The sum of N771 million naira was shared to house, shop and business owners in Abia State to enable the expansion of Okpara Square Ossah road, says Governor Alex Otti.
According to him, no fewer than 130 structures were marked for demolition as the government embarked on the 3.5-kilometre road project awarded to the Craneburg Construction Company.
TrackNews understands that the Abia State government awarded the expansion of the Ossah road from four lanes to six lanes to the private company last week Wednesday.
Speaking during a media edition of his monthly media interaction with residents in Umuahia, the state capital, on Saturday, Otti pointed out that the decision to expand the road to six lanes was to unlock the economic potential of the state capital as well as open up the city to greater economic opportunities.
The governor added that three other roads have been awarded to contractors in Aba, the commercial hub of the state, in addition to eleven roads already awarded and three commissioned since the inception of his administration.
He said, “Penco Avenue, Omuma Road and another around Clifford Road, resources are scarce, Port Harcourt road is not forgotten, the road requires a lot of design, and in the next few weeks you will see what will happen.
“With the little resources the state gets, our government will improve on infrastructure as much as we can, and our people will continue to see the changes in the coming weeks.
“Our government is making efforts to ensure that our people have adequate security with the procurement of Hilux vehicles and engagement of various security agencies in the team code-named “Operation Flush.”
He stated that criticisms from the opposition political parties are welcome while noting that the residents are wiser, judging from what his administration has offered in the past four months.
Speaking on accountability, the governor affirmed that journalists can have access to any information they want as regards the allocation that comes into the state and the amount paid for any contract given, instead of believing the speculated 500 billion naira rumoured to have accrued to the state in two months from the federal government.
He added: “There’s no problem with transparency, the information is in the public domain. I cannot stay here and throw figures in the air, there’s nothing we are doing here that is hidden. If such money comes in, what did they (the previous administration) do with the money?”
The governor said that the Aba Specialist Hospital is not abandoned, but noted that the government is “taking things one step at a time to provide good health services for the people.
According to Otti, Local Government elections will be conducted in the state, but Transition Committee Chairmen will be appointed to take care of administrative activities until the election.
“The transition committee will lead before the local government election is held, we don’t have the timetable yet,” Otti said.
He said the security vote will be used on what it is meant for and will not be allowed to be used for other purposes.
“It is all about deploring money to work for Abia people, gone are the days when monies are shared. We now have the Abia State Orientation Agency and the whole idea is for people to begin to think and see life differently. People have been used to doing things the wrong way in Abia,” he added.
