It was pump and peagantry as Umuahia North constituents received their own, High Chief Akachi Nwa-Abia back home after recovery from a sickness that nearly sent him to his untimely grave.
Shortly before the recent All Progressive Congress, APC primaries, Nwa-Abia, who was Umuahia North state constituency candidate of the party, was struck by a sickness that was treated outside the shores of the country.
By the time he came back, the primaries have been concluded, hence his decamp to Action People’s Party, APP.
Upon his return to last Friday, he was received by his Team Nwa-Abia Movement, party faithful, party stakeholders, and Ohuhu traditional rulers, among others.
Led by their chairman, HRH Eze Nnamdi Ofoegbu of Umudiawa Autonomous Community, the traditional rulers expressed their excitement over his recovery, describing Nwa-Abia as “our illustrious son who has contributed to the developmentof Ohuhu land”.
According to him, Nwa-Abia “is an illustrious son of Ohuhu who has contributed his quota to the Development of the clan. We have blessed and conferred on him the chieftaincy title of Ihe (Light) Ohuhu in 2017.
Also speaking, the traditional ruler of Okpu Isingwu Autonomous Community, HRH Eze Kingsley A. N. Emekobum described the occasion as “a thing of joy”.
In his speech, High Chief Akachi Nwa-Abia said that Abia is in perilous times and by extension the nation in general, stating “We have to contend with cumulative leadership failure and lacklustre governance in all the strata of government”.
According to him, “The crop of leaders we have dandified deceit, lies and chicanery as an enviable art. All the paraphernalia of governance has systematically deteriorated and the economic growth indices have been brutally maligned.
“Economic indicators have irretrievably nosedived thereby precipitating ugly consequences like soaring unemployment, banditry, clinical corruption, dearth of basic amenities, general discontent and criminality.
“Nigeria, surreptitiously assumed the status of a ‘failed state’. No thanks to Clueless administration in both the Federal and state parlance. All these oddities as nasty as they appear are still being replicated in our own in our own Abia state”.
He further moted “we are all guilty by association to witness the gradual but wanton rape of our Abia commonwealth by few privileged oligarchs who have come to regard government coffers as extension of their heritage.
“Abia state has set an enviable record of owing civil servants salaries, entitlements and emoluments for upwards to 20 months while it’s leaders cavort in foreign countries for pleasure-seeking.
“But I thank God today that in his infinite mercy through his direction he has brought us succour and reprieve. I must not fail to assure you all that it will not be business as usual. Collectively we must return Abia to the pedestal of growth and winning ways starting from 2020.
“Basically, we cannot continue to do the same thing and expect change. Our past administrations have serially shortchanged and failed us and there is no better time to get it right than now”.
He therefore beckon on all well meaning men and wornen, youths to “come together in this our onerous efforts to enthrone resilience and sense of purpose above mediocrity. Abia must rise again”.
“We must say no to clueless governance, we must say no to Owing of salaries and pension, we must say no to unemployment of our teeming youths, we must say no to the continuous decay on our infrastructure and no to the flagrant rape of our Commonwealth by political buccaneers on prowl now.
“The better time to change our worsening narrative ls now” stating that the power to put an end to these oddities lies in the ballot.
“Gone are the days when we are deceived by party rhetorics and political jiggery-pokery and made to accept people whom the ruling parties forcefully breathe down our necks, thanks to the commendable provisions In the newly signed electoral law which has given the voters power to get it right this time by voting individuals and not party
