loan from the African Development Bank (ADB) was a facade.

    “The process and procedure of securing such a loan requires the approval of the House of Assembly, Senate Committee on Finance and the Federal Ministry of Finance. Of course, none of these requirements have been met; one therefore wonders where and how government got the loan,” Ehiemere said.

    But Senior Special Assistant (Media) to Governor Ikpeazu, Ugochukwu Emezuo, in a telephone interview, described the accusations as out of tune and baseless because according to him, the governor at different fora, had said he inherited some debts and cash.

    Emezue stressed APGA was entitled, under the law, to criticise the government (positions and actions), adding that such should however be constructive.

    He said the issues raised by APGA had no basis, citing the $200m ADB loan which he said was started by the previous administration and only concluded by the present government.

  • ‘Why Abians chose Ikpeazu’

    ‘Why Abians chose Ikpeazu’

    President of the Igbo Question Movement (IQM), Mr Ben Onyechere yesterday said Abians voted for Governor Okezie Ikpeazu because of his deep intellectual capacity and grassroots connection.

    He said the governor’s antecedents led to the “massive backing” he got from voters.

    The political analyst and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chief said those challenging Ikpeazu’s victory would soon be disappointed.

    “The sensibility of Abia people could not be tampered with because their preference for Ikpeazu can not be faulted since he not only belongs to the ruling party in Abia but is also a grassroots politician with a robust intellectual background.”

    “It should not be forgetten that he is an abridgement of the old and new breeds and therefore attracted massive backing from all segments of the electoral populace who simply see him as one of them as distinct from the diaspora politicians,” Onyechere said.

    He said the claim by All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) candidate Alex Otti that he has the capacity to realise what Onyechere described as a non existent mandate in the election tribunal is a ploy to seek undue attention.

    “The people of Abia had closed ranks in their resolve to move power up south particularly in favour of a core Ngwa indigene.

    “It is, indeed, surprising that he (Otti) could allow himself to be misled by people who merely enjoyed the largese he provided but in any case it is his own baptism of fire because experience is the best teacher,” Onyechere added.

  • The lies against Ikpeazu

    Writing recently in The Guardian newspaper, some insufferable critic, going by the name of Nnana Ezeocha, futilely struggled to besmirch, the character, person, vision, reputation, capacity and public service pedigree of Dr Okezie Ikpeazu, Governor of Abia State. In a sickening stunt, to impress his paymasters, Ezeocha booby trapped himself into a veritable swirl of contradictions formatted in the said piece. His analogy between military coupists and felons, would have been appropriate, if his client-Dr Alex Otti, had not been roundly trounced at the polls. The sophisticated people of Ndi Abia saw through the hocus pocus, of the untested and grapevine-peddled, self-serving achievements of a money market operator and rightly dumped him in preference for Ikpeazu. In Nigeria, every politics is local. Juxtaposing the Abia 2015 dynamics with the shenanigan of Anambra 2003 which are mutually exclusive, is patent chicanery and cannot fly.

    What constitutes the core essence of a credible politician is the sum total of his functional public service track records. Unfortunately for Dr Alex Otti of APGA, his quest was bereft of credibility as the critical mass of the electorate, who massively voted PDP, were not swayed by the mumbo-jumbo of ’financial engineering’ in some bank which did not impact on the economic fortunes of the average ‘Aria Aria’ market trader. People never ceased to ask, what was the quantum of loans, overdraft, working capital, if any did Diamond Bank under his watch made available to Igbo nay Abia customers? What money market instruments, did his bank package to facilitate enterprises in the state during the period under review?

    Just like the pre election campaign hustings, when Dr Alex Otti through his spin doctors made so much heavy weather about his bogus World bank/IMF assisted development template for Aba, Ezeocha regurgitated the same Alex Otti vomit of ‘a man with a burning desire to reinvent their state’ 

    But those lies collapsed like a pack of cards, when the same World Bank publicly denied it had granted him a $100 billion (One hundred billion dollars) loan to develop Aba. That lie presaged Otti’s loss at the polls. His debacle had nothing to do with the then governor, now Senator Theodore Orji, nor with Independent National Electoral Commission. Now that the matter is now being adjudicated in the tribunal, we leave the matter there for now. However we quicken to add that, Alex Otti’s pages with the Abia people had always been blank. Therefore the issue of nostalgia does not exist even in the realm of imagination.

    Some people are miffed at the dazzling speed Governor Okezie  Ikpeazu deployed men, materials and resources to commence the fixing of Aba. What economic rookies, bandy about as knee-jerk and hasty initiatives is a product of clear sighted thinking, perspective long-term planning by Ikpeazu who hit the ground running. They e0  asily forgot that long before the April elections, he had been in the trenches, on the drawing board, solely driven by the Abia agenda. His antecedents can be tracked. His background check is in the public domain.

    For upward of two decades, he had been a key player in the corridors of politics as a home baked politician who understood the nuances of the average Abian. During this period, his activism and services had been domiciled in the trenches with our people, fighting and battling with the various administrations for the elevation of Abia State.

    A spin-off of this hands-on experience is his blueprint for development- a clear headed, well-defined manifesto that derived its motive force from a bottoms-up all-inclusive community based approach with Aba as the centre-piece and hub of enterprise and production. For a proactive and process driven “Aba boy” imbued with a clinical mind, designing and working roads in the middle of the rainy season, and sourcing for funds is a franchise and endowment that belongs to the eclectic few like Ikpeazu.

    Fundamental to this is the enactment of policies for planning and housing to facilitate access to land, service and investment codes, realistic, flexible and compatible with local conditions. In the informal sector, Ikpeazu long before the mandate was delivered to him, articulated these clearly in his OKEZUO 2015 website. Professional grumblers and cash and carry analysts could do themselves a favour by gleaning through the intellectual rigor, intelligence, strategies and competencies that were imputed into the Ikpeazu Doctrine.

    It is to his credit, that Ikpeazu has countermanded all the practices, processes of his predecessor. How do you characterize such a person to be a stooge? The first essential element of a blogger, critic, columnist, writer commentator who must show an ultimate allegiance to citizens is an obligation to truth. He or she must strive to put the public interest and the truth above their own self-interest or assumptions. Deploying such uncouth utterances, like “419”, pirate, stolen, on a sitting governor without evidence is mere gossip and evidence of bad breeding.

    In the immortal words of Bill Kovach and Tom Rosenstiel, of The American Press Institute: This journalistic truth is a process that begins with the professional discipline of assembling and verifying facts. Then journalists try to convey a fair and reliable account of their meaning, subject to further investigation. Journalists nay bloggers should be as transparent as possible about sources and methods so audiences can make their own assessment of the information. Even in a world of expanding voices, “getting it right” is the foundation upon which everything else is built – context, interpretation, comment, criticism, analysis and debate. The larger truth, over time, emerges from this forum. Journalists have an obligation to protect this watchdog freedom by not demeaning it in frivolous use or exploiting it for commercial gain.

    At the risk of repetition, Ikpeazu had affirmed at several public fora that there is no governor in Nigeria that is anybody’s stooge. Even if you played a role in canvassing for votes or helped an aspirant to mount the saddle, you do not expect him to be your puppet. Yes you can articulate ideas that are brilliant on the drawing board and if it dovetails into the main frame of a focused administration. The critical mass of Abia people are perceptive, that Ikpeazu, is the only person that is self-effacing, to entertain all shades of opinion, gumption and suggestions. He espouses the view that if your reasoning is superior, we will go and test it but if the reverse is the case, you go with me. To be sure, Ikpeazu is not embarking on a voyage laden with excess baggage of arrogance but is humble enough to realize that the support of the citizenry is a sine qua non.

     

    • Torti is a public policy analyst and management consultant.

  • An open letter to Ikpeazu

    Your Excellency, I feel honoured to write what you are reading. I guess you are having a nice time in the Government House or somewhere out there in one of those luxury suits. I won’t be surprised though if you are still basking in the euphoria of your new life; a governor’s life, in the Government House. It is normal.

    But you should not let the exhilaration of your new status take you so far away from the desk. There is no honey moon in the Government house. Election into public office is for service to the society and not a tea party. Your office calls for dedication and commitment to the well-being of Abia citizens who, on April 11, stood in the roofless cubicles of INEC, took the indelible ink with their thumbs, and made you their governor.

    I didn’t wish to delay so much writing this letter so that you will fix the matter somewhere in your agenda. Students’ affairs are very germane to every society. That is why I decided to write you quickly. I also find it needful to present this matter early enough before ambitious aides will surround you, to sniff some eulogies into your ears, saying you have done wonders when you really haven’t done much.

    You know, it is common for those Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) boys to surround their ogas, guarding him against making contacts with the citizens who elected him. Those your boys may feel threatened when they see common students visit the Government house to see you. They have the feeling that the presence of common men around you may shrink their chances of getting some favour from you. Whoever they see approaching their oga  will be elbowed off because they think that whoever comes to the Government House has come for some spoils from the governor. But mine is not the case. I am not writing to get some bite of the cake but for the  interest of Abia state students.

    I wrote to your predecessor Theodore Orji two years ago on the Abia State students’ bursary and the need to quickly move into action. Not so long after the letter was published on the pages of this newpaper, Gov Orji started bursary payment to Abia students to the tune of N50,000 per student. That was commendable. I equally wrote to him to congratulate him for heeding to the wise advice and acting immediately. But before then, Abia State students paid him a courtesy visit where they made the request. Jude Ezeibe was the National President of Abia State students then. After the visit, he promised to pay the bursary allowance.

    But, the exercise did not last long. Some students received, while many others didn’t. The people in charge of the bursary said it would be paid in batches. I don’t know how many batches Abia students were eventually pro-rated, but I know that many students did not get Orji’s bursary.

    I would not have bothered so much if Dr Orji took responsibility and admitted that many students did not receive his bursary. But, I fevered when he went to the media saying that he had paid all Abia students. He named the bursary payment among his Legacy Projects. I wondered who gave him the information. Did he actually do a personal investigation before making that comment? Didn’t he know that almost all the students schooling in northern universities didn’t receive the bursary? Didn’t he know that students in Ghana, South Africa and Senegal who I communicated with didn’t receive the money? Didn’t he know that students down here in University of Calabarwho sent their names, did not receive the bursary? Who told him that the bursary went round?

    I think our leaders should learn to work with facts rather than relying on fictitious reports from ambitious aides and political sycophants in the political party. It will be self-deceptive of us to override the truth in the name of politics. The consequence of such deception is incalculable.

    His Excellency, you should know that this is the time and season of change in Nigeria. You should know how fast the whirl wind of change is driving through the pines and leaves of Nigeria and you know that President Muhammedu Buhari is not ready to fiddle with any laggard when it comes to the gospel of change. I would not want my state, Abia to be left behind in this change regime.

    You are an academic and you know what it means to go to school. You know how difficult it was for those your students in University of Maiduguri where you lectured. You know how tough it was for them to pay their school fees and buy text books. I know you could have wished to assist them but you could not do that because of your meagre pay as a university lecturer.

    But, this is the time for you to express some concerns over students’ welfare. This is the time you have to show that you really were a part of the school system and you once cracked the nut which Abia state students are cracking today. You have the power to make policies that can collapse the wall of mediocrity in Abia State and guarantee academic independence, at least to some extent in Abia state. Let the Abia state bursary come back and even better now that an academic is in the saddle.

    Finally, I figured out a limitation in bursary exercise conducted by your predecessor. The bursary exercise of Gov Orji was not provisioned for post-graduate students. I would have been a beneficiary if it was. It was exclusively for undergraduates. That was not wrong in as much as it was not good enough. Please sir, I request that your government consider the plight of post-graduate students and those in professional institutions for the bursary. It will add credit to your government and also give you some points to boast of when counting your achievements after your times at the helm.

    In every part of the world, students occupy a prime place in assessing the prosperity and future of a nation. They deserve the best. They are the foundation whereupon our Nigeria is built. They are the ones to sustain the memories and histories which you will make today. I urge you to furnish an arena effective enough to host academic progress in Abia State students.

    It is my interest that you continue to succeed in this administration. It is my wish that your name be chronicled in the list of those who have built a solid framework for the youths and students in Abia state.

    His Excellency, I wish you all the best in your political career.

    Long live His Excellency. Long live Abia State. Long live Federal Republic of Nigeria.

    • Emmanuel, Political Science, UNICAL
  • Ikpeazu cuts personal salary, travelling expenses

    Ikpeazu cuts personal salary, travelling expenses

    Abia State Governor Okezie Ikpeazu has cut his salary and travelling allowances by 50 per cent.

    Speaking in Umuahia at the swearing in of the Head of Service (HOS), Dr. Vivian Uma, Ikpeazu said his administration was concerned about workers’ plight.

    He said he was touched by his administration’s inability to pay salaries, stressing that it is difficult for him to receive salary when workers were owed salary arrears.

    The governor promised to ensure that worker’s salaries and allowances are systematically cleared.

    Ikpeazu called on government appointees to follow his example because according to him, there was need to cut the cost of governance for effective operation.

    He congratulated the HOS, describing her appointment as a milestone and urged her to prioritise workers’ welfare.

    Responding, Dr. Uma promised to bring a positive transformation to the civil service. She assured the people that discipline and sound ethical conduct would be enthroned for greater service delivery.

    The state government has reiterated that only two agencies were authorised to collect levies and dues on its behalf.

    A statement by the Chief Press Secretary to the governor, Godwin Adindu, said the Abia State Passengers Integrated Manifest and Safety Scheme (ASPIMSS) and the Physical Planning Industrial Development Fund (PPIDF) were the only agencies mandated to act for government.

    The statement reads: “The public is mandated to pay their levies to these two agencies. Any other group, individuals or agents, who have continued to defy government’s order, are warned to desist from their illegal acts.

    Already, a special security taskforce has started apprehending culprits and they will face the full weight of the law”.

  • What is Abia’s Ikpeazu trying to achieve?

    What is Abia’s Ikpeazu trying to achieve?

    Don’t call me ‘His Excellency’. Don’t add ‘Executive’ to my name. Just address me simply as Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu, governor of Abia State”.

    Why did that simple declaration by the Abia State governor hit the world like a thunderbolt? Why did the world have to respond to it with such jubilant hysteria, as in a manner of mass reflex?  Why did it have to generate such a resounding applause? The world re-echoed in unison that a Daniel has come to judgment; that the right man is here. Instantly, Ikpeazu took a place in the heart of the world.  What an instant reputation!

    But, it was not deliberately and strategically deployed and we did not anticipate the applause  and the global endorsement that greeted the simple declaration.  We did not anticipate the instant fame! “Tell him to remain on that track,” an old-time boss, Okey Ifionu, advised in an sms.  Such endorsements came in torrents, an avalanche of voices, all proclaiming that the sun has risen in Abia. Yet, the governor was just being himself and being what he has chosen to be – the simple, quintessential servant leader. After all, what is in those appellations, His Excellency and Executive? Dr. Ikpeazu says, “throw them into the trash can and let’s do the job.”

    He would instruct me again: ‘Tell the people to remove all billboards and posters bearing my portrait. Tell contractors not to put my portrait on their signages but to project their works. No praise-singing jingles. Let’s just do the work.” Already, Ikpeazu has carved a niche and a world for himself by being the first to do a very simple thing.

    Call it innovation, yes, but what is he trying to do?  He is orchestrating a revolution in Nigeria as far as the person and the office of the governor is concerned by demystifying the office and the person and removing all the ceremonies and chivalries that disconnect the leader from the people. “I want to be the common governor for the common man,” he said.

    Indeed, Ikpeazu emerged from the people and will remain with the people. He will soon go down in our lore as the first common and ordinary governor in the history of Nigeria. His revolution will remove all the mystique and simulation that make the governor appear like a transcendental being and remove all frivolities and trivialities that distract the leader from the major call, like chieftaincy titles, unnecessary awards and social recognition. “He will remain available, approachable and accessible.”

    Now, back to the question: why did that simple declaration excite the heart of the world? First, it was a trail-blazer, a very novel positioning, remarkably uncommon with political leaders in our clime. Second, it speaks about the man, his inner self and his level of self-mastery and his mental predisposition. Thirdly and greatly, it is a signpost pointing to where he is headed. The world is excited because they have not seen such show of humility and passion in power. From the time of the feudal lords, the empires and emperors, through the stages of world civilization to modern democracy, the holder of power has always lived in an exclusively idealistic castle, with the mentality of the “chosen one”. Remember Shakespeare’s quote: “Mad world, mad kings, mad disposition.”  Ikpeazu is pulling the castle down.  He is changing the norm. He is discarding the tradition of the “chosen one” into the dustbin of history.

    Indeed, Ikpeazu’s signpost is pointing to three things: work, service, performance.  These are his main thrust and mission in government and his reputation will not be a media creation but will naturally relate to his capacity to achieve these values for the people of Abia State.  These values will also be the parameter for evaluating him at the end of the day. As a delegate of the people with a divine mandate, he cannot delegate his duties and responsibilities but will personally take charge and supervise all projects, direct all commissions and oversee all works to ensure that things are done to his utmost satisfaction and for the general good of the people. And, he has taken off. Yes, he has!

    Soon after his inauguration on May 29, he landed on the historical city of Aba to bring succour to the people. He immediately flagged off the reconstruction of seven roads that sum up to 18.9 kilometres. The roads include Umuocham, Umuola and Ehere roads. Others are Ukaegbu, Kamalu, Umule and Ukwu mango in Faulks Road. “You will not compromise quality. You must do quality jobs and deliver on schedule   or be blacklisted by the state government,” he told the contractors on site. Work has begun in earnest and the governor is daring the rain. He is more on the street and on the roads, inspecting the progress of work than in the office. He is marching with the people, exchanging greetings and pleasantries as he moves. The Doc has not changed, he will not change. He remains the man of the people.

    The rebuilding of roads and the general infrastructural renewal of Aba remains a  top priority for Dr. Ikpeazu administration. The vision is to bring Aba back to its old pride of place. To actualize the vision, Ikpeazu has to establish the Aba Urban Renewal office. The office will be a key driving force of the administration and the governor will show personal interest and commitment to the activities of the office in order to ensure it performs to the utmost expectation.  He has gone a step further to inaugurate the technical committee on the Abia State Integrated Infrastructural Development Project aimed at bringing donor agencies and development partners to assist in the development of the state.

    He has stepped into the fabled land of Arochukwu to inspect the progress of work on the 34kilometre Ndioji-Ndiokereke Arochukwu Road which was stalled for some time now and promised it will be completed by December this year. He was happy that 7 kilometre of the road has been asphalted with an additional 7km stone-based.

    Yes, Dr. Ikpeazu is more on site than in the office and when you meet him, please, do not call him, His Excellency. Call him Doc.

    — Adindu is the Chief Press Secretary to Abia State Governor, Okezie Ikpeazu

  • Ikpeazu seeks more varsities in Abia

    Ikpeazu seeks more varsities in Abia

    Abia State Governor Okezie Ikpeazu, has said his administration is disposed to the establishment of more universities in the state to boost the education sector.

    He spoke while receiving the management of Gregory University, Uturu in Government House, Umuahia.

    Ikpeazu had appealed to those interested in investing in education  to think of Abia first, adding that the government was willing to support them.

    He regretted that private institutions are sited more outside Abia and the Southeast.

    The governor said tertiary education is one area of need for the state, noting that the government would not hesitate to encourage more private institutions, such as Gregory University.

    Ikpeazu described Gregory University as a flagship among the citadel of learning in Nigeria, saying he is thrilled by their concept of entrepreneurial education.

    The university’s Registrar Dr Austin Orisakwe said the school has secured approval of the National Universities Commission (NUC) to run a medical college in addition to 37 other programmes across seven colleges.

    He said Ikpeazu’s predecessor approved Amachara Specialist Hospital and Diagnostic Centre for the university to use, a gesture that engendered, he added, facilitated NUC’s approval of the medical college.

    Orisakwe assured the governor of the support and partnership of the university and conveyed a letter of intent to the governor to receive the title of Visitor of the institution.

    He said Gregory University is partnering lots of foreign institutions and agencies in the development of education and skills that would facilitate students exchange programmes.

    Orisakwe said the university has  received a proposal by an American Aeronautic Engineering company to produce aircraft and other automotives projects.