Former Goveror of Abia State and the Chief Whip of the Senate, Orji Uzor Kalu, has berated his successors over the poor state of Aba town.
In a statement released from his office, the lawmaker said this when he hosted some clergymen in the state to a breakfast meeting in Aba on Thursday
Kalu, who was governor of Abia state from 1999 to 2007, condemned successive administrations for their neglect of the town and the poor infrastructure development in the economic hub of state.
He said, “I am disappointed that since I left office in 2007, nothing tangible has been done in Aba.
“Those who knew Aba in 1998 before we came to power in 1999 will attest that we did a lot of work in Aba and brought glory to this city.
“But since we left, nothing tangible has been done to improve on what we did and the city needs more to take it to where it should be.
“What we need now is to declare Aba a disaster area so that the Federal Government can take extraordinary measures to fix the town.”
The former Governor, however, said he is optimistic the All Progress Congress (APC) will clinch Saturday’s bye-election for Aba North/Aba South Federal Constituency.
Kalu stated: “I have no doubt that the popularity of APC is enough to win the Saturday bye-election.
“The execution of major road projects in Abia by President Muhammadu Buhari through the Niger Delta Development Commission has made APC more popular than other parties in Abia.
“There is no better time to be at the centre and enjoy infrastructure development than now.”
He therefore urged Aba electorate to vote enmasse for APC in the bye-election, adding that the quickest way to fast track the development of the city was to hook Aba with the party at the centre.
“All the APC lawmakers in Abia have done well and effectively used their Zonal Intervention Projects for their constituents.
“APC believes in infrastructure development more than any other party and we will replicate the same in Aba,” he stated.