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Tag: Theodore Orji

  • Orji challenges Kalu to debate, essay competition

    Orji challenges Kalu to debate, essay competition

    THE governor of Abia State, Chief Theodore Orji, has challenged the former governor of the state, Orji Uzor Kalu, to a full blown debate after which they will go for essay writing to tell the people of the state and the country what they have done for their people while in office.

    The challenge was thrown to the former governor by the Special Adviser to Governor Orji on politics, Chief Amah Abraham Nnanna, in Umuahia in a chat with The Nation. The governor’s aide said the media war declared against the governor by the former governor needs to be addressed once and for all.

    Nnanna, who served Kalu some years ago in the same capacity, said there is no basis for comparison between the two, stressing that the things the present governor has done are there for all to see while the former governor has nothing to show for the eight years he was in charge.

    He explained that after the oral television debate, the two political leaders would also go for an essay where they will put down their achievements for posterity, adding that written documents would serve as a reference point for the future generation.

    The political adviser said from the last administration to the present, there are many differences like politicians in the state are now one united family unlike before when there were Abuja-based politicians and home based ones.

    “Before now, there was acrimony within the politics of the state so much so that if you talk to an Abia politician based in Abuja who we used to call Talibans, you stand the chance of losing your appointment, but now it is no longer so.”

    On those who want to take over from the incumbent governor, Amah said all the governorship aspirants in the state have been busy sharing money, without letting the electorate know what they will do as governor.

    He maintained that the aspirants have not learnt anything from the present governor. “All they do is to tell their people they are the best person to be the next governor, after which they will drop N5 million for the people, we have gone above this type of politics.”

  • Dimgba Igwe’s death: Orji condoles with wife, NGE

    Dimgba Igwe’s death: Orji condoles with wife, NGE

    ABIA State Governor, Chief Theodore Orji, has condoled with Mrs. Oby Igwe, the wife of the late journalist, Dimgba Igwe, over his sudden death through a hit and run car driver last weekend in Lagos while observing his morning jogging exercise.

    The governor also condoled with the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE) on the untimely death of their colleague, Igwe.

    In a letter to Mrs. Oby Dimgba Igwe, the widow of the late renowned journalist, the governor implored the widow to accept his heartfelt condolence for the unfortunate death of her husband.

    Orji stated that the late Igwe was a notable Abian and a good man who will be remembered for his serious journalistic commitments and astute managerial abilities within the media organisations where he served and carved a niche for himself as a media guru.

    In a similar vein, the Abia State governor also sent a condolence letter to the president of NGE, saying he received the news of the death of one of their members, Igwe, with utmost shock and sadness.

    He prayed God to console late Igwe’s family and the entire family of journalists for the monumental loss.

  • ‘Abia ‘ll not compromise zoning’

    ‘Abia ‘ll not compromise zoning’

    Hon. Charles Obioha Ogbonnaya is the Deputy Chief of Staff to Abia State Governor Theodore Orji. He spoke with Correspondent UGOCHUKWU UGOJI-EKE in Umuahia, the state capital, on the controversy over the zoning of the governorship and other issues.

    What informed the Abia State Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)’s decison to zone the governorship to the South senatorial zone?

    SomeAbians have been condemning the decision by the PDP stakeholders’ meeting.

    There are reasons for the zoning. But, some people have argued that   the seat should be open while others are of the opinion that it should be zoned to Ukwa/Ngwa area, which is made up of both the Abia Central which has Isiala Ngwa North and South local governmentsand Osisioma local government area, which are all of Ngwa extraction and in Abia south.

    Others even quoted the Abia Charter of Equity which according to them said that the governorship seat should be zoned to old Bende and Old Aba divisions. The charter of equity is an unsigned document that cannot be tendered anywhere and is written by elders when the state had part of Ebony state in the state. That document is untenable anywhere as it is full of controversies, contradictions and confusing.

    Is the party going to discard the agreement?

    Political office distribution are shared according to senatorial zones and I am aware that in 2006 at a meeting held at Okpara auditorium when Chief Uzodinma Okpara was the chairman of the PDP in the state, this contentious issue of zoning of the governorship seat arose and in that meeting a motion was moved by one Chief Ginger Onwusoibe of Isiala Ngwa north local government area asking that the governorship seat having been occupied by the then governor Dr Orji Uzor Kalu from the north, that the next governor should come from the Central which was carried which made the party to zone the seat to Abia central zone.

    It does not matter whether people from other zones criticised it or not. But,  the electorate adhered strictly to it which was the reason when PPA emerged, it zoned the governorship seat to the central including PDP and at the end Chief Theodore Orji won the governorship seat from the central zone of the state.

    Therefore, it is wrong for anyone to start castigating the Abia PDP for zoning the governorship seat to the people of Abia south. I think it is the wisest thing to be done for peace to reign in the state. We must all understand that the weak must be protected. At no time will an Ngwa man be a governor of the state if the seat is made open to all to contest. It has happened before and because the party wants peace, equity and justice, the zoning of that office must be appreciated by all men of good will.

    The zoning of the governorship seat to the south does not in any way stop other aspirants from other zones from running, after all every candidate must emerge through the party primaries, so it is now left for the south to appreciate what the party has done and produce the governor in 2015 or sell the position to either Abia north or central in the next election.

    Is the governor and the party sincere about zoning?

    The governor from time stated early enoughs that he will hand over to an Ngwa man, in one of the ceremonies where he was received by Ngwa people at Abia Poly in Aba, the governor said, “As a person I will definitely hand over to a person from Ngwa”, but the party has said that the position is not handed over but zoned to a particular area of the state.

    What the governor said was his personal opinion and he is not the party, but this time the party has spoken in fact re-echoed what the governor had said earlier. Therefore if a man from that zone fails to win at the primaries, then it will be nobody’s fault, as it will be their fault. It behoves on them to put their house in order, “As a delegate during the primaries I will vote for a man from the south”.

    PDP believes in zoning right from the ward level up to the presidency, so a party like PPA should stop meddling in the affairs of the PDP and if they think that they have the muscle to produce a governor outside what the PDP has done, they should zone it to another area and see if they will win the seat in 2015.

    This noise about zoning is a way to distract the governor from engaging on the good works he is doing in the state. As far as Abians are concerned, the governor is doing well. He has done well by fulfilling all his electoral promises and is putting finishing touches to enable him handover to a governor from the southern part of the state. The governor is a busy man preparing all the legacy projects for the presidential commissioning and there will be no abandoned projects in the state.

     

  • Orji slams APGA aspirant for comments on govt

    Orji slams APGA aspirant for comments on govt

    Abia State Governor Theodore Orji has berated the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) governorship aspirant, Chief Chikwendu Udensi, for criticising his administration’s achievements.

    The APGA chieftain recently alleged that infrastructure had collapsed under Orji.

    He said there was nothing to justify the huge resources accruing to the state from the Federation Accounts.

    Orji described Udensi’s comments as malicious and the ranting of a political neophyte seeking relevance.

    He cautioned politicians to watch their utterances.

    In a statement yesterday by his Chief Press Secretary, Charles Ajunwa, the governor said he was committed to fulfil his covenant with Abia people through his transformation agenda.

    He promised not to be distracted by those he called his detractors.

    The statement reads: “The attention of Abia State Government has been drawn to the ranting of a political Lilliputian who thinks the only way to achieve popularity is to attack the government in power.

    “Political jobbers, like Udensi, should be reminded that the governorship of Abia State is …for men with vision and character.

    It is unthinkable that a man who wants to govern a state does not understand the pivotal role of an airport to the socio-economic development of the state.

    “It is only in Nigeria that failures without antecedents of any mean feat or proven record of managerial acumen, intellectual prowess or efficiency in any known trade jostle for political power…”

    On Udensi’s remarks that he needed a microscope to see Orji’s acclaimed achievements, the governor said: “It is only the blind that cannot see the array of legacy projects posted by my administration.”

    Orji debunked Udensi’s claims that the state received over N5 billion a month from the Federation Account, adding that statistics about what accrues to any state is published regularly by the Federal Ministry of Finance.

    The governor said this could not be denied.

    He said: “Udensi is simply advertising his ignorance about governance because none of the lies he vomited has any semblance of truth. But we are not surprised because falsehood has been his trade mark.

    “Ordinarily, the government would not have bothered to dignify his ignorance by responding to his spurious allegations but for benefit of the doubt and to save the public from feeding on tissues of lies.

    “Abia’s allocation from the Federation Accounts has always fluctuated between N3 billion and N4.5 billion, and not N5 billion, as alleged by the ignorant politician who should have known better, considering his self-acclaimed position.”

    Orji noted that despite the lean resources available to the state, “civil servants have continued to enjoy the new minimum wage, even when other states are yet to begin implementation”.

    The governor also berated Udensi for alleging that Aba, the state’s commercial hub, had collapsed under Orji’s watch.

     

     

     

    He said: “This administration has committed more funds than any previous government to the infrastructural development of Aba.”

    Orji said infrastructure in the commercial city which had deteriorated before he came on board had significantly revived courtesy of his administration.

    Orji further noted that apart from roads, Abia State under him had witnessed transformations in other critical sectors including health, agriculture, education and security more than any previous administration in the state.

    He said: “Even my political opponents acknowledged that my administration has excelled in security, health and youth empowerment, it is only the blind, deaf and dumb that will not appreciate my commendable strides in the state.”

    The Governor, therefore, wondered why any sincere person who aspires to govern the state would so blindly deny identifiable outstanding projects posted by another person.

    Orji also faulted Udensi’s bogus claims that he (Udensi) would make education totally free if voted into power, saying that “this is what one of these overzealous political neophytes said in a certain state but when he eventually became governor could not fulfil the promise.

    He said: “It is most unfortunate that one who claims to be a security expert does not have an idea of how security vote is deployed.

    A novice like him once said he would use his security vote to fund free education but today we have all seen how free his so called free education policy is.”

    Orji dismissed Udensi as a political jobber and propagandist seeking undue public attention.

  • PHOTO: Kumuyi visits Abia Governor

    PHOTO: Kumuyi visits Abia Governor

  • MTN Foundation donates vans to Abia

    MTN Foundation donates vans to Abia

    The MTN Foundation has donated five Toyota double cabin Hilux security vans to the Abia State government.

    This is to complement its efforts in combating crimes.

    Speaking in Umuahia while handing over the keys to Governor Theodore Orji, a director at the foundation, Dennis Okoro, said they donated the vans to help the government in its war against crimes.

    He said the foundation has noticed the efforts of the Orji administration to stop kidnapping and other crimes.

    Okoro added: “We decided that the only way to complement the efforts of the government is to go further than we have been doing.”

    He noted that government has made a breakthrough in its fight against crimes, saying the only way to support its efforts is to give a helping hand to enable it sustain the fight against crimes.

    The MTN Foundation director said they were prompted to donate the vans “because the governor is not only a focused man, but also a worthy partner of our foundation, who deserves all the help he can get to continue doing his good work.”

    He said the foundation spent over N9 billion since inception, adding that the state has benefitted from nine of its 300 programmes, including eye clinic, under which over 3,000 beneficiaries have undergone eye surgery and obtained glasses.

    Okoro said their programmes were advertised in the media to enable state governments and other organisations apply.

     

    He said they are targeted at state governments through which indigent people are affected, adding that they have also paid school fees of 1,600 students, with each receiving about N200,000 every year.

    Orji appreciated the telecoms group for being a partner in progress, stressing that it has partnered the state in health, security, education, among others.

  • ‘Orji ’ll deliver Abia to PDP again’

    ‘Orji ’ll deliver Abia to PDP again’

    Abia State Governor Theodore Orji is focused and determined to leave lasting legacies to enable the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to retain power in 2015, his Chief Press Secretary (CPS), Charles Ajunwa, has said.

    Ajunwa, who spoke with The Nation in Umuahia, said with the foundation that Orji has laid, it would be difficult for another party to defeat the PDP in Abia.

    He was reacting to a statement credited to the National Chairman of All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Chief Victor Umeh, when he said his party would win Abia in  the 2015 elections.

    Umeh visited the state last week to open the party’s secretariat and told his supporters that nothing would stop APGA from winning Abia at the general election.

    However, Ajunwa urged Abians to intensify their support for the PDP-led administration and discountenance the APGA’s chairman’s comment.

    The CPS described the claim as laughable, adding that a party that was not strong could not have made such a statement.

  • ‘Money shouldn’t becloud your reasoning’

    ‘Money shouldn’t becloud your reasoning’

    Abia State Governor  Theodore Orji has urged  the Ukwa Ngwa people in the only senatorial zone that has yet to produce a governor in the state not to throw away their opportunity.

    The governor cautioned against allowing politicians from other zones of the state to lure them with cash gifts.

    He told them that aspirants could come from other parts of the state, dangling cash before them. If they take their money and vote for such people, they will fail to have one of their own in the Government  House next year.

    The governorship seat has been zoned to the zone in the forthcoming general elections in 2015 by the governor, who has maintained that equity, fair play and justice demands that the people of that area should produce the governor of the state after his tenure.

    Speaking in Umuahia during the one-million-man solidarity march organised by the Ukwa-Ngwa Progressive Forum, Orji told them that when they get what they want, money will follow, but if they put money first, they may  ruin their chances of getting what they want.

    Orji used the occasion to reiterate his earlier declaration that the office of the governor should rotate among the three zones of the state saying the people of Ukwa-Ngwa should be at the forefront of the battle.

    The governor noted that as a product of rotation it would be unfair on his part not to promote it to the advantage of the south zone, adding that the northern part of the state had ruled the state followed by the central where he comes from, “So it is the turn of the south to rule the state this time around”.

    Orji said that there is no reason why the Ukwa-Ngwa political bloc should not produce the next governor since they have individuals that have proved their competence in politics and other spheres of life.

    The governor said, “I believe in equity, I believe in fairness, what I want from you is your support; I am not changing that decision since it is the right thing to be done for every side of the state to have a taste of governing the state since we all have equal share in the state.

    “It is achievable and it is the right thing; and when you are on the right cause nothing will happen to you. I want it on record that Theodore Orji made power to shift to Ukwa-Ngwa and after that it will be a template for power rotation in the state”.

    Orji, however, charged the people of Ukwa-Ngwa extraction to brace up to the challenge so that it would not be snatched from them, and advised them to go home and put their acts in order and avoid division among them.

    He said, “It is up to you to allow the power to be taken away from you; and if you throw it away it will be too long before you get it again; I don’t say yes in the afternoon and say no in the night; this is a policy that will bring peace and harmony”.

     

  •  Tackling Abia’s housing challenge

     Tackling Abia’s housing challenge

    It is an axiomatic that a considerable segment of world’s population cannot afford comfortable housing. Worst hit is Africa with overwhelming population, bad governance and stark poverty. Of the three basic human needs of housing, clothing and foods, housing has remained a recurring problem in Nigeria since Independence. The cost of housing has continued to skyrocket in the face of poor economic growth. There are insufficient houses for Nigerians to lay their heads. The available ones are not affordable.

    After the second-world war, the British government in their wisdom built more than two million houses. That is why till today in Britain, people do not look for where to build houses, but houses that they will buy and the houses are always there for sale because they are enough to take care of the accommodation problem. This is, unfortunately, not the case in Nigeria because successive governments have neglected the development of the housing. They have found solace in the argument on whether private sector should take over the sector or the government should continue to get involved – an argument some state governments have hid under to abandon the sector completely in their developmental agenda.

    That is even when in developed economies of the world, governments are still deeply involved in housing programmes to make them affordable as against leaving it in the hands of private investors whose main motive is profit.

    If the Second Republic Governor of Lagos State, Alhaji Lateef Jakande had bought into the puerile argument that government has no business in construction of housing estates, he wouldn’t have constructed several housing estates in Lagos then. Today, the estates have provided succour to so many residents of the state at affordable price. They have remained reference point many years after and Jakande has always been remembered and eulogised for the vision.

    On assumption of office in 2007, Abia State Governor Chief Theodore Orji was passionate about putting roof on the head of the residents of the state at affordable price. Just like Jakande, Orji’s government embarked on the housing projects in the state with target of 3000 residential housing before the end of his second term in 2015.

    Presently some housing estates have been completed in Aba and Umuahia the state capital by the state government. At Aba axis, the some buildings have been allotted to some people at the Unity Garden Estate at Osisioma Several houses have been completed and occupied at Amauba, Adelabu Street/ Amaokwe, Otobo and Isieke Ibeku housing estates.

    At Adelabu Street/Amaokwe Estate located in the heart of the state capital, there are 65 duplexes already completed and occupied. Also completed and delivered by the government are 300 housing units, comprising of 225 three-bedroom bungalows and 75 duplexes and modified duplexes at Isieke Ibeku housing estate.

    Close to the Ubani Ibeku modern market is Trader’s Estate comprising of 500 housing units nearing completion. Under construction also is the 8,500 housing unit for the residents of the state especially the civil servants. Finishing touches is being put by the government for the commencement of 3000 units of three and two bedroom units in IBB phase 1 and 2 as well as 1500 units of three and four bedroom bungalows in Amakamma and Ohiya Housing estates, respectively

    Apart from residential housing, there are also some non-residential housing projects being undertaken by the state government as part of its developmental agenda. Some of them have been completed and handed over while others are nearing completion.

    Among the already completed include four dormitory blocks at the state National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) orientation camp in Umunna, Bende Council Area; four new duplexes for commissioners at the Commissioners’ Quarters, the new ultra modern workers secretariat, four building complexes for the School of Midwifery at Amachara General Hospital and a modern students’ dormitory at Santa Crux High School Olokoro. Others include Abia Broadcasting Station Complex, the state Customary Court of Appeal, two-storey building at Ministry Of Justice, Abia State Planning Commission complex, Abia State Environmental Sanitation Agency (ASEPA) Complex, Abia Specialist Hospital, and others.

    Nearing completion is the 3,000 capacity International Conference Centre with large parking space. The centre has four underground lounges and backup light for events. The finishing works at the centre is at advanced stage and superb with quality materials. Others include the new Government House,

    On the argument by some people that estate developers would have been engaged in developing the estates, the state government has before now lamented on the challenges of getting credible developers that will deliver according to specifications and set deadline with affordable limits. Truly, we have had cases of estate developers collecting money from people without delivering the house to them as agreed. That is why instead of giving the housing estate projects to developers that would start and abandon them halfway, the state government is undertaking and completing them as at when due.

    In order to ensure proper maintenance of the estates after completion and handover to beneficiaries, the government has established the Estate Maintenance Management Systems. This is to avoid ugly experience in the past where some estates built by governments across the country are left unattended to or not maintained. In such situation, some of them ended up as economic waste even when majority of the people have no houses to live.

    Already people in the state are opening mortgage accounts to qualify them for mortgage as the state government has concluded arrangements with some financial institutions to assist buyers under a mortgage scheme.

    Under the Site and Services Scheme, the state government has, rather than build and sell houses, gone into allocation of the lands, determining the type of house an allottee can erect within a time frame.

    With the scheme, if a land is allotted to somebody, such person has a specific time frame to start development as failure to do so allows government to reclaim the land and re-allocate it. The scheme has brought about rapid housing development in the state, especially at Ogurube layout, the new Umuahia which is now a construction site.

    It is therefore no surprise that the state governor was recently awarded the Housing Governor of the Year at Eight Abuja Housing Show at Nicon Luxury Hotel Abuja. The Programme Coordinator, Festus Adebayo, said the award to the Abia State Governor was in recognition of his laudable achievements in the housing sector.

    • Onyekwe, an architect wrote from Okigwe, Imo State
  • When governors crack jokes

    When governors crack jokes

    Friendly smiles or “farewell” salutation? This is a poser that may come to the mind on seeing this photograph (left). For someone not conversant with political developments in the country, the picture will most likely just be interpreted as five friends greeting one another.

    The laughter appears infectious. They all carry on as though all is well. Murtala Nyako. Emmanuel Uduaghan. Theodore Orji. Godswill Akpabio. And Babangida Aliyu. The scene was the Presidential Villa, Abuja, where these governors of Adamawa, Delta, Abia, Akwa Ibom and Niger states were part of the National Council of State meeting with President Goodluck Jonathan.  Aside Nyako, the others are of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Nyako is of the All Progressives Congress (APC) – the main opposition party.

    Nyako was the centre of attention when he entered the council chamber of the Presidential Villa, Abuja around 10:55 a.m. before the commencement of the  meeting.

    Nyako, the man who was in high enough spirits to give bespectacled Uduaghan a high five, is embattled at home in Adamawa. Members of the House of Assembly, who unlike him mostly are of the PDP, have started the process of ending his second term before it is due next year. Nyako, as empowered by law, declared a public holiday on Monday and Tuesday, but this meant nothing to the lawmakers and the Acting Chief Judge who inaugurated a panel to investigate allegations against the governor.

    That was not the first illegality that has been done in the plot to remove Nyako, which sources believe is the agenda of the PDP, the party of the men laughing with the Adamawa helmsman in this picture. By law, the lawmakers were supposed to serve the notice on the governor, personally. This process was practically skipped.

    So, what were the PDP men telling the only stranger in their midst? Were they bidding him farewell, given the belief that their party – and The Presidency, some insist – had perfected the plot to get him out for good? Part of his sins is that he made uncomplimentary remarks about President Goodluck Jonathan and defected to the APC. Aliyu and Nyako used to share the same company, when it came to being openly critical of the president.    Aliyu, who likes being addressed as Niger State’s Chief Servant instead of His Excellency, even accused Dr. Jonathan of breaking a gentleman ’s agreement that he was going to serve a single term of four years. The Niger helmsman and the five PDP governors who defected to the APC were in the same camp and still belong to the Governor Rotimi Amaechi faction of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum (NGF), as against Plateau Governor Jonah Jang’s faction, which has the Presidency’s backing.

    Aliyu, who was never tired of accusing the PDP leadership of perpetrating illegality, like it has done again in Adamawa, has simmered down of late. He seems to have made up with Jonathan and is enjoying the PDP, which months back, he severely tongued lashed.

    Akpabio, who is also laughing in the picture, belongs to the Jang NGF and also chairs PDP Governors’ Forum that was hurriedly cobbled together when it became clear that governors would chose their own leaders. Uduaghan, was the “Returning Officer” in the election which made Amaechi NGF chair.

    The picture is sure pregnant with meaning. Will Nyako be around to attend the next Council of State meeting and have the opportunity to laugh with these men whose party seems to have sealed his fate? Time will tell.