By Godwin Adindu
Sir Winston Churchill, the war-time British Prime Minister, is right, very, very right: politics is like war. “Politics are almost as exciting as war and quite as dangerous, although in war you can be killed only once, in politics, many times,” so said the renown speech-maker and veteran of the Second World War (SWW). He continues: “Politics are very much like war. We may even have to use poison gas at times.”
For the All Citizens Forum (ACF), the frontline Pro-Group in Abia, the return of Governor Okezie Ikpeazu to Government House for a second term in 2019 is a battle that must be conquered. The ACF is approaching the struggle as a battle but they are not going to use poison gas.
They are going to deploy strategy and tactical actions. This is why the group is re-jigging all its structures through the Wards, LGAs, Zones and State levels. They have demonstrated their readiness in their moving parades in all the mega rallies so far held in Abia State.
They stole the show at Okpuala Ngwa, at the Second UkwaNgwa Declaration. They repeated the feat at Uzoakoli at the Bende Endorsement and on Easter Monday, at the Ukwa Ngwa Youth Unite for Governor Ikpeazu mega rally held at Ngwa High School, Aba. The ACF is currently embarking on a large-scale mobilization of men through the 17 local councils of the state as foot soldiers against the opposition and as resource persons for tactical actions that will lead to the victory of the Governor.
But, why is ACF so much committed to this project? Men of the ACF are pointing at equity and justice, insisting that equity demands that Abia South completes its tenure of eight years like the other zones in the past. They are also referring to performance and saying that with over sixty roads completed and commissioned and a wide array of ongoing construction work in the state, Governor Ikpeazu has done creditably well and should GO AGAIN.
The ACF recognize that the Governor through his caterpillar revolution has changed the narrative of governance in Abia State.
The infrastructural renewal drive has seen to the rehabilitation of many public centres and has created a new face for the state. Aba, the great Enyimba City, has witnessed a new social transformation and has boldly taken a place in the global marketing arena. Impressed by these initiatives that are fast expanding the frontiers of life in Abia, ACF is ready to re-enact the solidarity that led to the victory of Governor Ikpeazu in 2015. The ACF will have taken up the gauntlet for the struggle for the completion of a two-term for Governor Ikpeazu.
As they lead in the battle in conjunction with other pro-groups, the ACF will, among other things, significantly present the Governor’s records in developing the Small and Medium Scale Enterprises in Abia as a basis for their conviction that the Governor must complete his tenure of 8 years. This effort has produced great results in developing the latent ingenuity and creativity for which Aba is celebrated. It has led to a renewed attention to the artisans of Aba and a review of the future of the fabled Aba Made Goods.
In the first year of his administration, 60 shoemakers were mobilised to Turkey to understudy modern technologies in shoe production. And just recently, 30 youths were also mobilised to China as the first batch of 100 ambassadors selected for the training in China.
The ACF is also pointing at the Governor’s achievement in fulfilling the primary obligation of government which is the maintenance of law and order. The Governor has excellently fulfilled this primary obligation of government by ensuring that there is adequate security in the state. His fight against kidnapping and other violent crimes has yielded maximum result.
The ACF is also calling the attention of the world to the Governor’s far-sighted vision which found expression in his pioneer experiment with rigid, pavement technology (also known as cement technology) in the construction of Aba roads.
He raised the bar in quality and innovation in road construction by introducing cement technology into the lexicon of road construction work in Abia. Though the cost of this technology is higher than the conventional construction methods, the Governor experimented on it as a measure to strengthen the load bearing capacity of some roads in Abia and boost the strength and quality of the finished work. This is because roads constructed with this technology has a sustainability guarantee of ten to twenty years.
They will point at major signature projects like the reconstruction of faulks road and re-channeling of the Ifeobara Water Basin which have enhanced business at the Ariaria International Market; the construction of the first Flyover at Osisioma junction, the construction of the access road linking Umuaro – Ekwereazu to Akwa Ibom and the new bypass linking Ohafia and Arochukwu.
They will point at the Governor’s efforts to link Aba to the sea through the development of the Obuaku City Port. This will give a great boost to Aba as the commercial hub of the South East. They will refer to the effort to revitalize moribund industries. Today, the Aba Glass Industry has started full operation with over 400 staff strength.
The ACF will speak of the One Ward, One Project Initiative being executed by the Abia State Rural Infrastructure Development Initiative (ASTRIDE). This initiative is aimed at providing at least one project in each of the 184 INEC Wards in the 17 local councils and the idea is to close the gap of infrastructural deficit in the rural areas
Indeed, in the battle for the re-election of Governor Ikpeazu, the only arsenal in the disposition of the All Citizens Forum is the scorecard of excellent performance. While the opposition will throw missiles of blackmail and propaganda, ACF will counter with a proof of claim of work done. We will match their capacity for violent lies with our capacity for genuine evidence.
.Adindu is the Publicity Director of the All Citizens Forum (ACF)
- Advertisement -
- Advertisement -
