From Okey Sampson, Umuahia
The governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress(APC) in Abia State, Chief Ikechi Emenike has felicitated Abia people as they celebrate the Yuletide, with the promise they would experience “real merry Christmas” when he becomes governor in 2023.
Emenike, in his Christmas message to Abians entitled “Gloom will give way to joy in 2023”, said the State would be rescued from the grip of bad leaders just like Christ came and redeemed the world from sinfulness.
“The despair and abject loss of faith in governance will definitely expire with the present PDP government and going forward Abia will never again be saddled with the burden of ravenous locusts disguised as leaders,” he said.
He regretted that Ndi Abia have been celebrating Christmas over the years without the accompanying joy and happiness due to the ineptitude leadership foisted on the state, which he said gets worse as the days go by.
The APC gubernatorial candidate said it was unfortunate that like in previous years, Abia workers and pensioners are celebrating 2022 yuletide season with gnashing of teeth following backlogs of unpaid salaries and pensions, which in some agencies and parastatals are in the region of over 30 moths.
“At present medical doctors in the Abia health sector are on strike which they commenced on December 8, 2022 over unpaid salaries. The strike was declared in solidarity with their colleagues in Abia State University Teaching Hospital (ABSUTH), who are owed 25 months salary arrears and those in the Health Management Board, (HMB), with 13 months of outstanding salaries.
However, the Abia APC governorship hopeful said a new Abia was on the way where salary payment, which is a basic function of government, would become a culture of governance.
Emenike therefore urged Abians to key into his vision of building a first class state in a third world country by giving him and other APC candidates the mandate to implement his rescue and develop Abia (RADA) agenda come 2023.
