ENUGU, Nigeria (VOICE OF NAIJA)- The Abia State Government on Monday issued a warning regarding a trending social media report. The authors of the report alleged that Governor Alex Otti had arrested some young men and elders after purportedly inviting them for peace talks in Umuahia.
The Senior Special Assistant to Governor Otti on Public Communication, Dodoh Okafor, gave the warning on his Twitter handle on Monday.
He denied the reports of protests by some youth and subsequent invitation to Umuahia by the Governor.
The state government claimed Governor Otti did not at any time order the arrest of anyone or group of people in connection with any remote or immediate event before and after the flag off of the rehabilitation and reconstruction of Port Harcourt Road in Aba.
He said, “To begin with, majority of Ndi Abia from all clans across the state, irrespective of their cultural and religious leanings are profoundly appreciative of the Governor Otti’s resolve to rehabilitate the long-abandoned Port Harcourt Road which until its collapse in the mid-1990s was a major hub for the sale and repair of heavy duty machineries and spare parts, serving the Port Harcourt industrial complex, further consolidating Aba’s reputation as a major market for manufacturers and big businesses across the country and beyond.
“It is estimated that the collapse and subsequent abandonment of Port Harcourt Road by previous administrations cost the city hundreds of billions of naira in earnings, job opportunities and other missed opportunities.
READ ALSO: How Ikpeazu Left $255m World Bank, N30bn State Balance For Alex Otti – Aide
“It then beggars belief that anyone or group would wish to stand against the resolve of the Otti administration to fix that stretch of road, solve the perennial flooding problems in that part of Aba, and make the environment business-friendly once again as envisaged by Governor Sam Mbakwe of old Imo State who constructed the road to expand the frontiers of economic opportunities in Aba.
“For the records, reports of protests by some youth and subsequent invitation to Umuahia by Governor Alex Otti is untrue and a figment of the imagination of those promoting it, for reasons we cannot immediately determine.”
He assured Abians in particular and Nigeria in general that Governor Otti’s administration is committed to holistically rebuilding and restoring the public infrastructure, adding that it shall continue to ignore the antics of detractors seeking to sow seeds of rancour to divide our people.
Okafor stressed that those “agents of division must be made to know that Abians are now wiser and shall never allow anyone or group mislead them with concocted tales Governor Otti’s resolve to set Abia on a new, more progressive direction remains unshaken. He does not take the goodwill of the public for granted and would continue to respect the opinions of those who gave him the mandate to lead.”
He urged the public to be wary of the antics of several mischievous characters whose stock-in-trade is to create divisions that only serve their selfish agenda.
“We are one people, sharing a common destiny and must remain united as we walk past the wilderness of yesterday into the glorious future that is our rightful heritage”, Okafor concluded.