₦airaland Forum

if u say T.A is not doing great ,make u employ soldiers to ur own state make them do the same,abi them carry soldiers put for jupita wey ur hand no reach to bring them into ur own state,shameless critics,make other governors carry the same idea as T.A carry am make Abia a peaceful state

....T.A has brought in transformation which was never there before..the truth must stand no matter how people like Ngwakwe tries to bear it down....shameless people who are trying to malign the state government with falsity....please good people ,i will advice us to visit this site and see the development that T.A ORJI has brought to Abia state...these developments were never there before,but now Abia can enjoy many things....visit http://www.panoramio.com/user/7238079?show=all...this is for those who have the opinion that T.A has got a red mud project to show them he has done great work which u can see thru the site given above

T.A has brought a great change in Abia state ,which was not there before,we are proud of the job he is doing in Abia ,they were never before ,anything of such ,we there fore proclaim him the best so far in the history of governance in Abia state,since the inception of democratic governance...ga niru T.A Orji ...we are solidly behind u...

T.A has brought a great change in Abia state ,which was not there before,we are proud of the job he is doing in Abia ,they were never before ,anything of such ,we there fore proclaim him the best so far in the history of governance in Abia state,since the inception of democratic governance...ga niru T.A Orji ...we are solidly behind u...

people like Ngwakwe are being bought over by tugs ,and the worse side of it is that u are so cheaply bought over ...u should be ashamed of ur self....so becos of the little tips u get from REAGAN UFOMBA,you took to nairaland ,as an avenue to derogate governor T.A ORJI.....you just fall cropper;we all know who you are,and i must tell you that we are aware of all your evilish works and we are cognizance of the good work og T.A,we the people of Abia state have given him our support....we pray he continue without been distracted .......to avoid being misled,i urge Abians to visit http://www.panoramio.com/user/7238079?show=all..this where u would be presented with all that you need to know about Abia state transformation by ochendo...there are many on-going projects u will see here if u click on this web site....http://naijanewsreelity..com/2013/01/photonews-on-going-road-projects-in.html?spref=fb

we are saying that T.A is working ,people of Abia has got it right to have voted him in,we are all saying that he has been great and we are supporting him...no one has ever done it better than T.A

@ Ngwakwe ,if all these u recounted here is what u called transformation,that means you are having a sickness of backdrop,being a clueless man in nature...u should be ashamed of yourself for branding ORJI UZOR KALU's failure as SUCCESS.....ORJI UZOR KALU messed Abia state up...he was a tug,and he still is a tug......he used "abracadabra and the more you look the less you see" to trick Abia people,he never did anything to influence the citizens of Abia state...OUK is not educated ,he blindly led Abia ,he was the architect of the hard time Abians are facing,but with T.A ORJI Abia has seen a glimmer of the light....T.A has brought in transformation which was never there before..the truth must stand no matter how people like Ngwakwe tries to bear it down....shameless people who are trying to malign the state government with falsity....please good people ,i will advice us to take visit this site and see the development that T.A ORJI has brought to Abia state...these developments were never there before,but now Abia can enjoy many things....visit http://www.panoramio.com/user/7238079?show=all

ORJI HAPPY WITH EXTENT OF WORK IN ABA

Abia governor, chief Theodore Orji has expressed happiness with the transformation going on in Aba in terms of road reconstruction and general cleanliness of the city.

The governor was speaking at Aba while inspecting the on-going rehabilitation work on some roads in the city.

Chief Orji said that for the first time, the face of Aba is changing, noting that the median which used to be a dumping ground for all manner of refuse is now clean.

The governor who expressed satisfaction that in less than one month Azikiwe, Milverton and Brass Roads in Aba have been completed said at the speed the rehabilitation work is going, a lot would have been achieved before the rainy season sets in.

He promised to surprise Aba people and disclosed that apart from road reconstruction, government is also embarking on the beautification of the city with a view to attracting investment into the state.

According to him, the preoccupation of his administration for now is to sustain the achievements so far made as well as to maintain the cleanliness of Aba and appealed to Aba people not to dump waste indiscriminately in the median but rather to use the ASEPA bins stationed at strategic locations.

The Abia state chief executive who also inspected the progress of work at the Geometric access road in Osisioma and the Atta-Isieke road in Umuahia revealed that government embarked on the Geometric access road to assist the power company and disclosed that the project has reached 75% completion. Abia governor, chief Theodore Orji has expressed happiness with the transformation in Abia state......source http://www.thenigerianvoice.com/nvnews/105376/1/orji-happy-with-extent-of-work-in-aba.html

Abia, Still God’s Own State

Abia State Governor, Chief Theodore Oji

Don Ubani writes that in spite of his many challenges, Abia State Governor, Chief Theodore Oji, has worked hard to ensure that Abia remains God’s own state

When one is entrusted with the people’s confidence, resources and fortune, one would need the amazing grace of God to discharge one’s responsibilities with utmost care, prudence, transparency and equity.


In 1999, Orji Uzor Kalu was elected Governor of Abia State. His mandate was to impact positively on the people of the state using the common wealth of the people. But contrary to this expectation, Kalu, for eight years, only proved himself to be incomparably unscrupulous, greedy and extremely unintelligent.


The combination of extremity of Kalu’s vices amounted to, not only total disappointment to the people of God’s Own State but Abians taking a very strong decision never again to repose their confidence in a charlatan or in one whose pedigree is suspect. Kalu’s atrocities in Abia and against Abians were so devastating that the people of God’s Own State, both individually and collectively, wept and placed a curse on him, his mother and siblings.


When a people, with sorrow and tears, marginalization, injustice and overwhelming depression place a curse on a greedy opportunist, the consequence is always unimaginably enormous. It is the curse that Abians and, indeed, many other Nigerians placed on Kalu that has continued to torment him. Otherwise, why must he sponsor one Odimegwu Onwumere, to write a piece that is full of incoherence and only amounts to a nonsense.


In the said write-up, Kalu, through Onwumere, fruitlessly and unethically expressed his grouse over the ‘claim’ by one of Governor Theodore Orji’s Aides that the Governor has restored the dignity of the Abia person? Kalu, being conscious of the havoc he wreaked on Abians, would not want to hear of the restoration of the ‘dignity’ of Abia people.


Hence, he has continued to cry wolf where none exists.
For purposes of educating Kalu and equally calling him to order, let me talk on ‘dignity’ and its restoration in Abia State. Kalu does not know that ‘dignity’ is that intrinsic quality in one that earns or makes one deserve respect.


Dignity does not necessarily flow from wealth. Rather, it is an inalienable associate of character. Having taught Kalu this elementary lesson, hoping he would learn though he may lack the mental capacity to absorb and retain simple but decent knowledge, I would now say only a few things to justify the claim by the governor’s aide on restoration of ‘dignity’.

When a person’s ‘dignity’ is restored, the person enjoys enhanced positive image. By virtue of constitutional democracy, every Abian is entitled to certain fundamental human rights such as: freedom of thought, freedom of association and freedom of worship.
Any time that fundamental right of an Abian or any other individual is violated or denied, it goes a long way to cause psycho-social depression. This, certainly, affects the individual and therefore, impacts very negatively on his or her character and by clinical extension, his or her ‘dignity’.

I am saying it for the umpteenth time that during the tenure of Kalu as governor of Abia State, the fundamental rights of many Abians were deliberately and consistently trampled upon by Kalu and his unprecedentedly avaricious mother, Eunice.
Today, Orji has given appointments, contracts and other life-support incentives to many Abians without subjecting any of them to any form of oath-taking. This is restoration of ‘dignity’.


For the eight years that Kalu presided over the affairs of Abia State, he never gave any quantifiable consideration to the health of Abians hence; he did not think it necessary to erect even a one-bed clinic.

That Governor Orji, a quintessential administrator and an accomplished alumnus of Nigeria’s premier University of Ibadan, has been able to build and equip two hundred and fifty health centres spread across the state and two functional diagnostic medical centres in Umuahia and Aba, has definitely tormented Kalu who now perceives the governor’s performance as a deliberate design to dump him in the dust bin meant for non-performance.


Abia is an oil-producing State, courtesy of Ukwa-West Local Government Area. Throughout Kalu’s tenure, every plea made by the people of Ukwa-West for his administration to set up an Oil Producing Area Development Commission naturally fell on his deaf ear. But no sooner had Orji became governor than he set up the Abia State Oil Producing Area Development Commission.


That commission has helped immensely in the development of Abia State, particularly the oil-producing areas of the State. Many traditional rulers from Ukwa-West had no vehicles but today are proud owners of jeeps that have, for sure, enhanced their status. Kalu has always been a victim of ignorance and, so, will not realize that an elevation of this magnitude for traditional rulers in Ukwa-West would go a long way to give impetus to their ‘dignity’. Does this not justify the claim by the Governor’s aide?


Kalu’s eight-year governance of Abia State did not witness any quantifiable empowerment of the Abia youth. His administration only recorded donation of ‘Tokunbo’ motor-cycles and wheel-barrows to Abia youths. On the contrary, the Government of Ochendo has motivated Abia youths with more than five hundred cars and more than two thousand tricycles, otherwise known as Keke-Napep.
The beneficiaries of this unparalleled benevolence of the governor have subsequently become self-employed and are living very responsible life and discharging their social cum community obligations.


For youths that could only dream of motorcycles and wheel-barrows during the administration of Kalu to have their taste redirected and their status radically upgraded, Kalu would not perceive any meaningful restoration of ‘dignity’ in this context. What a pity!


In order to address the problem of youth unemployment and its attendant youth restiveness; a twin problem that was poorly unattended to during the era of darkness which Kalu’s government represented, the Orji government has offered employment to four thousand and five hundred Abia youths and is encouraging them to acquire useful skills with the money they are paid in order to guarantee a stable future for themselves.


Because Kalu would not wish or see anything good in Ochendo’s government, he would not agree that youths that were hopelessly abandoned by his administration but are now being rehabilitated by Governor Orji have had their ‘dignity’ restored.


While the Federal Government of Nigeria legislated eighteen thousand naira as minimum wage for the Nigerian worker, the Abia State Government, under Ochendo, pays twenty thousand and one hundred naira to her lowest public servant. It is only the devil that will not see restoration of ‘dignity’ in this vivid expression of humanity.


In this piece, I do not intend to mention the numerous legacy projects initiated and being executed by the administration of Orji in the state. Should I talk of the civil servants’ secretariat complex that is eighty percent completed or the five thousand seat capacity International Conference Centre, also eighty percent completed?


If Kalu claims not to have seen the new functional industrial market before the University of Agriculture Umudike, would he be justified to say he has not seen the modern Umuahia market at Ubani-Ibeku, which is just conspicuously along his Ohafia-Umuahia Road? There are too many projects to be mentioned that space and time may not permit here. I, however, challenge Kalu for an open contest on the issue of restoration of ‘dignity’ for Abians by Orji.


To ascertain how myopic Kalu and his uninformed Onwumere are, one has to compare and contrast between their preposterous claim that there is not restoration of ‘dignity’ in Abia and their contradictory questioning of the source of money with which the wife of the governor, who through her Non-governmental Organization, Hannah-May Foundation, has been touching the lives of the less-privileged by building a three-bedroom bungalow, with provision of water and furniture for such people in the State.


It is for the reading public to assess and evaluate if indigenes of a state that hitherto had no shelter of their own but through the milk of kindness of the governor’s wife now own their own houses should be said to have been impacted positively on or otherwise.
As I had earlier stated in many of my write-ups, former governor Kalu intentionally murdered sleep in God’s Own State, he would, therefore, know no sleep.
*Ubani is a citizen of Abia

there is so much development going on in Abia state...T.A is active

starlett or whatever u call urself,ur just a big bunch of lies....u are saying false things and fallacy here....T.A is not owning anybody..he has been working...his work speaks for itself....T.A is working and am sure by the time he leaves the office come 2015,many will be wowed by the work he has done

Gov.Orji promises to industrialize Abia in 2013

GOV. THEODORE ORJI OF ABIA STATE
Gov.Orji promises to industrialize Abia in 2013 NAN-H-42 Industrialization Umuahia, Dec. 31, 2012 (NAN) Gov. Theodore Orji of Abia on Monday said that his administration would take strategic steps to ensure rapid industrial growth in the state in 2013. Orji made the promise in his New Year goodwill message to the people of the state, made available to newsmen in Umuahia. He said that government would establish agro-based industries, adding that entrepreneurs would be fully engaged in mechanized agriculture in the proposed liberation farms. He further promised to pursue the establishment of technology parks in Aba and Umuahia in 2013 in order to harness the ingenuity of the entrepreneurs in the state. The governor expressed the optimism that the initiative would support the growth of the small scale enterprises and also create jobs for the people. He gave assurance that he would judiciously utilize the state resources to transform the area and deliver the dividend of democracy to the people. Orji said that government would continue to plug all loopholes for financial leakages in the system.0 He said that the bio-metric system of salary payment initiated by his administration would be completed in 2013 as part of effort to check over bloated workforce and ghost workers. The governor said that a new electronic tax remittance system would be introduced to eliminate the problem of double taxation. He commended the indigenes of the state for their unflinching support to his administration and assured them that 2013 would be better.

GOV. THEODORE ORJI OF ABIA STATE
Gov.Orji promises to industrialize Abia in 2013 NAN-H-42 Industrialization Umuahia, Dec. 31, 2012 (NAN) Gov. Theodore Orji of Abia on Monday said that his administration would take strategic steps to ensure rapid industrial growth in the state in 2013. Orji made the promise in his New Year goodwill message to the people of the state, made available to newsmen in Umuahia. He said that government would establish agro-based industries, adding that entrepreneurs would be fully engaged in mechanized agriculture in the proposed liberation farms. He further promised to pursue the establishment of technology parks in Aba and Umuahia in 2013 in order to harness the ingenuity of the entrepreneurs in the state. The governor expressed the optimism that the initiative would support the growth of the small scale enterprises and also create jobs for the people. He gave assurance that he would judiciously utilize the state resources to transform the area and deliver the dividend of democracy to the people. Orji said that government would continue to plug all loopholes for financial leakages in the system.0 He said that the bio-metric system of salary payment initiated by his administration would be completed in 2013 as part of effort to check over bloated workforce and ghost workers. The governor said that a new electronic tax remittance system would be introduced to eliminate the problem of double taxation. He commended the indigenes of the state for their unflinching support to his administration and assured them that 2013 would be better.

Abia state governor, chief TA Orji says he has provided a conducive environment for investment in the state, hence the need for Abians in Diaspora to come home and partner with the state in area of economic and social development.

The governor made this declaration in Lagos in an interactive session with members of Abia Think Tank.

In a statement by his chief press secretary, Ugochukwu Emezue, Governor Orji hinted that unlike in the past when the atmospherease was characterized by fear, occasioned by the activities of kidnappers, the state is now secured more than ever, as this ugly trend has been consigned to the dust bin of history.

Chief Orji noted that with security in place, investors are now making Abia their destination point.

He specifically revealed that shoprite; a business conglomerate is now building its outfit in Umuahia the state capital.

Chief Orji maintained that he is not regretting the huge investment he is making in securing the state.

Speaking further, the governor stated that most of the projects he is building in the state will be commissioned next year.

He stated that the equipment for the dialysis center will be installed in January 2013.

Chief Orji assured that he will strive to make Abia the envy of other states.

Earlier in his speech, the chairman of Abia Think Tank, Mazi Sam Ohuabunwa commended the governor on the infrastructural development going on in the state.

He made it clear that the leadership style of the governor is highly appreciated.While thanking chief TA Orji for the achievement he had made in terms of security, urged him not to relent in giving Abia a new face

T.A ORJI = security expert

T.A has been working tirelessly these days,we know,his second tenure has been of greater credit,and i believe he is doing everything possible to make up for the lost time of last tenure....so hopefully he will get there...he is on the right track....am happy for the development he is bringing in Abia state;relocating some business location and given them another spacious location for excellent-business integration that will harness business friendliness and progress ,is one thing am so happy of ....its fully demanding note of accolade and praises...

@ chimerase you talk like a babe,how could u just start talking trash here,what do u know about leadership? you guys are to me a hear -say group,and there is nothing that shows u have mental justification...T.A orji has been doing great work this tenure and his second tenure,as we all know he has been very outstanding and am so happy about the work he has done so far and i believe he will continue on that direction...

Yakowa, Azazi’s Death: I Am In Shock-Gov. T.A Orji


Abia State Governor Chief T. A. Orji has described last saturdays death of Gov. Yakowa of Kaduna and former Security Adviser Owoeye Azazi in a helicopter crash as very painful and shocking.

The Governor who spoke through his Chief Press Secretary said he is yet to come to terms with this sad development which has thrown the nation into mourning.

Chief T. A. Orji who was in Kaduna last weekend during the wedding of Vice President Namadi Sambo’s daughters and was well received by his late colleague at Government House Kaduna, said that God alone knows why it happened.

Chief Orji maintained that the nation has lost great men who have distinguished themselves in their profession. According to Gov. Orji, late Azazi was one of Nigeria’s finest military officer. He described late Yakowa as humble, hardworking, and above all a man that fears God. He prayed that God will comfort the families of the deceased at this trying moment.source :http://naijanetworknews.com/?p=672

T.A has been working since he came to office for second tenure,who ever says that he is not working is so blind....@Danilsa you are a blind idiot to nhave said all those pictures are photoshop....if you see photoshop you will not know it....@ Danilsa you are a silly subject

About 12,603 Human Infected Virus (HIV) persons in Abia state are to receive government minimal support services
About 12,603 Human Infected Virus (HIV) persons in Abia state are to receive government minimal support services as part of commitment towards the reducing the rate of infection and eradication of HIV/AIDS in the state.

The wife of the governor, Lady Mercy Odochi Orji dropped this hint on Monday in Umuahia after leading a road and awareness walk on HIV/AIDS in the state stated that 7,351 carriers of the virus will equally receive treatment in various outlets in the state.

Lady Orji further said that 33 counseling and testing outlets and seven comprehensive Anti-Retroviral Therapy (ART) centres in the three senatorial zones of the state have been established all geared towards reducing the rate of new infections.

She called on pregnant women and all health workers in the state to access the services of prevention of mother to child transmission by going to the nearest centers to them for counseling, testing and treatment in order to deliver a HIV negative baby, and free the next generation from HIV.source ;http://southeastnewsonline..com/2012/12/about-12603-human-infected-virus-hiv.html?spref=fb

The wife of the governor described this year's celebration theme-“ Getting to Zero death level” as aptly stating that ensuring national ownership and financial sustainability which involves mobilizing in-country resources to full in the huge gaps in the response with a major emphasis on greater access to treatment would go a long way to control the virus.

She therefore cautioned against stigmatization of the carriers and stressed the need for total abstinence and mutual fidelity as the best options to curb the spread of the epidemic.

In his address, the Commissioner for Health, Dr. Okechukwu Ogar said that in line with this year's global theme, the state has been working towards getting to zero level on the HIV/AIDS prevalence in the state through distribution testing kits to all facilities in the state, scaled up prevention of Mother to Child Transmission (PMTCT) to 25 more sites to reduce new infections, distribution of HIV/AIDS guidelines/protocols, capacity building of health workers, training of 60 health workers on PMTCT.

Dr. Ogar also said that 50 health workers on TB/HIV collaboration have been trained while 12 health facilities for HIV activities have been scaled up and 2012 National HIV/AIDS and reproductive survey conducted.

The Commissioner commended the wife of the governor for her special interest support and provision of a suitable environment for these interventions to be achieved.

Earlier in his speech, the Project Manager agency for Control of HIV/AIDS, Dr Sam Ohaeri commended the wife of the governor for her support to the agency's programmes and in all HIV/AIDS related programme and restated their commitment in the fight against the epidemic.

The event featured road walk around major roads and streets of the state capital by stakeholders and students in the fight against HIV/AIDS.

Abia State government and four United Nations Health agencies (UNH4) have pledged to deepen their areas of partnership in their commitment to further promote maternal and infant mortality rate, exclusive breastfeeding, safe pregnancy delivery and optimal care for the new born baby in the state.

Restating this commitment during a courtesy call on the wife of the governor, Lady Mercy Odochi Orji by the UNH4 team comprising UNICEF, UNFPA, WHO and World Bank, they pledged to sustain all manners that would facilitate optimal healthcare for women and children.

Welcoming the team, Lady Orji said that the present state government accords healthcare a top priority and has therefore left no stone unturned in its commitment to give quality health services to the people.


Lady Orji stated that the construction of 200 new primary healthcare centres across the 17 Local Government, the establishment of the state primary healthcare development agency in line with the National policy, the executive support and personal involvement in all rounds of Immunization and de-worming of school children, war against measles sensitization on Cancer, hypertension and diabetes, exclusive breastfeeding and attracting medical teams for free medicare services to the people were all geared towards ensuring not only a sound health for women and children but the entire populace.

The wife of the governor stated that the above activities in the area of health support to people living with HIV/AIDS, empowerment through donation of food items to less privileged and indigent women fall in line with the UNH4 objectives of ensuring optimal health for women and children.

She assured the team of further collaborations of other donor agencies of government commitment in the health sector especially in primary healthcare to achieve optimal health for the people.

The leader of the delegation, Dr. (Mrs) Esther Obinya said that they were on advocacy visit to the state as one of states benefiting from Canadian Aid Group and to assess performance of the states in areas of primary healthcare.

Mrs. Obinya disclosed of special focus on community based new born baby care aimed at ensure that special care/attention are given to new born baby to ensure their survival and meet their needs.

She appealed to the wife of the governor for support the new initiative by ensuring adequate sensitization of women to deliver at hospitals and health centres were trained attendants are in place to minimize the state's rate of maternal mortality.

Earlier, the state Commissioner for Health, Dr. Okechukkwu Ogar said that the advocacy visit to states in South-East state were aimed at reducing maternal and child mortality rate and that the state has made presentations of what she has been doing especially in areas of maternal and child health and in all aspect of health as well as on how to deepen the co-operation with the UNH4.

A non-governmental organization – Follow Better Organization says its collaboration with the Abia State government has helped in the reduction of consumption of illicit and hard drugs among youths in the State.

The founder of the organization, Hon. Mao Ohuabunwa disclosed this at a special Prayer summit organized by the NGO with the Abia Prayer Network in Umuahia stated that they aimed at value to life through building and enhancing the quality of the intellectual capacity of the people.

Hon. Ohuabunwa stated that the collaboration with the state government with special focus on illicit and hard drugs among youths in the state has culminated in drastic reduction the number of addicts hooked to drugs as well as donation of teaching and learning aids to school in partnership with an European Organization.

He said that FBO are equally engaged in orientating the youths, ethics of fundamental behaviour, political education and sensitization programme with Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and other electoral organizations and commended Her Excellency, the wife of the governor, Lady Mercy Odochi Orji for initiating the Abia Prayer Network through which the affairs of the government and the staff are lifted to God.

The former House leader of the Federal House of Representatives said that they partner with the Prayer Network to pray for Gos's hand in the development agenda of the government, security and peace of the state stressing that idolatry should not be associated with a state christened God's Own State.

In her speech, Lady Orji urged all NGOs and Political Organizations in the State to make God the foundation of their operations. Stating that the Abia Prayer Network was designed to seek God's grace and divine intervention for peace, good governance, protection of lives and property and stability of the present government.

She described prayers as a veritable tool for unlocking God's divine blessings for mankind adding that prayers are penitent in the life of all mortals, communities and nations.

The wife of the governor enjoined all Abians to join hands with the Prayer Network to prey for those in authority and the state in general in order to ensure peace and rapid development.

Earlier in a sermon, an Abuja based Clergy, Pastor Mike Daniels Urged those placed in positions of authority to implement policies that would positively affect the lives of the downtrodden in the society and warded that judgment of God would descent upon that wicked that devices all wickedness that attract curse on the land and subjects and urged all to repent for God's mercies to cleanse the land and uplift the people.

Ugo Emezue hit hard on one of the Orji Uzor Kalu’s Sun newspapers writers

The Chief Press Secretary to Abia State Governor, Ugochukwu Emezue has described the an attempt by one Onuoha Uke of the Sun newspaper to malign the integrity of Chief T.A. Orji as an exercise in futility. In his column in the sun newspaper which is fast becoming a junk, Uke who claims to be from Abia State stated that the recent visit of Abia elders to PDP Abuja to kick against the re admission of Kalu into PDP was uncalled for. Ukeh who is under intense pressure from Orji Uzor his publisher to concoct articles to distract Abia governor went ahead to say that nothing is happening in Abia. According to Emezue, Onuoha Uke is not from Abia and no amount of sermon from him will wash Kalu clean of the corruption yoke on his neck.
The CPS insisted that Uke who is a drop out from School as can be seen from the quality of his write up shares same illiterate background with Kalu. Mr Emezue maintained that Uke and sponsor Kalu are failures hence they should not even be dignified with any response. Mr Emezue declared that Kalu cannot sneak into PDP from the back door no matter the write ups in the rag tag sun papers. One truth Emezue stated is that Chief T.A. Orji has liberated Abians, and placed the State on high pedestal and there is no comparing between him and a man seen and regarded in Nigeria as a gamji man. Emezue concluded by saying that Uke will soon be writing and begging EFCC to release his sponsor, by the time he is prosecuted and jailed.

PDP - Kalu's Rejection, Best for Abia, Igbo - Orji's Aide...
Mr Ben Onyechere, Special Adviser on Public Communication to Governor Theodore Orji of Abia State, has said that the rejection of the move to re-admit Kalu into Abia Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, fold was without regret, because it was in the interest of Igbo and Abia in particular to exclude people whose only stock in trade is to deceive the public for selfish reasons.

He said: "Igbo cannot afford to allow a character like Kalu to continue to misrepresent us and thereby, smear our collective image, with actions that are inimical to our collective fate.
"Remember that he was in the four front of those who allegedly thwarted Ekwueme's second attempt for the presidency in 2003, which he did without apology or remorse because i
t suited his interest at the time.

"With people like that, Nigerians can not take us serious because his antecedent is contradictory to our collective goal as a people. Leadership is not synonyms with wealth in any sense, but that is the mistake he makes by mixing the two, believing that he can get leadership the same way money is made."

Abia will not allow anybody from its fold to cause disaffection between Igbos and the rest of the nation, because if you look back, it is not difficult to decipher what Kalu's plans are which is mainly to disorganise and destabilise the existing peace while playing to the gallery.

"We know he has nothing to lose if he succeeds in bringing disrepute to Abia PDP by fighting unnecessary wars of attrition because his game plan is to deceive the public and cause confusion that can meet his long time heart desire and as such, the door will remain shut at him because the Igbos have been short changed by such unfortunate controversies as can be associated with him."
http://southeastnewsonline..com/

Aba on Gov. T.A Orji’s mind...
Governor Theodore Orji of Abia State has a dream. He has a dream that one day Aba, the great Enyimba City, the Japan of Africa, would take its pride of place among the great industrialised cities of the world. Like Joseph of old, I can interpret the dream of the king. And today, Orji has stepped into Aba in a grand style, to stamp his feet and to leave his footprint in the sands of time.

A fortnight ago, he flagged off the construction of 16 new roads in the city. This is a fulfilment of his promise to launch a massive infrastructural renewal of the city immediately after the rain. The governor recognises the crucial place of Aba in the economy of the state. He recognises the rare creative talent which germinates in Aba. He recognises that no exploration on the history of the great entrepreneurs of the world can be complete without the mention of the giant minds of Aba. And true to his promise, he has re-entered Aba with a Midas touch and his dream is to leave a legacy.

Perhaps Orji, being a literary scholar, must have stumbled on Longman’s immortal lines: “The heights by great men all remind us, we must make our lives sublime and, in parting, leave behind us footprints in the sands of time.” He has an inspiring predilection for footprints – legacies, both tangible and intangible, the indelible memories that transcend life and time. This can be accentuated by the new four-storey secretariat complex, the ultra-modern conference hall, the new Government House complex, and a host of other projects in the state. He has a passion for monuments and for the good that is not interred with our bones. In Abia, the story is about the legacy projects and the current dream is to make Aba a living legacy.

Aba has been the centre of criticism against the Ochendo government. But the critics did not seem to understand the history of the cumulative decay of the city which started with the previous administrations of the state. They did not also factor the fact that Orji has only a paltry N3.5 billion monthly federal allocation to cater for the entire state. But today, Orji has marched into Aba to match action with words and his vision is to create an enabling environment for the reemergence of the small and medium scale enterprises and for the growth of the informal sector in Aba. He wants to restore the lost glory of Aba.
Indeed, Aba is rich in history. The city is key not only to the Igbos but to the entire people of Nigeria and Africa. Apart from its political history with the Aba Women Riot of 1929, there is a rare ingenuity and dexterity for creativity and innovation which germinate in Aba. In little corners of the ancient city, little men of giant minds replicate the kind of creative imagination for which the three Japanese cities of Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka are known. Today, the new political will of Ochendo is to rebuild and transform the city, and the determination to re-invent the Japan of Africa.
Aba is also the commercial hub of Abia State and the business epicentre of the South-East. A greater percentage of the state’s internally-generated revenue (IGR) comes from Aba. It is a city of commerce and enterprise and a place where men sit back in their backyards and try to design, create or develop a product. By the time Aba was in its glory, it was a great centre of business. People came in hordes from all areas of the West African sub-region to buy the Aba-made goods. The city made a great contribution to the Nigerian economy, contributing both to the industrial growth and tourism.

Besides the people’s creativity, Aba also played host as zonal headquarters of many multi-nationals. During the civil war, the area sustained the secessionist Biafra in the area of local food production. But suddenly, Aba fell from the pinnacle of its glory to the backwaters. Without any measure of control, the once beautiful city built by the colonial government became a mad house. The situation was worsened by the menace of flood and filth. Makeshift kiosks sprung up everywhere and people built on top of drainages. Without an enabling environment, the small and medium scale enterprises began to die. The final death knell was the spate of insecurity witnessed in the area in recent times.
Aba also has a recent history of insecurity that came to its peak with the crime of kidnapping. Realising that law and order are the conditions for all other socio-economic activities of man, the governor waged a war against insecurity by confronting and combating the menace of kidnapping and other violent crimes that gripped the area. In collaboration with the Federal Government on a three-pronged strategy that involved the Army leading an expedition in Abia, Orji stabilised the state and ensured that peace returned to the once volatile areas. He has continued to sustain this atmosphere by retaining the services of the Army in the area.
With security in place, the governor has gone ahead to woo foreign investors to the state. All the companies that once relocated from the city have returned to Aba. The strategy is to revamp the industrial base that existed in the area. This would assist in creating job opportunities for the teeming youths and boost the governor’s youth empowerment programme.

There is a new picture of Aba, a mental prototype of what Aba should be, in the mind of Ochendo. Thank God, he is today in Aba with full force working towards the actualisation of the Aba of our dreams. The transformation is starting with the construction of 16 roads. The caterpillars are at work. Through Azikiwe, Asa road, Brass, etc, it is a new face for a once fallen city. By the time Ochendo is done, Aba residents will sing a new song. The critics will swallow their words. They will sing eulogies to a man whose entire trajectory in power has been a rescue mission for the people of God’s Own State.
http://southeastnewsonline..com/2012/12/aba-on-gov-ta-orjis-mind.html

Giving Aba a “New Face”:
Abia State Government Set to Demolish 1800 Structures in Aba

Abia State governor, Theodore Orji has disclosed that plans have been concluded to demolish 1,800 structures in Aba, the commercial nerve center of the state.

As an explanation for this move, the governor said it is designed to give Aba the new face that the Commercial centre of Abia State ought to wear, just as he said that sixteen roads have been marked for reconstruction in Aba.

The governor’s Chief Press Secretary Ugochukwu Emezue while speaking with Journalists in Abuja explained that governor was on top of governance and development in the state in this 2nd term. He however argued that allegation that the governor was not performing came as a result of the fact that he never met anything on ground to build on, adding that the governor spent his first term in litigation over his election as the substantive governor.

Emezue also disclosed that one of the things hindering performance in Abia State was the N30 billion loan that the governor at the moment was servicing; he said the debt was inherited from the previous administration of Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu.

http://www.informationnigeria.org/2012/12/giving-aba-a-new-face-abia-state-government-set-to-demolish-1800-structures-in-aba.html

Judge me by the resources at my disposal –Orji

Your Excellency, Aba has remained the mainstay of the opposition’s criticisms of your administration. This is even when you are said to have invested money and time there. What is then responsible for the persistent to the city by your opponents?
Well, I think you should go and ask them. But what I know and I keep saying is that no administration will neglect Aba because of what it stands for in Abia State. We have done a lot in Aba and we are still going to do more. If we had all the money we needed, I don’t think anybody would open his mouth to say anything. Even at that, we are still working there. You see people judge Abia State by what they are seeing in other states. I have continued to say that people should not judge us based on what other states are doing. They should judge us by what we are getting and when they do that, everybody will see that we have achieved a lot. In a month, the allocation is not more than N3.5 billion. From this amount we pay salary of N2.5 billion. What I now have left for us to work with is N1 billion. It is from this N1 billion that we have done all the legacy projects that you see all around the place. We are not ostentatious; we have been living on what we receive. This is why we are working hard to increase our Internally Generated Revenue (IGR). Once we are able to increase what we get from IGR, I can assure you that we are going to do more. I have made a promise to my people that I would not leave any project that I started for another administration. I must complete all these projects which we have started. So people should stop judging us by what other states are receiving. They should see what we get and what we have been able to achieve. I am not one of those governors that have gone to the Stock Market to get loan. I have not borrowed from any market and yet we are putting down legacy projects that were not there in the first place. If these things were on the ground before I came in, I would channel my energies to other things. Abia State was created in 1991. Can you see anything to show that Umuahia is a capital city? That is what we are doing now. We are just starting to do things that should have been done a long time ago. There have been many administrations in Abia State. How many of them have done half of what we have done in the commercial city? We have done more roads in Aba than any administration before us. And don’t forget that the topography of Aba is not the same as Umuahia. The amount we spend in constructing one road in Aba can be used to do more than five roads in Umuahia. Before we came in, Aba/Owerri road was not passable. If you got to the Osisioma junction, it was terrible, then. If you managed to get to the Binez Junction the flood there would submerge a car. But all these have become things of the past. People no longer remember the state of that road before we came. The road is now free and traffic is flowing freely. How much did we spend on that road? We spent about N2.5 billion because in Aba, you cannot construct a road that will last long without giving it stone base. The same thing is happening to Port Harcourt Road. That road was terrible until we stepped in and now work is going on there. You have also heard of the famous Ukwu Mango Road. This is the easiest road to get into Ariaria Market. For over 30 years, nothing happened on that road and it became a refuse dump for the people. The refuse then was so high that the former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory had to voice out his displeasure when the last administration was in place. Today that road has been recovered and people are using it. The same thing happened to Samek road. So we have been working in Aba, and we are still working.
Apart from these roads, are there other areas that you have ventured into in the commercial city?
Yes, we have not concentrated on the building of roads alone. If you go to the Abia State Polytechnic, you will see the pedestrian bridge there. Before now, that place was a death trap for the students. Every day, you would see scores of students killed while trying to cross the road. So we built the bridge so that our students would no longer be cut down like fowls and we also put a protection so that the students would not try to take the short cut and be killed. They have to take the bridge and this has saved many lives there. If you go to the School Road, we have opened up the gutters. When we were opening the gutters, many people did not know that such a big gutter was present there. They were surprised to witness it. What we did with the big gutter has made it possible for Aba not to be overrun by flood. If we had not opened the big gutter, Aba would have been one of the places where we would have been struggling to save people from flood as we have seen in other places. Today the floods go from the gutter into the Aba River and life and property have been saved. We have also constructed an ultra modern Motor Park at Osisioma where commuter buses drop and pick passengers. We have turned the former Osisioma Park into a horticultural centre.
If you go to that place now, you will not know that it was the former place where armed robbers and hemp smokers converged to perpetrate evil. We have revamped the NNPC depot at Osisioma which has enabled petroleum products to be delivered there. The place was shut down for over six years until we moved in and revamped it. Now petroleum products can be loaded from the depot to other parts of the country and this has caused business to thrive for those dealing on petroleum products. We reconstructed Faulks Road, where the foremost traditional ruler Eze Isaac Ikonne lives. Before we did that road, during the rainy season, the traditional ruler would abandon his palace to seek refuge elsewhere. It was because of the road that we called his son, who was the candidate of the Action Congress of Nigeria, Paul Ikonne to come and take the position of the Commissioner for Works and Transport so that he could supervise the construction of that road. I can show you many letters written by the Traditional Ruler to me, appreciating us for what we did on the road. These letters will tell you how appreciative the people of Aba have been about my administration and this is what is pushing me to do more for the area. I am not perturbed by the scanty opposition remarks that are being heard here and there. These are pockets of opposition. The real people; the real owners of Abia State; the real stakeholders, the real electorate, are happy with what we are doing. That is what is pushing us to do more for Aba and the rest of the state.
Looking back at what has transpired since you became governor, at what point did you decide it was time to part with your immediate predecessor?
There is only one thing that is permanent in life and that is change. When your interest goes contrary to the interest of the people, when what you want is not what the people are looking for, when you want to make the people to cry instead of making them to laugh, then there must be a time when the change will come. For me, I did not have any problem with my predecessor or with anybody in the state. I was elected to supervise the transformation of the state and not to serve any individual or group of individuals. The electorates of Abia State are greater than individuals or group. I decided to take sides with the majority; the electorates and who have elected me to serve them. I never had any problem with my predecessor. The problem was that the stakeholders of Abia State felt alienated from their state, felt that they had been driven away from their state. Also the people felt that their needs were not being attended to, felt that nobody was listening to them. So they began to call for a change. They came here and began to voice their displeasure at what had happened and the need to change the way things were being done. The real owners of the state stood up and said enough was enough and I had to listen to them. It was not me that shouted for liberation. It was the real owners of the state that insisted that the only thing that would pacify them was to be liberated from those who had been denying them the dividends of democracy. They said they wanted to part ways with those who did not want them to have a say in the way their state was being administered. So I had to go with them. I never had any problem with anybody and till today, I still don’t have any problem with anybody. I challenge my predecessor to mention one single offence of mine to him when he decided to rubbish my image. I am the governor of Abia State. The state has 17 Local Government Areas. My business is to make sure that everybody is happy. That is exactly what we are doing here.
You were able to restore peace in the state after the embarrassing period of kidnapping. Was that the darkest period of your political career?
No, I saw it as a challenge because the people were concerned. That is why when I go to Aba and I hear some of the talks going on there, I just say to myself; where was this ‘Enyimba, Enyi’ when kidnappers were ravaging the area? Most of those making noise now all ran away. They abandoned their houses and ran to Abuja and Lagos. But we were resolute in our determination to end the reign of terror. That was what we did in conjunction with the federal government. This is why the people are very much at home with me because they saw that I did not abandon them when it mattered most. I remained and together we fashioned the best solution to the problem and today there is peace in Abia. There is not only social peace but there is also political peace. You see that all the stakeholders are always around and have been giving their advice on how to make the state better. The state does not belong to one individual; it belongs to all of us and this is what they have been yearning for a long time. But when they could not achieve it when they were not allowed to make their input in the governance of their state, they started talking of liberation. This was what happened here. Yes, we have restored peace; it was a situation that made Abia a pariah state. People were running away and leaving their houses and property. Nobody wanted to have anything to do with the state and those that remained behind were always living in fear. But today, it has become a thing of the past. Businesses are springing up everywhere especially in Aba. The real people living in Aba are very happy because they know what happened and what we did. They know that life is better now than what it was before and this is what gives me joy. We are still investing heavily in security because we understand the meaning of insecurity. We have been there before and we know what it did to us. So we are not going to allow such a thing to happen here again. That is why we are always on top of the situation. We have purchased several vehicles for the security agencies and we are working with them to maintain peace. That is why all the awards we have received have all been tied to what we have been able to achieve in the state. We are not making noise about all these things because they are the things we must do for our people. Abia people are very loving and hospitable and hardworking. All they need is the opportunity to present them the conducive environment and carry them along. That is the kind of leadership we have provided and they are happy.
What would you describe as your greatest achievement?
Returning peace to the entire Abia State, giving the people a say in the government that they elected me to be their servant, seeing that all the stakeholders in Abia State can now come together and speak with one voice on what concerns the state! These are monumental achievements that will remain indelible and which would constantly be referred to in a long time. As I told you before, the stakeholders were all scattered everywhere because they were alienated by the government in their state. They were never allowed to speak. The state was alienated from what was happening at the centre; the state was losing what others were gaining. This situation gave rise for the liberation struggle. If you go and ask them, they will tell you. They demanded for the liberation of the state and I was the arrowed head because I was the one they elected to champion the struggle. Also everywhere you go in the state, there is peace. You can walk the streets at anytime of the day and night and feel secured. You can now sleep with your two eyes closed. Your business can thrive because there is no longer molestation. So these are monumental achievements. You have also seen the legacy projects we are doing; the New Government House. Abia was created in 19991. If you go to other states, you would see their Government House and the Governor’s Lodge, but here almost 22 years after creation, we were in a rented apartment. The stakeholders also lamented about this and we now agreed that it was time to take this reproach away. If you go to other states, you see International Conference Centres, but here the Michael Okpara auditorium is the only place where all government functions are held and it is not enough to contain a good number of people, not to talk of the state of the infrastructure.
So the new conference centre which will have a capacity of 3000 people will give the state a good standing to host conferences and other international events. These are legacy projects that touch my heart and which I intend to complete before my tenure ends. These are projects that I would like to be remembered for after I have left office.
Are you worried that these criticisms have continued to trail your administration in spite of all these efforts?
As I told you earlier, these criticisms do not bother me as long as I am doing what my people want. They are the ones that elected me as their governor and they have continued to express their confidence in me. So, as long as what I am doing is what the people want, I cannot be distracted. I have a mission here and that mission is to transform the state. That is the uppermost thing on my mind. That is what I think about every day. If the criticisms are right, I will look at them and see how I can reflect on them to better the lives of the people, but if they are destructive ones, I simply gloss over them and move on. What we have achieved so far is in line with the desire of the people that gave me the mandate. That is why I always refer to the stakeholders because these are people who understand what is on the ground. I know that they are speaking for their people because every stakeholder must have people who also speak to them in their communities. So when they suggest it, we try to see how we can do it because it is what my people want.
Is your determination to transform Aba not one of those political speeches?
No, not at all! We have never joked with Aba. On everything we promised to do in the city, we have started some, completed some and will continue on the others. Aba is very important to the success of the state, just like other places here. We just commissioned the Okagwe/Ohafia road. The road had remained impassable for years, but today the people are happy that it has been completed. So as we are working in Aba, we will also be working in other parts of the state. In Umuahia, there is a change in the area because the electricity supply is steady. What we are enjoying now is electricity from the national grid not, generator. We evacuated power from the Ohiya substation and power is now steady in the state and artisans are now working everyday and making brisk business. Aba cannot be left out. Before Christmas you will see what we are going to do in Aba with the 16 roads that have already been awarded. The contractors will soon move to site and the area will witness a change. Aba is very dear to my administration because of the neglect the place has suffered in the hands of previous administration. You must have noticed that we have fought refuse to a stand-still with the many compactors and roll-on roll-off trucks we purchased and sent to the area. It is no longer the dirty commercial city it was known for before we came on board. So we are working in Aba. By the time my administration will be signing off in 2015, Aba will have a lot to remember my government for.
What will you want them to remember you for?
They will remember me as one governor who did not play politics with their well-being. They will remember that I was one governor who promised to transform the infrastructure of the area and kept to my promise; that I was one governor who put a stop to the incessant flooding in the area by opening up the gutters so that water can flow freely into the Aba River; that I was the governor who ensured that refuse did not overtake the city again, but used everything at my disposal to keep the city clean; that I was the governor who ensured that insecurity which was the hallmark of the city was resisted and made the people to sleep with their two eyes closed. So there will be a lot that Aba people will remember me for. They will remember that I was the governor who never collected any shop from them to give to my family members and deprived the genuine traders from having their own and that I was the governor who never borrowed a dime from any stock market to put all these things on ground, but worked out the transformation by cutting my coat according to my cloth. These are facts on the ground. They are incontrovertible; they are empirical.

http://dailyindependentnig.com/2012/12/judge-me-by-the-resources-at-my-disposal-orji/politics-65/
Judge me by the resources at my disposal –Orji Your Excellency, Aba has remained the mainstay of the opposition’s criticisms of your administration. This is even when you are said to have invested money and time there. What is then responsible for the persistent to the city by your opponents? Well, I think you should go and ask them. But what I know and I keep saying is that no administration will neglect Aba because of what it stands for in Abia State. We have done a lot in Aba and we are still going to do more. If we had all the money we needed, I don’t think anybody would open his mouth to say anything. Even at that, we are still working there. You see people judge Abia State by what they are seeing in other states. I have continued to say that people should not judge us based on what other states are doing. They should judge us by what we are getting and when they do that, everybody will see that we have achieved a lot. In a month, the allocation is not more than N3.5 billion. From this amount we pay salary of N2.5 billion. What I now have left for us to work with is N1 billion. It is from this N1 billion that we have done all the legacy projects that you see all around the place. We are not ostentatious; we have been living on what we receive. This is why we are working hard to increase our Internally Generated Revenue (IGR). Once we are able to increase what we get from IGR, I can assure you that we are going to do more. I have made a promise to my people that I would not leave any project that I started for another administration. I must complete all these projects which we have started. So people should stop judging us by what other states are receiving. They should see what we get and what we have been able to achieve. I am not one of those governors that have gone to the Stock Market to get loan. I have not borrowed from any market and yet we are putting down legacy projects that were not there in the first place. If these things were on the ground before I came in, I would channel my energies to other things. Abia State was created in 1991. Can you see anything to show that Umuahia is a capital city? That is what we are doing now. We are just starting to do things that should have been done a long time ago. There have been many administrations in Abia State. How many of them have done half of what we have done in the commercial city? We have done more roads in Aba than any administration before us. And don’t forget that the topography of Aba is not the same as Umuahia. The amount we spend in constructing one road in Aba can be used to do more than five roads in Umuahia. Before we came in, Aba/Owerri road was not passable. If you got to the Osisioma junction, it was terrible, then. If you managed to get to the Binez Junction the flood there would submerge a car. But all these have become things of the past. People no longer remember the state of that road before we came. The road is now free and traffic is flowing freely. How much did we spend on that road? We spent about N2.5 billion because in Aba, you cannot construct a road that will last long without giving it stone base. The same thing is happening to Port Harcourt Road. That road was terrible until we stepped in and now work is going on there. You have also heard of the famous Ukwu Mango Road. This is the easiest road to get into Ariaria Market. For over 30 years, nothing happened on that road and it became a refuse dump for the people. The refuse then was so high that the former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory had to voice out his displeasure when the last administration was in place. Today that road has been recovered and people are using it. The same thing happened to Samek road. So we have been working in Aba, and we are still working. Apart from these roads, are there other areas that you have ventured into in the commercial city? Yes, we have not concentrated on the building of roads alone. If you go to the Abia State Polytechnic, you will see the pedestrian bridge there. Before now, that place was a death trap for the students. Every day, you would see scores of students killed while trying to cross the road. So we built the bridge so that our students would no longer be cut down like fowls and we also put a protection so that the students would not try to take the short cut and be killed. They have to take the bridge and this has saved many lives there. If you go to the School Road, we have opened up the gutters. When we were opening the gutters, many people did not know that such a big gutter was present there. They were surprised to witness it. What we did with the big gutter has made it possible for Aba not to be overrun by flood. If we had not opened the big gutter, Aba would have been one of the places where we would have been struggling to save people from flood as we have seen in other places. Today the floods go from the gutter into the Aba River and life and property have been saved. We have also constructed an ultra modern Motor Park at Osisioma where commuter buses drop and pick passengers. We have turned the former Osisioma Park into a horticultural centre. If you go to that place now, you will not know that it was the former place where armed robbers and hemp smokers converged to perpetrate evil. We have revamped the NNPC depot at Osisioma which has enabled petroleum products to be delivered there. The place was shut down for over six years until we moved in and revamped it. Now petroleum products can be loaded from the depot to other parts of the country and this has caused business to thrive for those dealing on petroleum products. We reconstructed Faulks Road, where the foremost traditional ruler Eze Isaac Ikonne lives. Before we did that road, during the rainy season, the traditional ruler would abandon his palace to seek refuge elsewhere. It was because of the road that we called his son, who was the candidate of the Action Congress of Nigeria, Paul Ikonne to come and take the position of the Commissioner for Works and Transport so that he could supervise the construction of that road. I can show you many letters written by the Traditional Ruler to me, appreciating us for what we did on the road. These letters will tell you how appreciative the people of Aba have been about my administration and this is what is pushing me to do more for the area. I am not perturbed by the scanty opposition remarks that are being heard here and there. These are pockets of opposition. The real people; the real owners of Abia State; the real stakeholders, the real electorate, are happy with what we are doing. That is what is pushing us to do more for Aba and the rest of the state. Looking back at what has transpired since you became governor, at what point did you decide it was time to part with your immediate predecessor? There is only one thing that is permanent in life and that is change. When your interest goes contrary to the interest of the people, when what you want is not what the people are looking for, when you want to make the people to cry instead of making them to laugh, then there must be a time when the change will come. For me, I did not have any problem with my predecessor or with anybody in the state. I was elected to supervise the transformation of the state and not to serve any individual or group of individuals. The electorates of Abia State are greater than individuals or group. I decided to take sides with the majority; the electorates and who have elected me to serve them. I never had any problem with my predecessor. The problem was that the stakeholders of Abia State felt alienated from their state, felt that they had been driven away from their state. Also the people felt that their needs were not being attended to, felt that nobody was listening to them. So they began to call for a change. They came here and began to voice their displeasure at what had happened and the need to change the way things were being done. The real owners of the state stood up and said enough was enough and I had to listen to them. It was not me that shouted for liberation. It was the real owners of the state that insisted that the only thing that would pacify them was to be liberated from those who had been denying them the dividends of democracy. They said they wanted to part ways with those who did not want them to have a say in the way their state was being administered. So I had to go with them. I never had any problem with anybody and till today, I still don’t have any problem with anybody. I challenge my predecessor to mention one single offence of mine to him when he decided to rubbish my image. I am the governor of Abia State. The state has 17 Local Government Areas. My business is to make sure that everybody is happy. That is exactly what we are doing here. You were able to restore peace in the state after the embarrassing period of kidnapping. Was that the darkest period of your political career? No, I saw it as a challenge because the people were concerned. That is why when I go to Aba and I hear some of the talks going on there, I just say to myself; where was this ‘Enyimba, Enyi’ when kidnappers were ravaging the area? Most of those making noise now all ran away. They abandoned their houses and ran to Abuja and Lagos. But we were resolute in our determination to end the reign of terror. That was what we did in conjunction with the federal government. This is why the people are very much at home with me because they saw that I did not abandon them when it mattered most. I remained and together we fashioned the best solution to the problem and today there is peace in Abia. There is not only social peace but there is also political peace. You see that all the stakeholders are always around and have been giving their advice on how to make the state better. The state does not belong to one individual; it belongs to all of us and this is what they have been yearning for a long time. But when they could not achieve it when they were not allowed to make their input in the governance of their state, they started talking of liberation. This was what happened here. Yes, we have restored peace; it was a situation that made Abia a pariah state. People were running away and leaving their houses and property. Nobody wanted to have anything to do with the state and those that remained behind were always living in fear. But today, it has become a thing of the past. Businesses are springing up everywhere especially in Aba. The real people living in Aba are very happy because they know what happened and what we did. They know that life is better now than what it was before and this is what gives me joy. We are still investing heavily in security because we understand the meaning of insecurity. We have been there before and we know what it did to us. So we are not going to allow such a thing to happen here again. That is why we are always on top of the situation. We have purchased several vehicles for the security agencies and we are working with them to maintain peace. That is why all the awards we have received have all been tied to what we have been able to achieve in the state. We are not making noise about all these things because they are the things we must do for our people. Abia people are very loving and hospitable and hardworking. All they need is the opportunity to present them the conducive environment and carry them along. That is the kind of leadership we have provided and they are happy. What would you describe as your greatest achievement? Returning peace to the entire Abia State, giving the people a say in the government that they elected me to be their servant, seeing that all the stakeholders in Abia State can now come together and speak with one voice on what concerns the state! These are monumental achievements that will remain indelible and which would constantly be referred to in a long time. As I told you before, the stakeholders were all scattered everywhere because they were alienated by the government in their state. They were never allowed to speak. The state was alienated from what was happening at the centre; the state was losing what others were gaining. This situation gave rise for the liberation struggle. If you go and ask them, they will tell you. They demanded for the liberation of the state and I was the arrowed head because I was the one they elected to champion the struggle. Also everywhere you go in the state, there is peace. You can walk the streets at anytime of the day and night and feel secured. You can now sleep with your two eyes closed. Your business can thrive because there is no longer molestation. So these are monumental achievements. You have also seen the legacy projects we are doing; the New Government House. Abia was created in 19991. If you go to other states, you would see their Government House and the Governor’s Lodge, but here almost 22 years after creation, we were in a rented apartment. The stakeholders also lamented about this and we now agreed that it was time to take this reproach away. If you go to other states, you see International Conference Centres, but here the Michael Okpara auditorium is the only place where all government functions are held and it is not enough to contain a good number of people, not to talk of the state of the infrastructure. So the new conference centre which will have a capacity of 3000 people will give the state a good standing to host conferences and other international events. These are legacy projects that touch my heart and which I intend to complete before my tenure ends. These are projects that I would like to be remembered for after I have left office. Are you worried that these criticisms have continued to trail your administration in spite of all these efforts? As I told you earlier, these criticisms do not bother me as long as I am doing what my people want. They are the ones that elected me as their governor and they have continued to express their confidence in me. So, as long as what I am doing is what the people want, I cannot be distracted. I have a mission here and that mission is to transform the state. That is the uppermost thing on my mind. That is what I think about every day. If the criticisms are right, I will look at them and see how I can reflect on them to better the lives of the people, but if they are destructive ones, I simply gloss over them and move on. What we have achieved so far is in line with the desire of the people that gave me the mandate. That is why I always refer to the stakeholders because these are people who understand what is on the ground. I know that they are speaking for their people because every stakeholder must have people who also speak to them in their communities. So when they suggest it, we try to see how we can do it because it is what my people want. Is your determination to transform Aba not one of those political speeches? No, not at all! We have never joked with Aba. On everything we promised to do in the city, we have started some, completed some and will continue on the others. Aba is very important to the success of the state, just like other places here. We just commissioned the Okagwe/Ohafia road. The road had remained impassable for years, but today the people are happy that it has been completed. So as we are working in Aba, we will also be working in other parts of the state. In Umuahia, there is a change in the area because the electricity supply is steady. What we are enjoying now is electricity from the national grid not, generator. We evacuated power from the Ohiya substation and power is now steady in the state and artisans are now working everyday and making brisk business. Aba cannot be left out. Before Christmas you will see what we are going to do in Aba with the 16 roads that have already been awarded. The contractors will soon move to site and the area will witness a change. Aba is very dear to my administration because of the neglect the place has suffered in the hands of previous administration. You must have noticed that we have fought refuse to a stand-still with the many compactors and roll-on roll-off trucks we purchased and sent to the area. It is no longer the dirty commercial city it was known for before we came on board. So we are working in Aba. By the time my administration will be signing off in 2015, Aba will have a lot to remember my government for. What will you want them to remember you for? They will remember me as one governor who did not play politics with their well-being. They will remember that I was one governor who promised to transform the infrastructure of the area and kept to my promise; that I was one governor who put a stop to the incessant flooding in the area by opening up the gutters so that water can flow freely into the Aba River; that I was the governor who ensured that refuse did not overtake the city again, but used everything at my disposal to keep the city clean; that I was the governor who ensured that insecurity which was the hallmark of the city was resisted and made the people to sleep with their two eyes closed. So there will be a lot that Aba people will remember me for. They will remember that I was the governor who never collected any shop from them to give to my family members and deprived the genuine traders from having their own and that I was the governor who never borrowed a dime from any stock market to put all these things on ground, but worked out the transformation by cutting my coat according to my cloth. These are facts on the ground. They are incontrovertible; they are empirical. http://dailyindependentnig.com/2012/12/judge-me-by-the-resources-at-my-disposal-orji/politics-65/

After months of serious investigations by our team of seasoned reporters, we can now reveal the names of editors of Sun Newspapers taken to the shrine at Igbere home of their publisher Uzor Kalu for oath swearing.

Those who refused to the oath swearing having reached Neya shrine were asked to go back to Lagos and face the consequences. The names are: Amanze Obi, Femi Adeshina, Onuha Uke, Steve Nwosu, Robert Obioh, Funke Egbemode , Tony Onyima, Femi Adeoti , Eric Osagie, Bruce Malogu and Shola Oshunkeye.

As it stands, these editors are enjoying the confidence of Kalu, while the others who refused are being frustrated. We learnt that Kalu and the mother Eunice have vowed that all the staff must be initiated.

As it is Sun has witnessed mysterious fire and other strange happenings a situation some have attributed to this oath saga.

I took a stroll today,visited some of the monumental places of interest,legacy projects of the administration of T.A ORJI,I must confess there are a lot to be reckoned with...yes,a few people could clamour down with censure and say snide things,derogating and discrediting to T.A's performance,all in attempt to put him in derison,but the truth remains that he is seriously fixing all the shred,part by part,I am saying this because i went to many of the project sites, I saw,confirmed and believed;they are for real...people have followed threads,made comments that pictures of projects being hoisted are fake,some say they never existed,but I think the best way to measure and adjudicate T.A ORJI's capacity and track record is to take a walk round the location,weigh up his performance on all the projects he has put in place,to sustain the developmental growth...with that in view,one ought to be quick witted to be conversant with all the achievement so far and more to come.....Umu Abia ndi oma ekele mu unu,birikwanu,onye ihe oma dinma ya bia tinye onu oma ya na okwu a....

‎> Just a few weeks ago ,the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) took to their tour round the entire sites,locations where all the projects completed and on-going ones are being situated in Abia state.,they made an all-round supervision to confirm the level of work going on in Abia state ,to ascertain the developmental progress Abia state governor has attained;after going round to evaluate the level of work that has been actualized,the NANS officials were able to earmarked over 30 legacy projects and more,which have been put into place in the state.....and more still to come....below is a brief breakdown of numerous projects which they confirmed,completed,on-going projects,etc.
> ABIA STATE GOVERNMENT LEGACY PROJECTS
>
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> 1. INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE CENTER, UNDER CONSTRUCTION.
>
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> 2. UMUAHIA HIGH COURT, UNDER CONSTRUCTION.
>
>
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> 3. RECONSTRUCTED HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY
>
>
> 4.28 ROOMS CONSTITUENCY OFFICES @ABIA HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY UNDER CONS
>
>
> 5. HIGH COURT ABA UNDER CONSTRUCTION
>
>
> 6. RECONSTRUCTED OLD HIGH COURT UMUAHIA
>
>
> 7. OLD MAGISTRATE COURT, UNDER CONSTRUCTION
>
>
> 8. NEW MINISTRY OF JUSTICE COMPLEX.
>
>
> 9. ASEPA HEAD OFFICE COMPLEX UNDER CONSTRUCTION
>
>
> 10. DOCTOR’S RESIDENCE ABIA STATE SPECIALIST HOSPITAL AMACHARA UNDER CONSTRUCTION.
>
>
> 11. RECONSTRUCTED HIGH COURT
>
>
> 12. UMUAHIA NORTH COUNCIL HQS, UNDER CONSTRUCTION.
>
>
> 13. ABSUTH HALL ABA UNDER CONSTRUCTION.
>
>
> 14. DIALYSIS CENTER NEARING COMPLETION.
>
>
> 15. ABIA SPECIALIST HOSPITALS / DIAGNOSTIC CENTER.
>
>
> 16. THE NEW WORKERS SECRETARIAT, UNDER CONSTRUCTION.
>
>
> 17. FEDERAL GOVERNMENT SECRETARIAT BEING RECONSTRUCTED BY ABIA STATE GOVERNMENT.
>
>
> 18. NEW BCA SECRETARIAT UNDER CONSTRUCTION.
>
>
> 19. NEW PLANING COMMISSION COMPLEX.
>
>
> 20. AMAOKWE HOUSING ESTATE.
>
>
> 21. UMUAHIA INDUSTRIAL MARKET UNDER CONSTRUCTION.
>
>
> 22. NEW UMUAHIA ULTRA MODERN MARKET UNDER CONSTRUCTION.
>
>
> 23. SENIOR POLICE OFFICER’S QUARTERS.
>
>
> 24. ADDITIONAL COMMISSIONERS QUARTERS UNDER CONSTRUCTION.
>
>
> 25. SKILL ACQUISITION CENTER UMUAHIA
>
>
>
>
> 25. PATROL VAN FOR SECURITY AGENCIES.
>
>
>
>
> 26.FED GOVT POWER PROJECT, EVACUATION OF POWER BY ABIA STATE
>
> GOVT.
>
> 27. Ohiya Mechanic village and Motor Spare parts market Umuahia
28. Ohiya Luxury Bus terminal Umuahia etc

Its good to hear Jumbo Offor has been conferred the Chief Judge of court of appeal,finally justice has been employed to ensure equity and justice ...the government of Abia state have done some great deal of work to make sure justice prevailed....and i thank Governor T.A for his doggedness,protest and support to making sure that Jumbo Offor is conferred the chief justice of court of appeal...thank you our dear governor for your leadership gesture,my thanks goes to every other persons who showered their support to ensure justice and fair play....Abia has great men and women....am proudly Abian

Kalu’s Slok Airline in Gambia, Under Probe

SLOK AIR MONROVIA

From Citizen Reporter, Umuahia Abia State

Ex Abia governor Uzor Kalu troubles are unabating, as Kalu who is being tried by EFCC for looting Abia treasury is in a deep mess. Kalu at the twilight of his tenure as governor relocated his business to Gambia as Obansanjo was hard on him following his verbal attack on the former president.
It was gathered by an Aviation authority in Gambia, that his airline, Slok is being probed for evading the payment of tax for four years now.
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Kalu it was learnt has been taking the money made by the company for frivolities. It was also gathered that Slok airline is not maintaining its aircraft which is only one.
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As a result of this, Gambian government is quite apprehensive of Slok airline air worthiness. Kalu this news online learnt is also owing the staff of the company.
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Speaking in a telephone interview, Kalu admitted that his business is dying. He said that he is trying his best to make things work but to no avail...source :http://247ureports.com/kalus-slok-airline-in-gambia-under-probe

Former governor of abia state orji uzor kalu come under heavy attack recently over offering himself to lead the negotiating team of Boko Haram who wants to dialogue with the federal government.
Boko Haram recently name Buhari as its leader to negotiate with the federal government an offer the former head of state turned down.
Kalu in his characteristic manner of working for relevance recently offered himself to lead Boko Haram in their negotiation with the federal government .
The Islamic sect in a statement described kalu as an illiterate who simply dose not understand the ideas and vision of the sect ;questioning his offer to help them .they bluntly told kalu to stop seeking for cheap popularity and face his trial by EFCC.
They stated that kalu is an opportunist and a political leper.

Governor T.A. Orji congratulates Obama
Governor T.A. Orji congratulates Obama

Abia state governor, Chief TA Orji has congratulated the American president Barrack Obama over his re-election.

The governor in a statement by his chief press secretary, Ugochukwu Emezue said that Obama’s re-election is a manifestation of the confidence Americans repose in him.
According to the governor, president Barrack Obama who has an African background, in his first term did his best in-spite of the challenges he encountered.Now that he has started his second term, the governor urged all Americans to give him maximum support so that he can achieve much in those areas he could not make serious break-through during his first tenure.

Chief Theodore Orji enjoined the American president to continue to support the president of Nigeria, president Jonathan whom he is having solid relationship with.
The Abia state helmsman maintained that Nigeria being the giant of Africa, needs the support of America to continue to play its leading and unifying role in Africa.

Chief Orji who also commended Mitt Romney for conceding defeat to Obama urged America to continue to play its leading and unifying role in Africa.
He said there is a lot of lessons to learn from such development especially for the third world countries where politicians hardly accept defeat.
Chief Orji applauded the electoral body for conducting free and fair polls, prayed God to grant Obama and his cabinet the wisdom and knowledge to lead the nation which is regarded as a world power.
END

Orji Vows To Develop Abia

Abia State governor, Chief Theodore Orji says he is poised to make the state the best in Nigeria in the area of excellent health facilities.

In a release by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Ugochukwu Emezue, the governor disclosed that his administration is building more health centres to add to the existing 240 in the state.

The government’s target is to ensure that every community in the state boasts of even more than one health centre that is fully equipped,†the release stated.

Orji maintained that taking health care services to the doorstep of residents is a priority as health is a key development index in any society.

He added that the establishment of two diagnostic centres in the state was in response to the constant oversea trips to seek medical attention by the people.

The governor observed that the people of the state and their neighbours no longer travel abroad as the established centres now serve such purposes and save cost, adding that the bdialysis and eye centres being built by the government in Umuahia would be ready soon.

He further assured that the children specialist hospital and doctor’s quarters at Amachara, Umuahia under construction will be completed on record time.

The governor hinted that ambulances have been acquired for distribution to relevant agencies and urged the people of the state to sustain the cleanliness of their surroundings to avoid health problems.