By NewsCritic Reporters
The Mayor of Umuahia North LGA, H/Chief Victor Ikeji has hailed the administration of Governor Alex Otti, saying that under the Labour Party, LP, governor Abia State has become a huge construction site, as road construction and rehabilitation works are ongoing across the 17 LGAs of Abia State.
Chief Victor Ikeji also said that residents of Abia State are in jubilant mood and grateful to God for rescuing Abia from the bondage of misrule through Gov Alex Otti, adding that the people should expect massive transformation of Abia under Gov Otti who is interested in the good of the state.
The Umuahia North Mayor who spoke in an exclusive interview with NewsCritic online at his office, maintained that both the urban and rural roads are receiving adequate attention with the Governor’s intervention through the Mayors, disclosing that in Umuahia North LGA, the projects have been evenly spread as both the Ohuhu and Ibeku rural roads are getting the desired attention.
Chief Victor Ikeji thanked the Governor for releasing money to the LGAs to be able to grade rural roads and open access roads for easy movement of the rural dwellers and commuters alike during the yuletide season. “So, Abia State has been turned into a construction hub by the governor, who is doing marvellously well in reconstruction and rehabilitation of roads network in the State.
“The governor in his wisdom decided it shouldn’t be about major roads only but that the LGAs should also feel the impact of the transformation that is ongoing. So, before the Christmas he released some money to the LGAs to open up access roads for commuters to be able to move freely from one locality to another.
Speaking about his experience in Umuahia North since his inauguration on 1st December 2023, Chief Ikeji enthused that it has not been easy, pointing out that he met nothing on ground in the council to build on. “So, we started from ground zero and we are trying our best to see what we can do to make the council better and conducive for everyone to work.
He stressed that within this short period of time, they were able to make impact in terms of achievements due to the fact that some of them already have cognate experience from their background. “It was easy for me to hit the ground running from day one, the Mayor remarks.
Mayor Ikeji reeled out some of the immediate works he carried out in the council to include the complete reconstruction of the Office of the Mayor to bring it to the standard, and also for the staff to enjoy the benefit of working in a conducive environment. Again, he said he discovered the council has not enjoyed electricity in the past five years, and wondered how this was possible and how the past chairmen were able to discharge the functions of their office.
“Could you imagine this and how the past chairmen managed to work without attending to the issue of power, and not only that, the water system was moribund and I considered this insane, he declares. He said that Immediately, “I commissioned that the water problem should be rectified and it has been restored likewise power also.
“But we are still negotiating with EEDC because we were told the council is owing electricity bills that runs into millions of Naira. We are looking at how best to resolve it so they can restore power to the council. However, in the interim we have been able to repair the 100 kva power generator and we have fixed it, as it is running now. Also, the smaller generators which were in the state of disrepair have been fixed and it is serving us now. I think you can see how conducive this environment is now, it enhances productivity because I can resume work 8am and close 6pm or even later than that”, Mayor Ikeji adds.