2015 gubernatorial aspirant of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Abia State, Barr. Friday Nwosu has officially declared his interest to contest for the 2019 governorship position in the state under his new party, the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Recall this medium had reported that Nwosu has been consulting with stakeholders of the party over his ambition after his defection to the party.
Nwosu after a long battle with the incumbent Governor of the state, Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu in court over alleged tax forgery case, the Abuja lawyer defected to the APC, alleging that the PDP doesn’t want him in the party again as they have sidelined him from the scheme of things in the party over the years.
Nwosu while speaking in a meeting with stakeholders of APC in Abia South lamented the snail pace of development across the state, stressing that his intention to contest the guber position in 2019 is to set the state on the platform of development.
According to Nwosu the governor of the state, Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu has refused to use available resources to develop the state while the people suffer from abject poverty and vowed to reverse the trend if elected governor in 2019.
He explained that Abia is endowed with abundant human and natural resources and a huge IGR base, and wondered why the governor had found it difficult to pay salaries and pension despite several bailouts to the state from the federal government.
Nwosu insisted that if Ikpeazu had efficiently managed resources, the state will not need to rely on federal allocations to pay salaries.
“I don’t know really if the pockets of Abia state are thorn. Whether the money we make from federal allocation and IGR are put into thorn pockets to and fro Abuja and Umuahia in a way that before they get down from Abuja to Umuahia the money would have fallen off unnoticed. Or probably, the IGR also get lost before it reaches the treasury.
“To me that’s what’s happening. When you look at this state, it’s just like a place devastated by thunder. Take a good look at Umuahia, the city has remained a provincial capital as it was in the first Republic. There’s no development, no addition, no change.
“Look at Owerri, it’s just 15 years older than Umuahia, but Umuahia today is not like one part of Owerri in terms of development. Go to Dutse, when Jigawa was created in 1991, Dutse was like Itungwa or Omoba; today Dutse is a metropolitan.
“States like Gombe and Kebbi have transformed. People said they don’t have much, but from where did they get money to develop? Abia is blessed with human and natural resources and a huge IGR base.
“If the governor had efficiently managed resources, Abia doesn’t need to rely on federal allocations to pay salaries and pensions? Which roads are they building? I went through most of the said roads I see on TV.
“For example, Faulks Road, I can tell you that it has been amended, but not built. Or do you mean Ochefu Street in Aba which is not up to 100 metres? Such roads like York, Ehere, Ukaegbu of which none is up to 2killometres.
“Now let the governor build the road from waterside pass his place to Amakama. This was the road built by the minister, Ururuka in the 50s. Let him build it pass his own compound in Amakama first, but you know the rest. When we come in, such can’t be happening.
“If I lead this state as a governor, it’ll be difficult for anybody to reverse this state to backwardness. I’ll use sincerity to move the state to a level that people will marvel at where the money is coming from. I’ll bring a development that is visible. Total change from the way things have been, a change from the bad way of doing things to the good way of doing things, change from running around the circle without movement to progress. A change from motion without movement to movement and progress,” Nwosu said“
The APC chieftain vowed to institute an efficient local government system in the state where council chairmen would be free to manage resources to develop their areas.
“Workers are suffering because some people are busy hiding money. Go to the Local government and ask the chairmen about their allocations. Ask them how much money they receive and how much they sign?
“Those times Chairmen go and receive just 10 million to 12 million in a month and sign N80 million to 100 million, where do the other ones go to? If my people elect me, I will run an efficient local government system where council chairmen will be given free hand to manage allocation to development their areas.”
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In their speeches, the Abia South zonal chairman of APC, Chief Emeka Onugha, Chinedu Ihesiulo, (Obignwa LGA chair), Prince Abana Abana (Abia South Youth leader), Adaku Abel, zonal woman leader and Madumere Dimgba (State Treasurer) in their separate speeches commended Nwosu for his courage to aspire for the gubernatorial position and pledged to assist him the much they could.
