The G5 governors of the Peoples Democratic Party, are in Aba, Abia State for another round of meetings, hosted by their colleague, Governor Okezie Ikpeazu.
The visit of the governors were captured in pictures shared by the Chief Press Secretary to the Abia governor, Onyebuchi Ememanka, on Thursday morning.
Ememanka captioned the pictures, “G5 Governors Group. Welcome to Abia, the home of fashion! Welcome to Aba, the headquarters of garment business and fashion business in Nigeria.”
Governors Nyesom Wike (Rivers), Samuel Ortom (Benue), Seyi Makinde (Oyo) and Ifeanyi Uguwanyi (Enugu) are in Aba for the meeting.
As campaigns for next year general elections are lifted, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) gubernatorial candidate in Abia State, Prof. Uche Ikonne has promised to create an Aba Development Authority.
Prof Ikonne said that the essence of establishing the authority, if elected next year, is to create a participatory environment that will strengthen the relationship and restore the confidence of residents in government.
According to him, there will be an administrator whose duty will be to drive locally-led initiatives and policies that will advance the economic and social welfare of the community.
He said:”I know Aba people and their desire for independence and being part of governance, I will create a system that they will have direct participation and control of a system that will guarantee them the opportunity to contribute to public policy making and service provision, fiscal autonomy, and service delivery”.
An assistant superintendent of police, Ifeanyi Henry, is in custody for causing panic at Aba Central Police station where he pulled a gun and began shooting sporadically.
Henry ran amok, Hollywood style, at Okwu na Uka Street and St Michael’s Road, linking the main gate of the station when he suddenly pulled his pistol and began shooting sporadically, assaulting women, children and store owners.
It was learnt that the incident began around 7pm Saturday when ASP Henry started manhandling women, children and store owners close to the station for no reason and without any provocation.
Abia police spokesman, SP Geoffrey Ogbonna, said Henry was currently in custody.
“The Nigerian police is a very disciplined organisation. And there are laid down procedures in handling the issue of any erring officer irrespective of his rank and cadre.
“I condemn the actions of the police officer and I have to tell you that he is in custody right now and he will be treated departmentally,” Ogbonna said.
Eyewitnesses told our correspondent that Henry was seen with his pistol which he fired severally, battering and assaulting people including wives of his fellow police officers who own shops very close to the Aba CPS gate.
One of the women who sells roasted chicken, yams and plantains had all her goods thrown into the gutter by the ASP, who also destroyed her kiosk and beat her up mercilessly.
It was gathered that at first, some passers-by wanted to attack him when he was manhandling the woman who sells roasted chicken, but only withdrew when they discovered he was a police officer in mufti.
Daily Trust gathered from witnesses that throughout the incident, everyone believed that the ASP was under the influence of drugs, as he repeatedly scared fellow police officers with his pistol and ran after and beat whoever he saw to beat them.
The matter worsened when he stopped shooting in the air and began aiming directly at people only for his pistol to jam.
He bent over to fix the jammed pistol when mobile police officers around rushed in to disarm him.
As they were taking him quietly into the station, Henry caused another scare by grabbing an AK-47 rifle held by one of the officers in a bid to continue his shooting spree.
It took the intervention of the mobile police officers who repeatedly heat him hard in the arm before the let go of the gun while they bundled him inside the police station.
After the incident, the adjoining streets around the Aba CPS became deserted while some persons who suffered several losses and injuries were seen crying and treating themselves close to the Aba General Hospital that is adjacent to the station.
Abia State Governor, Okezie Ikpeazu says he remains fully committed to the total restoration of the glory of Aba, the Enyimba City.
Governor Ikpeazu stated this on Wednesday, at the Governor’s Lodge, Aba, when he received a delegation of UMU ABA WORLDWIDE, an association made up young men who were born and bred in Aba but are currently living in different countries of the world.
According to Governor Ikpeazu, “Aba is my home. But it goes beyond that. It is the economic center of our state and Ala Igbo in general. Aba houses everyone and they make their money in Aba and help to develop other parts of the state and our region. I will leave no stone unturned in ensuring that the town gets the required attention.
“We have invested heavily in the infrastructural development of Aba and my emphasis is to do projects that are sustainable, not the kind that will be gone after one or two rainy seasons.
“If you check well, all the roads we have completed and commissioned since 2015 are still standing in top shape. My decision to deploy cement technology, though more expensive, is to ensure that our roads last for several years”.
Ikpeazu, who told the group that he will never stop working until his last day in office as Governor, also used the opportunity to announce that work will commence on Port Harcourt road very shortly.
The Chief Executive Officer of Abia State reminded them that drainage works had been completed on PH road and that what is now remaining is the main road work.
He promised to deliver a brand new Port Harcourt road before he leaves office.
He also assured them that in the next 18 months, a brand new Ngwa Road, Ohanku, Obohia and Uratta roads will come to life to the delight of everyone.
The Governor challenged them to bring their investments back home to Aba, pointing out that his administration is working hard to make the environment safe and conducive for business.
He assured them that their request for land to build a housing estate for their members would be given adequate consideration.
Earlier, the President of the association, Mr Uche Milo told the Governor that they came to appreciate him for the massive turn around they are witnessing in Aba after many years of rot.
He said that what they saw this Christmas when they came back gladdened their hearts and reminded them of the Aba of old.
He told the Governor that with what they have seen on ground now, they will effectively start establishing a tangible presence at home.
Also speaking, the Vice President of the group and an ex-soccer international, James Igwilo, told the Governor that their members were very impressed with the emerging scenes of development in Aba and assured him that they will partner with his administration in different ways to make the town better.
He said that they were also interested in youth development through sports and would use their contacts abroad to assist young Aba soccer players to push their careers abroad.
The Technical Partner of the Aba Automated Shoe Factory, Mr Osaro Ekonweren, has described the Aba Automated Shoe Factory as currently having the most updated shoe producing machines in the country.
Mr. Ekonweren said this yesterday in an exclusive interview immediately after the inauguration of the Board of the Company by Governor Okezie Ikpeazu.
According to the Technical Partner, “we were amazed and impressed by what we saw on ground. Our group has been into shoe production in Nigeria for over a decade now and I must confess that the machines we saw there when we went on inspection cannot be found anywhere in the country. We use machines in our own company but we have is no where near what is at the Aba Shoe Factory”.
Mr. Ekonweren said that at present, the factory has an installed capacity for the production of 5000 pairs of shoes every day which translates to about 2 million pairs of shoes annually, with facilities for expansion and assured that they plan to actually expand this capacity within the next one year.
He saluted the foresight of Governor Ikpeazu and confirmed that the factory will change the face of shoe production in Nigeria.
He said that his organization was selected as Technical Partners for the factory based on a proven and verifiable track record of quality automated shoe production spanning over 10 years. He stated that they make shoes for companies like PEP of South Africa and several others, assuring that the products from the Aba factory will be well received by the markets. According to him, products from this factory will not just be for the local market here but will be sold across West Africa and beyond.
He assured that the factory will be run as a professional and commercial outfit with clear opportunities for value addition and job creation.
On when actual production will commence at the factory, he assured that they will start test runs in the next two weeks while they will start production by the second week of September. He made it clear that by December this year, shoes from the factory would have gained ground in the local and international markets. He also stated that the factory will also produce other leather works like bags, belts, wallets, etc.
Also speaking, the Executive Director, Operations of the Factory, Mr Chinenye Nwaogu said that with the new management structure in place, Governor Okezie Ikpeazu has sent a clear message that the factory will be run solely on a basis of professionalism inspired by commercial expediency. He said that the 30 shoe makers who were sent to China by the Governor for training on the use of machines in shoe production will form the initial technical staff of the factory while there will be huge emphasis on training for more operators.
Mr Nwaogu said that the apparent delay in the start of production at the factory was because the Governor insisted that a professional organization must be found to run the place and the process took some time, coupled with the pandemic of COVID-19 which shut down the country for about three months.
The Governor inaugurated the Board of the Factory yesterday and gave them a clear mandate to raise the bar and cement the place of Abia State as the powerhouse of leather works in Nigeria and West Africa. The Board has Mr. Mark Atasie, a Management Consultant as Chairman.
Abia state Police Commissioner, CP Ene Okon has confirmed the arrest of six suspected armed robbers by a team of detectives at the Ndiegoro Police Division in Aba.
Okon commeded the Ndiegoro DPO, SP Alphonsus Ayang and his men for the feat, adding that the case would be handed over to the appropriate department for firther investigations.
“We are still investigating because we have to do that to know the culpability of the suspects.
“The team has done a beautiful work and what is remaining now is to hand it over to the body that can finish the work like the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) that can investigate robbery cases,” he said.
A police source, who pleaded anonymity, said the robbers were arrested by the Ayang-led team of detectives from Ndiegoro in two different locations within Ndiegoro and Ogbor-Hill axis of Aba with arms and live ammunition.
The source said the first gang was arrested at about 16:40 on the Feb. 16 around Ndiegoro axis while on a criminal mission.
He said the suspects were arrested with five locally made pistol with 13 live cartridges during his arrest.
He further said that on Feb. 17, at about 14:55, through information from their partners in crime, two other suspects were arrested, adding that one locally made pistol was recovered with them.
According to him, some of the suspects also admitted ownership of the recovered weapons.
He said their cases would be transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department, Umuahia. (NAN)
