The Speaker of Abia State House of Assembly, Rt Hon Engr Chinedum Enyinnaya Orji, has urged Federal Lawmakers from the State to use their positions to attract more Federal Government presence to the State particularly as it concerns the conditions of Federal roads in the State.
The Speaker who made the call in his address of welcome to the Federal Lawmakers of Abia origin during a special plenary session held in their honour at the Assembly complex in Umuahia on Wednesday equally called for synergy between them and the State House of Assembly irrespective of party affiliations for the greater good of Abia State.
According to him “Now that the Budget Process is in progress, it is expedient that we urge you to use its instrumentality to attract federal government presence to our dear state. The following federal roads in the state need urgent rehabilitation/reconstruction: Aba – Ikot Ekpene Road, Umuahia – Ikot Ekpene Road, Uzuakoli – Ohafia – Arochukwu – Akwa Ibom Road, Umuahia – Bende – Arochukwu – Akwa Ibom Road and Enugu – Port Harcourt Expressway”. Rt. Hon. Orji noted the need for the Federal Lawmakers to attract a conventional Federal University to the state as well as a Federal Secretariat.
In his remarks, the Senate Minority Leader, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, while congratulating the Abia Speaker and his colleagues on the “superlatively remodeled” Assembly complex, promised that, , they would do everything within their powers as Lawmakers at the Federal level,
to address the numerous issues confronting the State the using necessary legislative instruments. He advised the Lawmakers in the State to remain focused on their jobs and not allow themselves to be bow to pressures from detractors maintaining that “This Assembly has to collaborate with the Governor to move the state forward. If, for example, a road collapses after just three months of being constructed, you summon the Commissioner responsible and ask them questions to which they have to provide answers. That is what is expected of the Assembly in the discharge of their oversight functions. If you need any support from us, we are ready to give it to you”, he concluded.
Also speaking, the Deputy Chief Whip of the House of Representatives, Honourable Nkiruka Onyejeocha, thanked the Speaker and Members of the Abia State House of Assembly for honouring them with the special plenary. She pledged to work with all relevant stakeholders, irrespective of party differences, for the progress of Abia and the general good of her people, acknowledging that “Your invitation to us across party lines is an indication that we can work together as Abians. As a member of APC, I hereby promise not to antagonize the Governor and government of Abia State but to criticize them constructively whenever the need arises”.
