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By Brown Chimezie
The leader of Abia Grassroots Movement, Dr Emeka Udowo has said that since the dawn of the present democratic dispensation in Nigeria, the dividends have been far from reaching the indigenes.
Speaking in an interview, Honourable Udowo who was a former All Progressives Congress (APC) House of Assembly candidate for Isuikwuato said that the reason is because the past governors did not bring any meaningful developments when compared with their counterparts in the neighbouring states.
How has democracy fared in Abia State in the last 24 years?
The truth is that as far as Abia State is concerned, we have not actually reaped the true dividends of democracy based on the facts that most of the past governors have never brought real development to the grassroots. In terms of infrastructure, health care, agricultural development and human capital development, we are lacking. You cannot pinpoint any industry that was attracted by them in the last 24 years. Even the ones that were functioning when they came on board are now moribund .Workers are being owed salaries, no good road network and poor waste management system. Even most of the policies in the past were not geared towards employment creation or to generate funds for the running of the state but rather they wait for Federal Government allocations. Another thing is that Local Government Areas are not in touch with the grassroots, while the state government is far from the people when compared with other states like Rivers, where projects are being commissioned on a weekly basis. Cross River State is developing agricultural food chain and agro-based processing plants. Ebonyi which is one of the newly created states can boast of good road facilities with modern infrastructure. They have established a University and a mega hospital is on the way.
What are the qualities you expect from the next governor?
As a leader of the Abia Grassroots Movement and also leader of Abians in Diaspora, we want a governor that can develop our agricultural sector and which include food chain processing plants like cassava, plantain, maize plants, fisheries in all the local government areas. We want a governor that can give soft loans to the youths to go into serious farming, so we can have food on our table and also attract agro allied industries. We have cashew plantations that can be developed for exportations. Secondly, a governor that will create good road network to enable the farmers bring out their proceeds to the market. We need primary healthcare facilities in all the local government to take care of our aged parents and pregnant women. Then tackle insecurity and kidnapping. Our major cities and even the villages are always in the dark, so we need a governor that can introduce renewable energies like solar and wind mill to stop the over dependence on electricity. Abia also needs an airport so that our visitors should not be relying on the neighbouring states like Rivers, Enugu and Imo. The airport would bring development in the state. We want a governor that will revive our education sector, attract UBEC fund so that our schools can be modernized and upgraded with state of the art facilities such as e-libraries and computers and also pay teachers as at when due. We also want a governor that will create an entrepreneurship and skill acquisition centre in all the local government areas, so that our jobless youths will acquire skills for self employment. Abia State also needs a football academy where our talented players can be groomed and finally, we need to develop our tourism sector and block loopholes to minimize wasteful spending.
Among all the governorship candidates, who do you think fits this bill?
When we look at the antecedents of the governorship candidates, we need a person who must have invested in the state, an entrepreneur who has network of contacts both local and international. Someone who has wealth of experience in management and have developed business that are successful and learned. Prof.Gregory Ibeh of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), is best placed to manage the affairs of the state, based on the fact that he cannot be manipulated by any godfather or use the state money to pay loyalty to any godfather. If he is voted, he will go there to discharge his duties without any fear or favour. So he has capacity and integrity to lead Abia. He believes in Abia dream and he has invested in the state thereby creating employment. Charity they say begins at home; he has contributed immensely in the development of his immediate community, Uturu. So, he has good excellent track record.
What advice do you have for Abians?
The advice that I have for Abia people is that they should vote for Prof. Gregory Ibeh based on his attributes, precedents and contributions to the development of Abia State. Secondly, they should also remember that under Abia Charter of Equity, it is the turn of Isuikwuato that has not produced the governor of the state. Eight years ago, the mandate was given to Abia South and Isuikwuato people, including myself campaigned for Okezie Ikpeazu and he won. The governor then, Theodore Orji said that he would zone the position to Abia North based on Abia Charter. So based on the charters, power should come back to Abia North and coincidentally, Isuikwuato is presenting Prof.Gregory Ibeh. So, I am appealing to all Abians to vote massively for him on Saturday, March 11th.
