Gov. Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia on Tuesday rendered an account of his stewardship in the past three years, highlighting the successes recorded on the five pillars of his development agenda.
Ikpeazu, who addressed clergymen, traditional rulers, Abia residents from different walks of life and newsmen at the International Conference Centre, Umuahia, spoke on his achievements in agriculture, oil and gas, commerce, industry and education.
The event was part of the activities organised by the government to mark the Democracy Day celebration and three years of his administration.
He also spoke on the administration’s performance on health, road infrastructure and security, which he described as the enablers that drove development in the state.
He spoke extensively on the government’s achievements in the development of small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs) in Aba, the industrial hub of the state.
He said that currently, two million pairs of shoes were being exported to other parts of Africa weekly from Aba.
He said that no fewer than 250,000 people were directly engaged in SMEs in Aba, theereby creating millions of jobs for the people.
The governor explained that the administration placed greater emphasis on Aba because it had the potential to boost the state’s internally generated revenue (IGR).
He said that it was the expectation of his administration to raise the IGR from about N500 million to at least N1.8 billion monthly from Aba.
“If we get Aba right, we can generate enough IGR to develop the state, without depending on the monthly Federal Allocation to the state.”
Ikpeazu said that he his administration had completed 60 roads in different parts of the state, using “Grade A” contractors.
On education, he said that government emphasised the re-training of primary school teachers, in collaboration with an Australian-based non-governmental organisation.
According to him, 1,700 teachers have benefitted from the programme since its inception about two years ago.
He said that 34 schools were currently undergoing renovation, while government was also buillding model schools that would be second to none.
He also spoke on the performance of the state on the primary school feeding programme, saying that Abia was the only state in the federation that was feeding from primary four to six pupils.
The governor said that his administration was collaborating with some Abia medical practitioners in the Diaspora to provide free medical services to the aged as well as mothers and children.
He said that 250 nurses had been trained to move from house-to-house to provide care to the aged and that an additional 500 nurses would be trained to boost the exercise.
He said that the objective was to achieve an increase in people’s life expectancy from the national life expectancy of 55 years to at least 70 years.
Ikpeazu said that government was building a specialist hospital in Umuahia for the care of mother and child to reduce the mortality rate in the state.
He said that his administration had provided an enabling environment for economic growth and urged youths to take advantage of the opportunities to grow their businesses.
Meanwhile, the governor expressed deep regret over his inability to pay pensions and teachers’ salaries promptly.
“I am deeply touched by the plight of pensioners because they deserve to be treated better and fairly.”
He blamed the development on paucity of funds and the huge wage bill of about N2.7 billion he inherited from the previous administration.
He said that the figure came down to N2.1 billion after he introduced biometric verification of workers.
“I will continue with the verification. No amount of propaganda will make me to abandon it,” IKpeazu said.
The Democracy Day celebration began with an interdenominational thanksgiving service.
The event was attended by the Deputy Gov. Ude Oko-Chukwu, Speaker of the House of Assembly, Chief Chikwendu Kalu, state Chairman of Peoples Democratic Party, Chief Johnson Onuigbo, and Chairman, South-East Traditional Rulers’ Council, Eze Eberechi Dick.
Others included the Chairman, Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Emmanuel Agomuo, and South-East Chairman of CAN, Bishop Goddy Okafor, among other clerics.
Rep. Ossy Prestige (APGA), representing Aba North and South Federal Constituency at the National Assemblyman was also present at the ceremony.
In a brief remark, Prestige said that it was imperative for office holders to realise that after elections, they should become less partisan in order to serve the people, irrespective of their political affiliation.
