HURIWA To Ikpeazu: Make ABA Industrial, Entrepreneural Capital of Nigeria

Civil Rights Advocacy Group; Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA), has urged the Governor of Abia State Okezie Ikpeazu, to pay more attention to transforming Aba into the “industrial capital and entrepreneur centre of Nigeria.”

HURIWA’s National Coordinator; Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko, made this known in a statement dated August 25.

Onwubiko stated that the governor was yet to fulfil his campaign promises to the people of the state, particularly Aba residents.

“Despite these lofty promises by the current administration, there hasn’t been sufficient investment in the city necessitating concerns that Aba, which previously was the industrial and production centre for most of the locally manufactured goods in Nigeria and saw buyers from across West Africa trooping in mass to the City is gradually losing its economic attraction due to continuous neglect, poor management and lack of deliberate efforts towards infrastructural revolution,” he stated.

Onwubiko argued that Aba as well as the state was deteriorating, signalling that the impact of the current administration was yet to be felt.

“In contrast to what it used to be, almost everything in the city denies its commercial status as basic social and economic infrastructures are elusive.

“Apart from Faulks Road, newly fixed to link the Ariaria International Market, almost every important road to business and industrial centres in Aba are in awful situations.

“As a result, major industries are now disappearing from the industrial city and relocating to neighbouring states where there are better environments, security, people and business-oriented governments making people to wonder if Abia State has a government because everything is fast decaying”, the statement added.

As such, HURIWA urged the governor to judiciously utilise his moments in power, thereby restoring Aba’s lost glory.

The statement partly reads:

“Although, Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu has been boastful about wearing strictly made in Aba clothing since his assumption of office; a gesture geared towards promoting the ‘Made in Aba’ campaign, it’s not only about wearing items of clothing produced in Aba for all his local and international outings; Aba’s problems cannot be resolved without proactive infrastructural revolution.”.