Governor Theodore Orji

By  Emmanuel Ugwu 

Abia State government has disclosed plans to spend over N10 billion to complete all the ongoing projects across the state, some of which have reached advanced stages of completion.

Governor Theodore Orji made this known at an end-of-year interaction with the media in Umuahia, saying that despite the huge financial costs involved he was determined to complete the projects with prudent management of resources.

He said that the projects, which include the new state secretariat, new government house, international conference centre, among others would after completion enhance workers productivity, economic development and the status of the capital city.

The governor, who noted with satisfaction the developmental plan he has outlined for the state in his second tenure, said that he was mindful of the huge costs involved in capital projects; hence a balancing act was needed to ensure that no sector was allowed to suffer stunted growth.

“We can not carry a project that would weigh us down,” he said, adding that the revenue profile of the state was expected to increase in the 2012 fiscal year as every machinery has been put in place enhance the internally generated revenue (IGR).

Orji also stated that the developmental challenges in Aba, the commercial nerve centre of the state was receiving adequate attention as government was presently on a mission to rescue the city from the pangs of dilapidated infrastructure.

According to him, the roads in Aba are changing for the better while the perennial flood in the city would soon become a thing of the past with award of N350 million contract to a company “that knows the drainage system of Aba” to solve the problem of flooding.
He vowed that he would strive to complete all the projects he has started, as “we don’t want to leave abandoned projects” at the end of his administration.

As part of his transformation agenda the Abia Chief executive explained that he has specifically targeted execution of monumental structures to change the face of Umuahia the capital city, which in the past was derisively referred to as a glorified village.
“I want to leave legacies, monumental projects that cannot be forgotten,” he said, adding that he would not bear a situation where he would not hold his head high among his people after leaving office.