I won’t be distracted, says Orji

•Suspended officials at Abia Assembly •Youths back governor

Abia State Governor Theodore Orji has said his administration will not be distracted by the opposition’s criticisms.






Speaking with reporters yesterday in Umuahia, the state capital, Orji said: "My administration will not be distracted by any political party. We are focused on developing the state and improving our people’s lives."
He said his administration has invested over N5 billion in the repair of infrastructure, adding that the government, with the collaboration of the Federal Government, will soon revive the Aba Regional Water Scheme.
On the suspension of some government officials, Orji based his action on security reasons.

He said: "As the chief security officers in their different local government areas, government expected a lot from them. Security is paramount and we have to take measures to correct lapses."
The suspended officials appeared before the House of Assembly yesterday.

Seventeen local government chairmen, 10 commissioners, the chief of staff to the governor and his deputy, security advisers and heads of some parastatals were suspended over security issues.
The state’s Local Organising Committee (LOC) for the burial of Chief Dim Ojukwu, headed by Prof. Joshua Ogbonnaya, also appeared before the Assembly.

The suspended government officials and members of the LOC appeared before an Executive Session of the Assembly for questioning.
They were accused of not mobilising people at the grassroots for the funeral and causing a security breach.
The invited persons were at the Assembly Complex as early as 9am, wearing long faces. They refused to speak with reporters. The closed door meeting, which started at 10am, ended at 3pm.
Speaker Udo Oko Chukwu and other members declined to comment on the meeting.

Clerk of the House John-Pedro Irokansi said the press would be addressed on the outcome of the meeting later.
Security operatives had a hectic time controlling a crowd of youths at the Assembly entrance, who were in support of the governor’s action.
Singing solidarity songs, the youths carried placards with inscriptions, such as, "TC chairmen, disappointment to PDP", "Wayo chairmen, we fire all of you by fire by force", "Greedy TC chairmen, carry your loads and go", "Ochendo go ahead and chase them away, they are greedy".
Other inscriptions were: "Sidon dey look commissioners, bye bye for now" and "Suspension not enough for them, we need their expulsion from both the party and the government", among others.
Speaking on behalf of the youths, Coordinator, Abia Youths Movement, Uche Ogbusuo said: "The action taken by the governor by removing and suspending some political office holders is a welcome development. He has shown that he has the zeal to sanitise the system.
"We cannot just fold our arms and watch our governor, who has exhibited a high level of dynamism in leadership in the past years, be undermined by the carefree and nonchalant attitude of some political office holders.
"We salute Orji for taking this bold step. It is high time he probed the political theories of this state. What he has done, though a tip of the ice berg, shows we are in for a change.



"Youths are tired of hearing thesame names since the inception of this regime. We thank Ochendo for this bold step and are solidly behind his action."

Source: The Nation