We’re Committed To Stamp Out Crime, Criminality In Abia, Gov. Otti Restates

• Says Abia People Deserve The Better, It’s No Favour*

Governor Alex Otti of Abia State has said that his administration is committed in routing out crime and criminality to ensure that Abia remains safe.

In a statement from Kazie Uko, Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Otti stated this on Tuesday while declaring open, a one-day ‘Sensitisation Campaign Against Cultism and Drug Addiction in Nigeria’, organised by the Abia State Orientation Agency (ABSOA) held at the Michael Okpara Auditorium, Umuahia.

According to the Governor, “No amount of alcohol, drug addiction or whatever it is that one had consumed would justify any action taken that is against the law. And for us, we are single-minded about rooting out crime and criminality and ensuring that our state is safe for our citizens and our visitors.”

He said that the campaign is imperative as there is a need to educate the citizens about the implications of cultism and drug addiction.

“I believe this sensitisation campaign is absolutely in order. We want to educate you and expose you to the implications of some of these actions that lead to other actions that would lead us to a reaction that you may not like.

“We have people today pooling themselves together and inflicting injury, hurt, hatred and even killing fellow human beings. There is never any time you can justify it. Armed robbery, kidnapping, abductions, violent crimes, and banditry have been related and associated very closely with cultism and drug addiction,” the Governor said.

He advised participants at the event to take the dangers of cultism and drug addiction seriously to impact positively on others.

In his goodwill message, the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, represented by DCP Sani Shuaibu, described the campaign against cultism and drug addiction as timely and commendable as the youths have fallen victim to cultism and drug addiction.

The IGP assured that the police were ready to synergise with other sister agencies and the Abia State Government to fight the menace of cultism and drug addiction.

Earlier in his address, the Director General, of Abia State Orientation Agency, Pastor Dike Nwankwo, noted that the programme was aimed at sensitising and reorientating Abians, especially the youths, on the dangers of cultism and drug addiction.

He highlighted the dangers associated with cultism and drug addiction and maintained that the campaign would bring about a cross-fertilisation of ideas and proffer solutions to the menace of cultism and drug addiction.

Delivering a  keynote lecture on the topic, “Building a New Abia Through a Responsible Citizenship”, the Vice Chancellor, of the Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike, Prof. Maduebibisi Iwe, identified the challenges confronting youths including unemployment, inadequate revenue generation and weak industrial base.

He stressed the need for responsible citizenship by all, especially the youths, and emphasised that everyone must be a responsible citizen while appreciating Governor Otti for the approach he had taken in the fight against cultism, drug addiction, and criminality in Abia State.

Meanwhile, Governor Otti has said that the people of Abia deserve all the dividends they are getting in terms of infrastructural development and prompt payment of salaries and pensions.

Governor Otti declared that by providing these benefits of good governance for the citizenry, he was not doing the people any special favour but simply carrying out the responsibilities of government.

This is just as the Imo State Governor, Senator Hope Uzodimma, has congratulated Abians on the new lease of life they are enjoying under the leadership of Governor Otti.

The two Governors spoke on Sunday at a Thanksgiving Service organised by the Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Hon. Nkiruka Onyejeocha, at Peace Event Centre, Amuda, Isuochi, Umunneochi LGA, Abia State.

“When we are building roads, it is not a favour, we want to create access so that people can go about their businesses freely and smoothly,” Governor Otti said, adding, that all his government is doing is to make life better for the people.

The Abia State Governor thanked the Umunneochi community, including the Church, for the support they have continued to give to his administration. He urged the Church not to relent but to continue to pray for the administration, saying that Abia State would be better this time around.

Governor Otti congratulated Hon. Onyejeocha for her wisdom in giving thanks to God for all that she had accomplished in life.

“I want to thank the Minister for remembering to say, ‘Thank You to God’. Like the Bishop said, it’s very easy to run away with your blessing, without acknowledging from where it came. Because you have acknowledged God and you have celebrated God in this way, the celebration will never end in your house,” he prayed.

Speaking, the Imo State Governor, Senator Uzodimma, who described Governor Otti as “one of our finest and brightest”, said the people of Abia are in for a great deal.

He said, “I want to use this medium to congratulate the people of Abia State for the new lease of life that we are witnessing in the government of Dr. Alex Otti.”

Uzodimma also thanked God for the good things He had done for Hon. Onyejeocha, saying that, though not re-elected to the National Assembly where she had served, she was appointed a Minister, describing it as a testimony to her hard work and commitment.

Governor Uzodimma disclosed that the Governors of the South East are determined to work together to alleviate the sufferings of the people, while calling on the political class, irrespective of their political linings, to join hands with governments at all levels to achieve that.

“I therefore call on the politicians in Abia State, indeed in the South East to join hands together, build a new region for our people, to create an economy for our people, to create a life for our people, to develop our zone for the interest of all of us,” he implored.

Also speaking, the celebrant, Hon. Onyejeocha said that the thanksgiving service was to prove a point about who God is and His position in her life.

She narrated her life experiences and how God had been her foundation and help over the years. She said that the era of relegating God to the background in Abia was over as God is taking over the State now. She thanked Governor Otti and all who came to identify with her.

In his sermon titled: “The Power of Thanksgiving”, the Bishop, of Methodist Church Nigeria, Diocese of Nsuka/Ehamufu, Enugu State, Dr. John Eze, stressed the need for thanksgiving unto the Lord. He said that thanksgiving provokes the power of God into action, triggers the multiplication of God’s blessings, guarantees the preservation of testimonies, and makes people know that God blesses people.

The event attracted many dignitaries including, the wife of the Governor of Abia State, Mrs. Priscilla Otti; Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi SAN; National Chairman of APC and former governor of Kano State, Abdullahi Ganduje.

Some members of the National Assembly, some members of the Abia State House of Assembly, some members of the Labour Party, clergymen, traditional rulers, among others.