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By Vincent Kalu
An Abia State governorship aspirant, Chief James Okereke, has said that he would reinvent the agrarian policy of the late Premier of defunct Eastern Nigeria, Dr. Michael Okpara, to drive the economy of the state.
Chief Anyaogu, popularly known as Ihie Abia, contesting on the platform of Young Progressive Party (YPP), promised to enthrone good governance.
He wondered how a state that produced the former premier of the Eastern Region would be fumbling in agriculture. Okpara used agriculture as a trajectory for economic development of the region; the Eastern Region then became one of the fastest growing economies in the world under his leadership, he noted.
“Abia State’s internally generated revenue (IGR) and monthly allocation from the federation account are almost twice that of neighbouring Ebonyi State, yet Ebonyi is now a model in agriculture and infrastructural development. Right from Uzuakoli axis through Igbere-Ozu Item- Abam down to Arochukwu in Abia, you have the longest and largest rice basin that is incomparable to none in African sub-region, but it is lying waste.
“Democracy engenders towards building an egalitarian society are conspicuously non-existent.”
“I am not a pessimist. I believe we are not jinxed. Things will take a turn for the better when the shoe is on the other foot. We need total re-orientation of the electorate. Every Abia citizen should stand up to be counted for us to take our destiny in our own hands. Abia people, wherever they may be, should begin to work towards total redemption,” Anyaogu said.
