By Anayo Okoli

Umuahia—IN a bid to stamp out kidnapping and other crimes which had in the past almost crippled its activities, Abia State government has commenced registration of repentant kidnappers and criminals.

The government said it would ensure that all repentant kidnappers who registered participated in the benefit from the amnesty package.

Consequently, the state government has appealed to youths in the state who engaged in kidnapping and other violent crimes to take advantage of the state pardon by Governor Theodore Orji to register their names in their own interest.

Announcing the resumption of registration when he received in audience a pressure group, Aba Ngwa Action Movement, yesterday in Umuahia, the Special Adviser to the governor on Media and Publicity, Chief Anthony Agbazuere, appealed to the youths to ensure that nobody was kidnapped during this period of on-going registration exercise.

Reminding them that the youths in the core Niger-Delta states where kidnapping started had since abandoned the crime and were  now benefitting from the Federal Government’s amnesty package, Agbazuere called on youths in the state to emulate them and change for the better.

He also called on security agencies not to arrest any kidnapper who stepped forward to register his name in order not to scuttle the programme.

Agbazuere also said that the massive road construction and reconstruction work going on in Aba, the state’s commercial capital, would continue until the city was transformed to be the envy of other states in the federation, even as he urged the residents of the city to cooperate with the contractors handling road projects in Aba and avoid blocking the drainage.  He  gave the assurance that the governor was determined to make an impact in the state.

In his remarks, the president-general of the group, Mr. Chima Alozie, commended the governor for the efforts he has made so far in the development of the state, especially for liberating the state from bondage and for giving a facelift to Aba roads.They pledged their support for his re-election in 2011.