Abia State is on the path to making history as the first state to build a fire-fighting machine in the country.

The State Governor, Dr Okezie Ikpeazu, dropped this hint yesterday while performing the ground-breaking ceremony to kick-start the construction of the permanent site of Abia State Polytechnic, Aba.

The development of the school’s permanent site is commencing 23 years after the establishment of the institution in 1992. The permanent site is located in Osisioma Local Government Area.

During the ceremony, Ikpeazu pledged that his administration would support efforts of authorities of the school to actualise its goals. He gave no further details about the fire-fighting machine.

The governor described Abia Polytechnic as a flagship institution that would drive the economy of the state in the near future.

He disclosed that over 5,000 graduates of the institution are occupying various positions and doing the state proud in diverse fields. He maintained that the institution would play a major role in filling the middle manpower needs of the state as the government was striving to establish industrial clusters working towards boosting made-in-Aba shoes and announced that the institution will supply the first Nigerian made fire fighting machine soon.

Dr. Ikpeazu assured that his administration would not abandon any projects and thanked the management of the polytechnic for their understanding while urging them to remain morally upright and continue to do their best.

He expressed worry about rumours of high fees charged by the institution and directed the management to supply his office with the fees profile to enable him to see the possibility of reducing the school fees.

Earlier, the Acting Rector of the Polytechnic, Prof. Uche Ikonne, thanked the Governor for lifting the weight of the N2 billion bank facility accessed by previous administrations of the school and for other interventions which assisted in payment of accumulated arrears of salary to workers.

Ikonne maintained that Abia Polytechnic has great potentials that would assist the government in its programmes and explained that the current site of the institution cannot support the expansion programmes, hence the need to relocate to the permanent site. The site, according to the Acting Rector, would be completed through public/private initiative.

•Photo shows Governor Ikpeazu.