The Abia State governor, Theodore Orji yesterday announced that he inherited a debt of N29billion from his predecessor on assumption of office in 2007, a burden he said had weighed his administration down until recently. He said it was unfortunate that those who were responsible for the debt that slowed down the pace of development projects in the state have turned round to accuse him of non-performance.
Making the disclosure when he received the Uzuakoli Development Association at his office, Mr. Orji said that the crushing debt burden was part of the problem of political bondage which he had to liberate himself and Abia people from.
"I was not given the free chance as a governor," he said. "I was not allowed to take major decisions because of the people who say they are godfathers."
He said that in spite of silently bearing the burden of the crushing debt, he was still branded a non-performer by those who were benefiting from it. Mr. Orji said the development made it difficult for him to accomplish most of the projects he was supposed to achieve for the state and assured his visitors that in his second term, the people of Abia would see wonders now that the state is liberated. Apart from the debt burden, he also said the protracted court cases challenging his election, which lasted for three years, was a major setback to the plans of his administration.
"I have set in motion a machinery to give the commercial city of Aba a facelift infrastructurally," he said, blaming the collapse of most roads in the city on poor quality of work by the contractors that built them during the administration that preceded his.
On crime
On crime that escalated in the state before it was brought down recently, the governor said though poverty and unemployment were at the root of the kidnapping and armed robbery in the state, it is also on record that the kidnappers had sponsors who had vowed to make the state ungovernable. He said the death of a leader of the kidnapping gangs, Osisikankwu, was a major breakthrough in the fight against kidnapping and crime.
Mr Orji, who claimed to be the best governorship candidate for the state in the 2011 election, urged the people of the state to register en masse during the forthcoming voters registration exercise and vote for him for the second term.
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