Abia APC chieftain says Gov Ikpeazu govt lacks focus

By Musa Adamu

A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Nyerere Anyim, has called for greater Infrastructural development and industrialization in Abia State.
The APC chieftain made his position known, in a statement on Sunday, while assessing the development of Abia State after its creation on August 27th, 1991 under the military President of Major General Ibrahim Babaginda.
Anyim, who was the 2015 gubernatorial Candidate of the APC in Abia, posited that there was not much to celebrate giving the infrastructural decay and the quagmire the state has found itself in, within the past 21 years of civilian rule.
He regretted that despite all the funds Abia receives from the Oil revenue and federal allocations, successive governments have failed to positively impact on the lives of the citizenry and residents of the State.
According to him, the ugly development calls for a serious rethink by those occupying political offices.
Anyim, however, called on the current government under Governor Okezie Ikpeazu to redouble its efforts in rekindling the lost glory of Abia State.
“Aba, Nkporo and Umuahia were already existing cities with a substantial degree of urban population and development before 1991. For instance, Aba was already industrialized, with industries like the Aba textile mill, which employed thousands of workers and multinational companies. Unfortunately within the past 21 years of civilian governance of the state, Abia has become a shadow of itself.
”The ‘God’s own State’ hardly represents or posit the presence of God any longer. If you go to places like Nkporo, Arochukwu, Isikwuato, and other towns within Abia, the state of infrastructure is nothing to write home about. But we thank God that some palliative measures are currently taking place to ameliorate the sufferings of the people.
“Aba is supposed to be the goose that lays the golden egg for the state in terms of commercial activities and industrialization, but there is no conducive environment for them to thrive. That is the condition Abia finds itself today.
”Abia at 29, ought to have done better than what we have today. Look at Ebonyi State, I’m not trying to compare us with other states, but there is a need for those governing the state today to look at what is happening in other states and have a re-think and do something better that will reflect in the lives of the citizens”.