under the platform of All Progressives Congress (APC).Maduekwe said this when he spoke with newsmen on Wednesday in Abuja,
saying that he joined the race to help regain the lost glory of the
state.
“Our present situation in Abia demands immediate response. There is no
room for margin of error, nor for trial and error.
“The principles of fresh esoteric management theories have no place in
the present governance need of Abia.
“The solution lies with known and workable principles that can guarantee
the urgent emancipation and migration of Abia people who are currently
locked up within the enclave of decrepit deplorable despondency into
self-assured dependency.
“This is born out of certainty embedded or encapsulated within the
single affirmative and assertiveness in the principles of Nkaa G’eme,”
he said.
Maduekwe added: “The urgency is now! because we are now working dead in
a land that was just a couple of decades ago reputed for its ascendency
within the comity of nations as one of those critical components of our
union…
“We became serially, politically depraved while politically good men
stood akimbo or lost the zeal to intervene with strength and vigor
needed for our collective rescue.
“Today all that is set to change with my humble self-throwing my hat in
the ring.”
He said that if given the opportunity to fly the APC flag he was
prepared to give Abia people good governance centered on four pillars –
education, energy, economy and infrastructure.
He said that the value of education with its accompanying value chain
must be brought back to the front burner if the state must unlock its
highly rated God given potential to be counted as one of the Nigerian
states leading the country in different spheres of human endeavours.
“No Abia child shall be left behind. Associated educational
infrastructure development shall be pursued all through its value chain.
“Singapore instituted similar agenda in spite of being far behind
Nigeria in the 60’s today we can feel how far behind as a nation we are
trailing,” Maduekwe said.
On energy, he said that he plans to make Abia a topmost green and
renewable energy state in Nigeria.
He added that he also plans to work with relevant Federal Government
agencies to encourage the state to tap from its God given resources in
the Compressed Natural Gas sector.
“The national grid shall become secondary source of power to the Abia
within 24 months of our leadership in the state.
“There shall be natural gas revolution with associated productivity and
advantages of the entire value chains
“Our economy shall be smart economy once the two earlier components of
education and energy are well emplaced,” he said.
He also promised to work in synergy with the state legislature towards
the passage of two important bills within 60days of assuming office.
“These bills include – abolition of the humongous drawings of security
vote to a collectively acceptable limit not exceeding 20 per cent of the
current monthly drawings.
“Urban renewal authority bill to be passed by the state House of
Assembly shall focus on ensuring three cities in Abia takes the center
stage with infrastructural developmental stride,” he said.
Maduekwe promised to transform Abia into the commercial hub for Nigeria
and the ECOWAS sub region.
“Aba remains the commercial nexus for Africa since most entrepreneurs in
West Africa and Central African states and beyond have identified it as
a good business location.
“Restoration of Aba back to glory is a national duty that will rub off
in no small measure to Nigeria as a whole hence Aba is beyond being
called an Abia city.
“It is indeed a Nigeria city and proudly so and can only be restored
back to glory through the combined effort of every Nigerians,” Maduekwe
said.
He urged all people of Abia and critical stakeholders to individually
and collectively join him as he set out on a journey to restore,
reinvent and realign Abia for the change long desired.(NAN)
institutionsThe President of Senate, Sen. Ahmad Lawan, says senate will intervene to
avert possible crisis on allegations of hike in registration fees by
some tertiary institutions particularly in the northern part of the
country.
He made this known on Wednesday while receiving in audience at the
National Assembly, a delegation of the Coalition of Northern Groups
Students Wing (CNG-SW) led by its National Coordinator, Mr Jamiu
Charanchi.
The senate president underscored the importance of education to any
society and promised that the senate would swing into action by engaging
relevant authorities with a view to preventing anything that could cause
disruption in their learning process.
“Education is the bedrock for any nation, society or community to
develop.
“And any society that do not prioritise education will suffer stunted
development and the repercussions of not educating citizens are better
imagined.
“I believe at this moment, that hike in fees is very unnecessary but I
also believe that government must prioritise education and what that
means is not only to establish the institutions but to support our
students all the way.
“As a senate and indeed as members of the national assembly representing
you, we are going to take this matter very seriously. We are going to
look into it very seriously and closely and expeditiously and we want to
find a solution to it.
“This is an opportunity for me to appeal to our state governments across
the country to continue to support education of our citizens seriously
by providing them necessary scholarship and giving them in time when
they will be very helpful.
“Here at the Federal level, the senate will work hard to ensure that we
do something that will change the narrative.”
Earlier, the leader of the group, Charanchi said their mission was to
register their concerns over reports of an impending plan by both the
Federal and state governments to commercialise education.
He alleged that some institutions particularly in the northern part of
the country, were reported to have doubled their registration fees.
“It is in line with the above that we at the CNG’s students’s wing
request the quick intervention of your esteemed office.
“We appeal to you on behalf of the millions of Nigerian students and
their families to see to the reversal of the hike which will enable
students from poor and marginalised families have access to tertiary
education,”he said.(NAN)