Abia APGA congratulates Soludo, blasts PDP for enslaving Abians since 1999

Opposition, All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) in Abia State, basking in the euphoria of the victory of APGA  candidate, Prof. Charles Soludo, in the just-concluded Anambra Governorship election, has appealed to Abians to support the party bring about a change in the leadership of the state in 2023.

Abia chapter of APGA, while congratulating Soludo in his landslide victory in the November 6, 2021 Anambra Governorship poll, blasted the ruling Peoples Democratic Party ( PDP) in the state (Abia) for enslaving the people for the past 22 years, through “calculated political deceit.”

Chairman of APGA in Abia, Rev. Augustine Ehiemere, who briefed newsmen in Umuahia, Abia State capital, Thursday, said the party was proud of the Anambra chapter of the party because of their sparkling performance in the governorship election.

“Today, is a very significant day in the entire APGA family worldwide as we celebrate the victor of APGA in Anambra State in the just concluded Governorship election where the wishes of the people prevailed, and the peoples Governor, in the person of Prof. Charles Chukwuma Soludo, was duly elected as the incoming Governor of Anambra State,” Ehimere said.

According to Ehiemere, while APGA has ran a successful development and people-oriented government since it took over the reins of power in Anambra, the opposite was the case in Abia where, he alleged, the PDP has held sway since 1999 and has imposed bad governance on the state and its people, thereby putting Abia State in bad perspective in the comity of States.

Ehiemere was categorical that issues of governance, accountability and purposeful leadership were conspicuously lacking in the state.

Launching a blistering attack on the PDP-led government for what he described as the lack-lustre performance in Abia since 1999, Ehiemer said:

“It will be instructive to state that Abia State has been very unlucky in terms of good leadership/governance since 1999 till date, at least, in comparison to other states like Imo, Anambra, Ebonyi and Enugu, just to mention but a few.

“Arguably, we cannot beat our chest and say that Abia State has achieved any meaningful development, economically and otherwise for the past 22 years now (1999 – 2021), using some developmental indices/yardsticks as compared to the other state mentioned herein.

“The people of Abia State have suffered serious economic hardship, strangulations and subjugation in the hands of political jobbers/opportunist who forced themselves on the people as leaders in the business of governance in the state since 1999 till date.

“And until a genuine and people-oriented leader is elected to lead the state, the masses must continue to grumble and cry as it were in the days of Israelites in Egypt.”

Continuing, he said: “There is no gainsaying the fact that whatever underdevelopment and malfunctioning of the entire Abia State system which we face today is a product of faulty foundation which was laid in 1999. And successive governments in Abia State have consistently and notoriously followed the installed/established faulty foundation, thereby emasculating and enslaving the entire Abians, the end result being inflicting of economic injuries to the people of the state, occasioned by hardship, poverty, sickness and insecurity, intimidation and possible death as witnessed in the current administrative system of the PDP-led government.

“We wish to state at this juncture that a government that is insensitive to the plight of the people they claimed that voted them into power, is not and cannot be a people-oriented government. This exemplifies the PDP-led government in Abia State since 1999 ill now and there are factual and undeniable proofs which we all know.

“It is very disheartening and worrisome that the masses of Abia State who are mostly rural farmers cannot boast of good road network, civil servants in the state are not paid salaries, including teachers, not to talk of pensioners, all who are owed salaries and pensions for over two years now, yet the state government is playing politics with this very important and sensitive issue that has to do with lives of her citizens and when we talk as opposition party, they will label it as politics.”

Ehiemere said APGA was aware of the “few kilometres roads constructed by the  Ikpeazu-led government in Aba, but said “vital question” every reasonable man will ask is “whether the state government has reasonably done well in terms of infrastructural development compared to the huge amount of money received for the purpose.”

He accused the state government of collecting N27 billion specifically meant for construction of Port Harcourt road, Obohia road, Ohanku road, and Ngwa road and doing nothing on the said roads till date.

Ehiemere further said that there were  no roads in Ukwa West and Ukwa East; adding that roads leading to Osisoma local government headquarters, the Ihechiowa/Ututu road, Uzuakoli/Umuahia road, among others, were in bad shape.

“It is a fact and common knowledge that every sector of the Abia State economy is in comatose, ranging from health, education, infrastructure, etc,. All our public primary and secondary schools are not active and functional because of poor remuneration of teachers, non-payment of salaries and dilapidated infrastructure, yet the government of the day has continued to play politics with the lives and futures of Abians, both born and unborn.

“Do we talk of non-payment of university lecturers in ABSU, Abia Poly and College of Education (Technical), Arochukwu and staff of Abia State Teaching Hospital, Aba, whose salaries have been withheld for years now and these are human beings who have families to carter for, yet the government preferred to channel public funds meant to pay her workers to frivolities and personal enrichment, at the detriment of her citizens.

“How long shall Abians continue in this calculate political deceit and agony which has enslaved and impoverished the people since 1999?,” he queried.

Ehiemere said 2023 offers Abians the golden opportunity to reject PDP and enthrone APGA in Government House in order to have a fresh breadth of good governance.