By Anayo Okoli
GOVERNOR Theodore Orji of Abia State may  have actually embarked on a mission to re-write the history of Abia state and as well as his political history.

His first term as the governor of the state was not very eventful. His first term was embroiled in controversy and crisis. Litigation against his victory in the2007 elections lingered for close to three years of the four-year tenure. Again, he said that he and the wealth of the state were held in complete bondage allegedly by his estranged political mentor and former Governor of the state and some other members of his family.

For this, he said that funds meant for the development of the state were allegedly diverted to serve personal and family problems, to the neglect of the state. Worried by what the people were saying and feeling, Orji turned to a ‘rebel’ after, according to him, he was pushed to the wall. He broke away and became in charge as an executive governor of the state.

Abia state indeed witnessed little development during Orji’s first term. And the governor himself agreed with this, attributing it the financial hostage he suffered. In his campaign for second term, his plea to the people was to give him another chance to prove that he had actually become independent and to prove to them that he knew what development was all about. Luckily, the people accepted his plea and gave him another chance.

Seven months into the second chance, Governor Orji has actually started navigating in the right direction, the direction for a better Abia.  Within this very short time of his second coming, he has initiated and taken actions that show that he wishes the state well. Arguably, it can be strongly posited that he has started laying a solid foundation for the development of Abia state.

The Governor has taken some bold initiatives and actions that will make his name positively remembered when the history of the state is written. Abia state is 20 years but it still lacks some basic infrastructures that lay the foundation for solid development of any state. One of such basic infrastructures is the provision of a befitting secretariat to accommodate the civil servants who form the nucleus of the development of any state.

Abia state has a secretariat but it is not befitting and adequate. The present secretariat was the one built by the Federal Government to enable the state to properly take-off after it creation. At 20, it is no doubt grossly inadequate for a state like Abia.

Yet 20 years after creation, none of the past administrations, military and civilian, attempted to build one for the state’s civil servants. Because of this, ministries, extra-ministerial departments and parastatals have their offices scattered in all parts of Umuahia, the state capital. In some cases, these offices are located in very noisy area which make it difficult for the workers to concentrate.

Worried by this, the governor in a bid to change the situation, has awarded contracts for a multi-million Naira secretariat for the state, and he hopes to commission it before he leaves office in 2015. True to his commitment on this project, work is seriously going on at the site, which is located opposite the old secretariat at the Nnamdi Azikiwe State Secretariat, Umuahia built by the Federal Government to enable the state take off when it was created.

Details of the structure of the secretariat show that it is massive edifice with beautiful architectural designs. When completed, the secretariat will be the first structure in the state to have elevators. Till date, no structure in the state has an elevator, so the secretariat will be recorded as the first and only one so far to boast of that.

The need for a befitting secretariat for the workers in the state cannot be over emphasized. It is unarguable that with good and conducive office environment, the workers would put in their best thereby contributing effectively towards the development of the state. Hopefully, Orji will complete this structure, commission it and write his name in the good book of those who changed the shape of the state.

Also, in the effort to lay solid development foundation fro the state, Orji recently laid the foundation stone for a new multi-million Naira Government House at the Ogube Layout, where modern Umuahia as a capital city is being relocated. Work has commenced in earnest in that project.

The way he spoke about it with passion, Abia may not be surprised if he commissions it before he leaves office in 2015.  What is today the Government House of Abia state was said to be a guest house which was expanded and since then no administration had taken it as a priority to build one, yet the state needs it. These are some of the infrastructures that are actually germane to proper development foundation of a state.

Orji’s government has also commenced the building of an international conference centre which he hopes will not only attract Nigerians from other parts of the country but foreigners alike to the state as it will also serve as a tourist centre.

Orji had once said that he values building roads to open up the state but that he values much more, building structures like the new Government House, the secretariat and the international conference centre which will forever remain a legacy for the state.

He has also done and is doing a number of roads particularly in Umuahia and Aba, and other parts of the state.
However, despite these steps and actions, it is not yet Uhuru for the state in terms of development and the governor knows much but he is successfully laying the genuine foundation for a new Abia. The governor knows that he has a lot of work to do in Aba.

He knows that if Aba works Abia automatically works. With this in mind he has begun to tackle Aba problems, beginning with roads and opening up the blocked drainage which in the main, is one of the biggest problems of the commercial city. There is no doubt that Orji has the intention to re-write the history of Abia state in term of infrastructural development. So the next three and half years which are the remainder of his tenure will show Abians how far he can go.