Second tenure: Ikpeazu promises more democracy dividend to Abians

Governor Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia State has promised to deliver on his campaign promise to transform the state and make life more meaningful for the people of the state.
Ikpeazu made the promise on Wednesday after taking the oath of office for his second tenure, along with his deputy, Chief Ude Oko-Chukwue, at the Umuahia Township Stadium.
He said that his re-election offered him an opportunity to rededicate himself to the service of the people of the state.
He said that he had taken note of the areas that required urgent intervention by the government.
He said that an internal review of the system had been conducted to consolidate on the dividend of democracy to the people.
Ikpeazu said: “The primary focus of our administration will be to consolidate on the achievements of our first tenure, completing all ongoing projects and creating avenues for our teeming youths to have jobs and be self-reliant.
“We are poised to create over one million jobs before the expiration of our tenure.
“We will meet the needs of today while ensuring we lay solid foundations for the future of our children.
“We will continue to run on our five pillars of development and their enablers and they will remain our guiding principles for our policy formulations and plans going forward,” he said.
The governor, however, pledged to execute new projects to boost the economy of the state.
He also said that he was poised to embark on projects that would have direct bearing on the lives of his people.
He said his government in the past four years had made milestone achievements, especially in education, agriculture, industry, commerce and infrastructure development.
Ikpeazu also said that his government fared creditably in health, security, ease of doing business and tax reforms.
The governor further said that the Enyimba Economic City would be the legacy of the present administration, when completed, because of the massive impact it would have on Abia and Nigeria.
He said: “The city will be able to create 650,000 jobs, 300,000 units of urban housing will be built, and about 1.5 million people will live and work there.
‘’There will also be establishment of 2,000 industrial/business units in the city, and an annual value output of 5 billion US dollars will be realised in the city.
“The pointer to the value of this project is that the Federal Government has invested into it by taking 20 per cent equity worth N100 billion.
“I will like to thank President Muhammadu Buhari for looking beyond partisan political lines to give his full support to this project. As a people, we are eternally grateful to him.”
Ikpeazu said that he dedicated his electoral mandate to all Abia people and urged the opposition to put all their grievances aside and join hands with him to build the state.
The oath of office was administered by the Chief Judge, Justice Onuoha Ogwe.