Abia investment: Gov. Otti lauds investor for his faith in Abia.

Says “We are building a model state”.....

Stephanie Clems, Umuahia

Governor Alex Otti of Abia State, Dr. Alex Otti, OFR, has restated his determination to making Abia a model state which does not discriminate against people based on their origins.

He said that he believes that so long as one lives, works and pays your taxes in Abia, one is from the state.

Governor Otti made these comments on Saturday, 18th January in Aba, during the wedding ceremony of the son of STARLINE CEO Mazi Clement Owunna, Clement Owunna Jr., and his wife, Chinelo.

He commended Mazi Owunna for not giving up on Aba even when there were compelling reasons to do so.

He revealed that it was people like Mazi Owunna who believed that Aba and Abia could be rebuilt that made him give up his well-paying banking Group Managing Director (GMD) job to lead the struggle to liberate Abia.

“You know, in the old structure where they say you are from Imo, you are from Anambra, etc, in that structure, he (Clement Owunna) believed in Abia. “I said to myself, so, I have stayed here and become a very successful Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, but by the time you retire, there would be no home to go to. So, I sacrificed that job and started struggling for almost ten years, and today, we are here,” he said .

He encouraged the people to prayerfully stick to and work on their dreams, saying that if it does not happen today, it will happen tomorrow or next.

He described his achievements in the last 19 months as a tip of the iceberg, assuring that greater things were coming.

“What you see in Abia State in the last 19 months is actually what I will call dress rehearsal. You ain’t seen anything yet. I’m not boasting, I know what this State can do.

“The first thing we abolished is state of origin. If you stay here, if you live here then you are from here,” he said

He narrated how he had mooted plans to appoint Ide John Udeagbala as the Mayor of Aba North, but was doubted by the people, saying he still appointed him, and he went on to transform Aba North Local Government Headquarters in just a year.

He said the same thing happened recently when he appointed Edo-born Benson Ojeikere as the Head of Service of the State.

“The other day, I appointed somebody as the Head of Service of the State; some people say he is from Edo; I don’t know about that. He came here in 1999 and he has been here. He didn’t come on his own volition. God brought him here through Youth Service, and he distinguished himself as the best corper, and he was retained in the Civil Service… and somebody wants to tell me he’s not from Abia State,” he said.

“What we are building here is a model State. No matter what anyone says, we are focused and determined. If you come to Aba in the next one year, you would probably not recognize Aba.”Very close here, there was an abandoned project called Enyimba Hotel. You would probably see a Radisson Blu sitting on it. And then you see a conference center by the side and you see another leisure park opposite it. This is our place, we must fix it,” the Governor declared.

He thanked the people for being supportive of his administration and assured them that he would never tamper with the state’s resources but would use them to fix the state.

The governor was accompanied to the marriage ceremony by his wife, Chidinma.