The All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, wishes to register our deep regrets that at the age of 31, Abia has nothing but  failure and retrogression to celebrate. When in August 27, 1991 Abia was created after painstaking efforts of our founding fathers,  people thronged to the streets to celebrate the birth of a new state with much expectations.

Little did we know that 31 years after, Abia State will still be a crawling baby. This is more annoying with the realization that even younger states created many years after have since started running. Wrong drivers and opportunists who have driven the State craft and leadership wheel of the God’s Own State, have rather taken us back instead of moving forward.

The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP-led administation which has remained in power since 1999 eight years after the creation of Abia State, has rather supervised the delapidation, econiomic strangulation and near collapse of Abia State.

Unfortunately, the current PDP-led administation of Okezie Ikpeazu is the worst of all Governments so far witnessed in Abia. We wonder what this Government will be celebrating as its achievements at Abia @ 31.

It is disheartening that @ 31 years, Abia is celebrating 25 months of salary arrears of doctors; de-accreditation of Abia Polytechnic Aba following 30 months  of unpaid wages of Staff; de-accreditation of the Abia State University Teaching Hospital Aba ABSUTH; and 10 months of salary arrears of ABSU Staff.

At 31, Abia pensioners are still being owed four years of gratuities and 28 months of pensioners arrears; Primary and Secondary School teachers are being owed five months salary arrears and promotion allowances; many workers are being paid incomplete salaries.

At 31, Abia is celebrating leadership failure and increase in debt burden. At 31, we are celebrating god-fatherism and imposition.

At 31, Abia roads are still impassable: Ukwa land, the only oil-producing area in Abia State is completely disconnected from the rest of the state due to bad roads. At 31, Arochukwu ancient kingdom is still being accessed through Akwa Ibom State. What a shame!

It is sad and embarrassing that at 31, Abia has no permanent Government House but still operates from donated take-off apartments. Despite billions of Naira the PDP-led administation claimed to have sunk into the New Government House project, the site has been abandoned for the past eight years.

At 31, Aba the once revered Enyimba City, the leading centre of commerce in the West African sub-region has become an abandoned City. Port Harcourt Road Aba has completely been cut off from the rest of the town due to bad road; Uratta, Ohanku Road, Ozuoma and Ohazu roads, are impassable. This is after Government had destroyed people’s houses and shops under the pretext of awarding contract for road rehabilitation.

At 31, the much-advertised Enyimba Economic City has remained a mirage. At 31, Abia airport project is yet to take off three years after the Ikpeazu-led Government borrowed N10 billion for it. At 31,Abia is celebrating near collapse of our education and health sectors, infrastructural decay and misgovernance.

At 31, Abians cannot freely move from one community to another due to insecurity. Noted that insecurity has become a national phenomenon, some state Governments like Benue and Ondo, have since taken some practical steps towards protecting their people. Instead of reviving our once indefatigable Local vigilante group, our Governor is busy juncketing around the world with a fellow Governor like Personal Assistant.

We therefore, wish to urge Abians to unite and join in the on-going efforts to liberate the state from oppressors and political hijackers. It’s time to jettison political sentiments and place the interest of Abia above party politics. APGA has provided the platform to lead Abia out of Egypt to the Promised land. We solicit the support of all progressives and the entire Abia voters as APGA is prepared to usher in the right leadership that will transform Abia into a referral and pacesetter state.

Rev. Augustine Ehiemere, State Chairman, APGA.