The Abia State governorship candidate of the Progressive People’s Alliance, Chief Chikwe Udensi, has pledged to redeem the state if voted into office next year.
Udensi made the commitment on Boxing Day while exchanging ideas with the Council of Elders and some eminent citizens shortly after his arrival from a foreign trip on consultations with Abians in the Diaspora.
He said: “I am the best candidate for the redemption of Abia State, which is a complete mess due to seven years of misrule by Governor T. A. Orji.
“It will be disappointing for Abians to allow him impose his stooge on them as the next governor.
“By common logic, as Orji has performed abysmally, it naturally follows that his lackey will be even worse.”
The PPA standard bearer declared that he had the capacity and competency to rebuild Aba, the economic hub of the state and zone, in particularly and Abia State generally if given the mandate by the electorate.
He said: “During rainy seasons, Aba becomes an eyesore because there is no drainage or channelization with refuse heaps dotting the entire city.
“The same thing applies to most other areas of the state.
“We need to re-engineer the state and draw up a fresh infrastructural roadmap for the restoration of our state, which had been adrift for almost eight years.
“Abia must be restored to its prosperous reputation with healthy competition among the component towns and communities.
“Such lost entrepreneurial rivalry that enhanced economic flourish must be brought back for the holistic development of the once enviable state.
“Cottage industries and medium-cum-large scale enterprises need to be revived.”
Udensi said the only way all these initiatives would be possible was for Abians to vote wisely by roundly rejecting the governor’s candidate.
He said the candidate was an establishment man.
Udensi affirmed his readiness to address the alleged injustice done to the Ukwa people of the state by running with one of their own as his deputy in the forthcoming election.
He said this was necessary to assuage their feelings after years of marginalization and abject neglect since the advent of Orji’s regime.
“In the 23 years existence of the state, no Ukwa indigene has held the number two position, let alone number one citizenship in God’s Own State,” the PPA governorship candidate said.
Udensi called on Abians to vote en masse for President Goodluck Jonathan who, he said, had no opposition in Abia State as all Abians are overwhelmingly in support of his candidacy.
Udensi pledged to return the amity that existed among other Easterners resident in Abia State who had been “alienated by the present administration through relational impunity and thoughtlessness”.
He also vowed to “relocate the Umuahia market to its old site at all costs as the current Uhuru deception by Gov. Orji is antithetical to the people’s business aspirations and convenience. We cannot continue with this kind of leadership inanity and retrogression in all spheres of life.”
According to him: “The only enemies Abians have are Governor Orji and his son, Chinedu.”
The PPA candidate, who said the Orji administration had squandered over N1 trillion, reiterated that any plan by anyone to rig will be met with full resistance and superlative force.
He said: “The era when a former Chief of Army Staff, who Governor Orji has dumped in line with his amnesic and dubious nature, was used to guarantee Governor Orji’s second term has gone forever.”
Udensi promised to urbanize the state capital, Umuahia, if he assumes office next year.