2023: APC’s Emenike Blames Abia’s Underdevelopment On Corruption, Low Budgeting
By Charity Uwakwe
The gubernatorial candidate of the All Progressives Congress, (APC), Abia State Chapter, High Chief Ikechi Emenike has asserted that the protracted infrastructural deficit and obvious penurious condition as suffered by the state, is as a result of the deadening corruption, coupled with low budgeting.
The APC candidate made this assertion, yesterday, at his Umukabia country home, during the official unveiling of his ‘Rescue and Develop Abia State’ 23 key deliverables for the forthcoming March 11 2023 guber election.
High Chief Ikechi Emenike (M)
Emenike advised Abians to endeavour to eradicate corrupt politicians using their votes, lamenting that the latter whom he described as political profiteers have, amidst impunity, crippled development in the State.
The prospective Governor insisted that his administration would give zero tolerance to embezzlement and other acts of misappropriation of public’s funds, reiterating that he is prepared to combat corruption against all odds.
“Corruption has gotten so deep in the State that is at the heart of my bid to become governor because of corruption. And it will interest you to know that I have assembled a formidable team of experts who’ll help to move the State forward.”
Emenike insisted that Abia would only be made better if the leaders deployed a different approach to issues, while condemning the extant general consensus about bad governance in Abia.
According to him, most of those in the guber race have in no doubts contributed to the deplorable condition of the state.
“Our manifesto says to rescue and develop Abia. We want to do things that are totally different from what have been done before”, he said.
“We want to do something that is totally different from what we are used to. We will make sure workers are paid their salaries, pensioners receive their gratuities and our teachers are paid their entitlements as well as provide the basic infrastructure that the people so desires for development.”
Meanwhile, he pledged to site industrial parks in each of the 17 local government areas of the state and to establish industrial estates in addition to building an international airport, siting up industries and tertiary institutions in the three zones of the state according to their comparative advantages.
“I shall cite oil-bearing in Ukwa West local government “where we will build a refinery”.
Continuing, he said: “As your colleague in the Media Industry, I feel confident to speak with you.”
“Make sure you vote before embarking on news reportage.”
“If Abia is bad you’re all part of the suffering. Media also suffer the adverse effects of bad governance in terms of poor renumeration.”
He, therefore, implored ‘all hands to be on deck’ in collaboration with the All Progressives Congress to get rid of bad governance, stressing that, “that the evil ones are not those in bad leadership but the Electorates who would not participate in election to ensure good governance is enthroned.
“Evil people will not destroy the world but those who laid back and watch things go wrong will destroy it”, he said.
