From Okey Sampson, Umuahia
Abia Governor, Okezie Ikpeazu, has said his administration is prioritising the needs of the people in terms of infrastructure development of the state.
The governor made this known during a zoom meeting organised by the Abia Media Forum.
According to him, resources of the state must be properly channelled to address fundamental needs of the people. He said the dry port at Ntigha will facilitate ease of doing business in Aba and the state at large.
Governor Ikpeazu, who said the state will not embark on building an airport just to impress people simply because other states in the region have done so, said: “We are looking at viability here, economy is key. Only about five percent of our population have interest in flying while the other 95 percent use road to move their goods and services.
“We must look at the needs of our people before embarking on any project.”
The governor also said his administration is working closely with other states in South East to address insecurity in the region.
He reiterated the importance of the Ebubeagu security outfit and said it would address the security challenges being faced in the region. He informed that the idea behind the security outfit is to collaborate and maximise the comparative advantage in each state of the region, enable the region procure modern technology to facilitate monitoring of movement of persons and to effectively tackle the challenges headlong.
Ikpeazu said the launch of the new security outfit couldn’t have come at a better time and that the state already had in place the Homeland Security Unit with a mandate to protect lives and property of the people.
While stating that the state was deepening the Ebubeagu security outfit by recruiting at the ward and community levels, he said citizens would help in the area of information and intelligence gathering at the grassroots level.
“The state will soon organise a forum which will have in attendance all stakeholders in the security sector,” he said.
While addressing the issue of criminal herdsmen in the state, the governor said his administration took proactive measure by enacting a bill through the House of Assembly to ban open grazing. This, he said, has helped in addressing the issue of herders and farmers clashes in the state.
“We have a law on open grazing. Aside Benue State, Abia was the first to pass the Anti-Open Grazing Law in the country. We are tackling criminal herdsmen from other parts of the country and sub-region. We are enforcing the law,” he said.
