BY ERIC UGBOR
Mr. Ugochukwu Emezue is the Chief Press Secretary to the Abia State Governor. He spoke recently to journalists in Umuahia on some of the activities of the State government especially on its efforts to transforming the infrastructural decay in Aba and other parts of the state. Below are excerpts;

HOW would you assess the performance of the Abia State Governor, barely one year into the second term of his administration?

Well this second term, I would say that the governor has done so well especially in making sure that he delivers the dividends of democracy which he promised to Abians.

Like you rightly pointed out, the first term of the governor was characterized by legal tussles and some pressures from those who consider themselves as owners of the state but thank God today, that the governor was able to offload the pressure and today we can make bold to say that the Governor has done well in this second term movement which started from May 29, so as we are talking, there are a lot of things on ground to show that the Governor has made positive impact in all fronts within these few months.

Which areas specifically can you say this administration is felt in the state?

The health sector is one of the areas that the governor has done so well. The governor has made a special impact on the area of health. Today we have an ultra modern diagnosing centre in Abia State. In Aba and Umuahia, the beauty of the project is that it has never happened in Abia State.

In the South-East and South-South, the only place you can see MECURE is only in Lagos or probably one other  state is trying to establish it, but right now, if you have any ailments, as you go there you will be examined, you are being treated.

*Abia State governor, Theodore Orji

So it is one of the best things that has happened in the state and beyond because right now other people are coming from other states to MECURE in Umuahia and Aba. In addition to that, we have up to 240 health centres established across the various Local Government Areas of the State.

The governor has done so much because he believes that good health at the grassroots level is very important because everybody cannot access Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Umuahia, and as I talk with you, I don’t think that there is any local government council that does not have a functional health centre, and through the health centres and SACA the government has continued to sensitized people on the dangers of HIV/AIDS.

If you come to Education, the Governor has also done very well. Look at all the renovation that has happened in our schools and you know that he is also paying bursary to Abia students both at home and abroad. He has provided the Abia Mass Transit that takes students free to and from schools and you know that we run the free school tuition in the State.

Ability of the governor

And one thing that is happening is the ability of the Governor to ensure that the schools have facilities, like laboratories that are second to none and if you go to the girls’ schools and Government Colleges, you can see these things, like computers, because we have gone into the digital age and the only way to respond is to start from the school age, so most of our students in colleges are doing very well in this direction.

Now, if you go to other areas like Housing, the Governor has also done well. Right now, I am assuring you that in a matter of months, we are going to commission, the AMAOKWE Housing Estate which people call OCHENDO Estate. It is there at ADELABU and it has given  us a facelift in Umuahia most people have started going in there, you  go to AMAOBA the one of ISIEKE is over 60 per cent on going.

The Governor is also building a new High Court in Umuahia, comprising about six halls, and another complex for the judicial workers. There is also a complex at the State Broadcasting Corporation of Abia State (BCA). At the Commissioner’s quarter, we have four blocks of building there.

The State Governor was in Aba to commission some projects recently. What is the significance of these projects to the residents of the connected city?

The special thing about the projects is to show that the State Governor has Abia people at heart contrary to the erroneous impression created by some detractors that Aba people don’t like the Governor or that Chief T.A Orji doesn’t like the people.

No, now let me tell you, Aba is in a State of decay and everybody knows that and previous administrations abandoned the city and how do you clear the mess? Not by one fell swoop, it is a gradual process, and the Governor has initiated that process by doing to commission some of the projects. Now, what has he done, ARIARA is an international market and we want to make it a place that everybody would be proud of.

Now, if you open up ARIARA for God’s sake, it is going to generate a lot of revenue for the State, so the Governor went to Faulks Road (Ukwumango) that leads to the market which has been abandoned for over twenty years, and the road has been opened and you can freely drive in and out apart  from the Ukwumango, the Governor also commissioned pedestrian overhead bridge at the Abia State Polytechnic, that place has witnessed many accidents, at the Aba-Owerri Federal Highway which was also reconstructed by the State Government and the first phase completed.

There are many other roads that are ongoing in Aba and the Government is going to complete all of them. Apart from these roads commissioned, before May 29, which will be the first year anniversary of the Governor’s second term, we would be going into Aba again to commission other projects, by December, we will go there, so it is a gradual process, like I said, that place has been in a state of decay, people should give the Governor a chance, he has good intentions for the people, look at the OSISIOMA Junction  which used to be a crowed park, today you can see a green garden with the road constructed and free movement of vehicles and new motor park, at OSISIOMA which will be soon be completed, so if you look at all these things, you know that the Governor means well for Aba people.

What advice(s) do have for the people of the State because they don’t seem to understand the programmes of the government as it concerns transforming the State?

What we want the people of Abia to know is that Rome was not built in a day, if the past administration had laid a solid foundation, what the Governor would have done is to consolidate on it, you saw what Asiwaju Bola Tinubu did and Governor Fashola continues from there and after that another person takes over, so there was this superstructure in Lagos already existing but in our own case, there was no foundation all we had was hype, but now Governor T.A Orji has come to clear the mess and decay and that is what we want the people to understand.

Like in Aba, Ohanku road was impassable before but today you can see the quantum of work that is been done in that road by the present administration. Our people should take time to appreciate what the Governor is doing. Now you ask how much is the State getting from the federal allocation; some people try and compare Abia with some of the South-South States.

Abia, a state that gets about N3.1billion in a month, and pays salaries of about N2.6billion in a month, how do you compare Abia with these other States that get N12 billion and above monthly. And all these other States are the core oil producing States, where the Shells of this world, Chevron, AGIP are there to help, so they can afford to bring Julius Berger to construct road.

But here, the Governor is prudently managing, making a lot of sacrifices to make sure he does some of these projects and by the time he completes these projects, Abia people will say yes this man has done well, You judge the man based on what he gets and not comparing Abia Governor with that of Rivers State, it is not possible.

Our people should have faith don’t loose hope, and for those who say they are critics, let them be constructive to make sense. Not sitting in your house and saying T.A Orji has not done anything, when the projects are still there for everybody to see. So Abia people should support Governor T.A Orji he means well for us.

Yes this same ‘Critics’ are also saying that previously we had a dispensation where a mother and his son held the State hostage for eight years, but that in the present dispensation, it is Governor T.A. Orji and his son ENGR. CHINEDU ORJI popularly called IKUKU that is governing the state? What is IKUKU’s role in the present government?

When you talk about the Governor and his wife, it is understandable because they have constitutional roles to play, but when people talk about a private citizen, a qualified engineer who is practicing, doing his private professional duties, so when people bring him into governance, we say it is mischief of the highest order.

Young man with positive vision

I can tell you that many people talking about him have never seen him before, he is not the talking or outgoing, social or moving about type, he is busy minding his business. But I can tell you that why many people are trying to blackmail him is because, this is a young man who has a positive vision of ensuring that youths of the State are empowered.

Now, I can tell you that he has the Abia Youths Empowerment Scheme, and through that place he has given scholarships to many Abia youths even indigent students. During the election of his father, of course there is nobody that his father would be in an election and he/she goes home to sleep leaving your father to do it alone.

He had to play a role by mobilizing the youths to make sure that his father was re-elected and because of that many people see him as a role model. He has a heart for the youths and is committed to ensuring that Abia youths are empowered to greatness. So it is laughable when people ignorantly and mischievously talk about Engr. Chinedu Orji without highlighting the positive impacts he is making on Abia youths.