By Emmanuel Elebeke

The cool atmosphere of Victoria Island Lagos came alive when indigenes of Abia State resident in Lagos State rolled out the drums in their numbers to welcome their governor, Chief Theodore Orji.

The event was specially planned to offer the Governor n opportunity to render an account of his stewardship and to seek the inputs of his hosts on how to take Abia State to an enviable height.

Different Abia communities and cultural groups took their turns to entertain the Governor, the Speaker of the state House of Assembly and other top political leaders  in the company of the governor.

It was also an opportunity for most of those present to take turns ask various questions bordering on the welfare of Abians, just as they advised the Governor on how to move the state forward, assuring him of their total support.

In his address, the governor thanked all Abians who had contributed in different ways to liberate the state from the grip of what he called selfish politicians.

He said his administration was on transformation mission to restore Abia state back to its former glory, and urged all Abians to support his government actualize his vision.

The Governor said much could not be achieved in the state in terms of delivery of democracy dividends because the state was in captivity of the  forces of darkness until he liberated it. He assured of his willingness to ensure prudent use of available resources to transform the state through the revamping of infrastructure.

Governor  Orji also debunked rumours making around that his administration had not done enough, maintaining that he had done enough to justify the resources coming to the state and challenged the opposition to visit the state for confirmation.

Corroborating the Governor’s position, the former military governor of old Imo state and minister of external affairs, Major General Ike Nwachukwu (Rtd) appealed to all Abians to support the government  to enable him achieve better results.

He also backed the call for enthronement of true federalism in the country, saying that such step would  enable Nigeria attain its full potentials.

Gen. Nwachukwu said recent developments in the country had made it imperative for stakeholders in Nigerian to begin negotiation on how to enthrone fiscal federalism that would engender genuine democratic practice and speedy development in the country. “I support true federalism because that is the only way we can make progress. The importance of true federalism cannot be over-emphasized as it will bring in true democratic practice and development,” he said.

In his contribution, renowned scholar, Prof. Anya O Anya, lamented that the state had lost some years due to incidence of kidnapping, but commended the Governor for restoring peace in the state. Prof. Anya, while charging all Abians in diaspora to invest at home, pledged the readiness of Abia professionals to work with the Governor to transform the state.