Providing democracy dividends is  not doing Abians any special  favours -Otti

 …Says I’m performing my primary responsibility

From Boniface Okoro, Umuahia

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Governor Alex  Otti  received by Hon Nkeiruka Onyejeocha on arrival.

Governor Alex Otti of Abia State has declared that by providing dividends of democracy to the people of the state, he was not doing the people any special favour but simply carrying out the responsibilities of government.

Governor Otti stated this on Sunday at Peace Event Centre in Amuda Isuochi in Umunneochi local government area during a Thanksgiving Service organized by the Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Hon. Nkeiruka Onyejeocha; a forum Imo State Governor, Senator Hope Uzodinma, used to congratulate Abians on the new lease of life they were enjoying under the able leadership of Governor Otti.

Otti told the gathering that the people of Abia deserve all the dividends they were getting in terms of infrastructural development and prompt payment of salaries and pensions.

“When we are building roads, it is not a favour, we want to create access so that people can go about their businesses freely and smoothly,” Governor Otti said, adding, that all his government was doing was to make life better for the people.

The Abia State Governor thanked the Umunneochi community, including the Church, for the support they have continued to give to his administration. He urged the Church not to relent but to continue to pray for the administration, saying that Abia State would be better this time around.

Governor Otti congratulated Hon. Onyejeocha for her wisdom to give thanks to God for all that she had accomplished in life.

“I want to thank the Minister for remembering to say, ‘Thank You to God’. Like the Bishop said, it’s very easy to run away with your blessing, without acknowledging from where it came. Because you have acknowledged God and you have celebrated God in this way, celebration will never end in your house,” he prayed.

Speaking, the Imo State Governor, Senator Uzodimma, who described Governor Otti as “one of our finest and brightest”, said the people of Abia are in for a great deal.

He said, “I want to use this medium to congratulate the people of Abia State  for the new lease of life that we are witnessing in the government of Dr. Alex Otti.” 

Uzodimma also thanked God for the good things He had done for Hon. Onyejeocha, saying that, though not reelected to the National Assembly where she had served, she was appointed a Minister, describing it as a  testimony to her hardwork and commitment.

Governor Uzodinma disclosed that the Governors of the South East are determined to work together to alleviate the sufferings of the people, while calling on the political class, irrespective of their political leanings, to join hands with governments at all levels to achieve that.

“I therefore call on the politicians in Abia State, indeed in the South East, to join hands together, build a new region for our people, to create an economy for our people, to create a life for our people, to develop our zone for the interest of all of us,” he implored. 

Also speaking, the celebrant, Hon. Onyejeocha said that the thanksgiving service was to prove a point about who God is and His position in her life. 

She narrated her life experiences and how God has been her foundation and help over the years. She said  that the era of relegating God to the background in Abia was over as God is taking over the State now. She thanked Governor Otti and all who came to identify with her.

In his sermon titled: “The Power of Thanksgiving”, the Bishop, Methodist Church Nigeria, Diocese of Nsuka/Ehamufu, Enugu State, Dr. John Eze, stressed the need for thanksgiving unto the Lord. He said that thanksgiving provokes the power of God into action, triggers multiplication of God’s blessings, guarantees preservation of testimonies and makes people to know that God blesses people.

The event attracted many dignitaries including, the wife of the Governor of Abia State, Mrs. Priscilla Otti; Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi SAN; National Chairman of APC and former governor of Kano State, Abdullahi Ganduje; some members of the National Assembly, some members of the Abia State House of Assembly, some members of the Labour Party, clergymen, traditional rulers, among others.