The All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Abia State, has lambasted Gov. Okezie Ikpeazu on the first 100 days of his second tenure, accusing his government of celebrating backwardness and obvious failures of its first tenure that include projects abandonment, non-payment of workers emoluments and accumulated pension arrears.

The party in a statement on Friday signed by its Publicity Secretary, Ebere Uzoukwa, literally took the governor to the cleaners as it chronicled some of his failures to include “the abandoned Osisioma Fly-Over, a conduit pipe with which the governor and his surrogates have so far used to siphon about 5 Billion Naira from the treasury of Abia State, the destruction rather than construction of Obikabia-Umuobiakwa-Ururuka Road (the road leading to the governor’s house/village), the invisible Enyimba Economic City, the non-existent Abia Shoe Factory and the destroyed but abandoned Abiriba-Nkporo road.”

Also enlisted as Ikpeazu’s sins are “the 8-Month Salary Arrears owe to Secondary School Teachers, the16-Month Salary Arrears owe to Abia workers, the 30-Month Arrears owe to Abia Pensioners, Contracts Inflation, Money Laundering and the neglect of the Ukwa East and Ukwa West LGAs as well as the oil producing communities of Abia State.”

While describing Abia as the least developed state in the country, the party further described the situation as ‘disheartening’ especially when governors of some neighboring states in the South East particularly Ebonyi and Enugu state are consolidating gainfully numerous achievements recorded during their first term in office.

“It is disheartening that while states in South East like Ebonyi, Enugu and their governors consolidate on their laudable achievements and progress made during their first tenure on the occasion of first 100 days of their second tenure, Abians are languishing in darkness and backwardness under the visionless PDP government led by Okezie Ikpeazu. There is no gainsaying that Abia is rated the worst state in terms of good governance and the least developed state in Nigeria,” the party posited.

Abia APGA also condemned the silence of some elders in the state as the PDP led government furthers in plunging the ‘God’s Own State’ in the mud.

This is also as the party commends Bishop Lucius Ugorji of the Catholic Dioceses of Umuahia for speaking truth to power and the mind of the groaning Abians on the state of decayed infrastructure plaguing the state.

Abia APGA said: “The Abia situation is ostensibly worsened given the conspiracy of silence by some elders who unpatriotically choose to maintain sealed lips apparently to curry and sustain certain economic and personal inducements from the government at the detriment of development and progress of our dear state.

“However, we must commend the Bishop of Umuahia Catholic Diocese, Most Rev. Lucius Ugorji, who recently at Mater Dei Cathedral and during a special thanksgiving by the government to commemorate the 28th anniversary of the creation of Abia State, lambasted the governor over the huge infrastructure deficit plaguing the state. Bishop Ugorji reminded them the need to pay workers and teachers ‘promptly and as at when due’ in order to motivate them to give their best. We sincerely thank the Bishop for speaking truth to power and the mind of Ndi Abia at this moment sycophancy and praise-singing have taken the center-stage and the golden place of good governance in Abia.”

While reiterating its earlier position that Gov. Ikpeazu was foisted on Abians via electoral manipulations to do the biddings of the immediate past governor and his family, Abia APGA also expressed optimism of hope for a better Abia, positing that its Governorship candidate in the 2019 election, Dr. Alex Otti, OFR, has vowed not to relent until the state is liberated.

The party said: “It is unfortunate that Ikpeazu’s failures have given credence to our earlier position that the governor was never prepared for governance but was hurriedly packaged as a stooge by the immediate past governor and his family.

“This unfortunate situation, however, does not dismiss our hope for a better Abia. The resilience of Dr. Alex Otti, OFR to fight and ensure holistic liberation of Abia State is rather restoring hope in a state of hopelessness we found ourselves.

“We therefore call upon all well-meaning Abians to remain steadfast and pray fervently for Dr. Otti, the 2019 Governorship candidate of our dear party, as he undertakes all necessary steps within the confine of the Law to ensuring that justice prevails over the sham that returned Ikpeazu back to government house.”

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