The Abia State governor, His Excellency Dr. Okezie Victor Ikpeazu today commissioned the Osisioma Interchange in what marks the fulfillment of a promise he made to Ndi Abia that the interchange would be commissioned for use before the end of this year. The first of its kind in the 31 years of Abia State, the unveiling of the interchange is a remarkable achievement in the life of his administration which promised to deliver access roads to many parts of Abia State.
The commissioning of the flyover which coincided with the closing ceremonies marking the 31st anniversary of the creation of Abia State is one of the laudable flagship projects of this administration since it assumed office seven years ago. Other road projects commissioned by the governor include the Aba-Owerri Road, Emelogu and Umuobasi Estate Road among others.
The completion of the Osisioma flyover is significant in many ways. One of it is the easing of traffic congestion at the Osisioma Bypass section of the Enugu-Port Harcourt Expressway that had not only become a nightmare to commuters but also prolonged the turnaround time for transporters and businessmen who use the road regularly.
With the construction of the flyover, the problem of road traffic congestion at the major junction that leads into Aba Main Town and connects other routes leading to markets like Ariaria, New Market and Ngwa Road Market has been completely eliminated and this will shorten the downtime previously experienced by commuters and business people in Aba.
At the core of the policy thrust of this administration is the opening of roads within the Aba business cluster and communities surrounding it to enable the State and its people harness the full potential of the human and material resources in Aba and strategically align it with its commitment to grow the State’s internally generated revenue.
Admittedly, this policy direction has yielded significant results as this administration has at last count delivered more than 150 roads in many parts of Abia State in the last seven years including the flyover which not only adds to the beauty of the city, but is also an economic investment that contributes to the socio-economic development of the State.
Speaking to Abians in a Statewide broadcast to commemorate the 31st anniversary of Abia last Saturday, the governor described the Interchange and other road projects as monuments that would testify to the works of his administration, adding that these road infrastructure would contribute to the development of the State as it will help stem the rural-urban drift which puts enormous pressure on the city infrastructure.
In his words, “we have delivered many pioneering and indelible landmark infrastructure projects across various sectors of Abia. A project like the Osisioma Interchange has forever changed the traffic narrative of that junction. Other roads we have built around Umuahia are all of immeasurable importance to the continued economic vibrancy of Abia ”.
In what looks like icing on the cake, the governor at the broadcast also announced that 48 other road projects were ongoing in different parts of the State with efforts being made to complete them before the terminal date of his administration on May 29, 2023. These other roads form part of this administration’s larger agenda to strategically align the agric value chain sector with other sectors of the economy, notably the transport, manufacturing and export sectors of Abia economy.
As a measure to completely integrate the economy of Abia State with those of other States in the South East and South South, the Okezie Ikpeazu administration is making desperate efforts to ensure that roads connecting Abia State with others are receiving attention. One of such roads is the Umuahia-Ikot Ekpene which is currently undergoing reconstruction at the behest of the Abia government in partnership with the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC.
This road when completed will boost the deployment of critical road infrastructure to arrest the decay which the State’s road infrastructure had witnessed for a long time. Other such roads connecting parts of Abia hinterland with the neighbouring States that are agrarian in nature are also under construction; a synergy that will boost trade in agro products and reduce the hunger and poverty that has ravaged the country for the past seven years that the APC took over the reins of power from the PDP government.
It is to the credit and foresight of the Okezie Ikpeazu administration that these well thought out policies are put together for the benefit of Ndi Abia. The policies are not only commendable but also worthy of emulation by others at different levels of government; be they executive or legislative, who have the opportunity to deliver roads and other physical infrastructure to their constituents.
As the governor has made promises to deliver more road infrastructure to Abians before the end of his administration, what Abians owe him is support and encouragement to do more. This is not the time to sit back and criticise the government with a sense of bias that speaks only about negatives. It would be worthwhile for critics to review the activities of this government, compare it with the past governments and give judgment in favour of excellence as exemplified by Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu’s untiring efforts to deliver good governance to Ndi Abia.
Ahead of the 2023 general election which is fast approaching, we call on Ndi Abia to look very critically at the performance of the PDP-led government of Dr. Ikpeazu and discover the giant strides he has made in the last seven years and ensure that the next PDP administration continues from where he stopped.
As we round off celebrations marking the 31st anniversary of the creation of Abia State, we congratulate our amiable Governor for his efforts, as well as the good people of Abia State for attaining the good age of three decades plus one. We have better and greater days ahead and only Ndi Abia can make that happen.
Let us be reminded once more that it is only Ndi Abia that would build Abia. The best we can do is to support this government in ways we can to build the Abia we all dream of. There is no better way to show our love for Abia than for each of us to play our good parts individually.
