Gov. Ikpeazu blames Buhari for poor state of Abia’s economy

By Kalu Onyemaechi

Abia State Governor Okezie Ikpeazu has accused the Muhammadu Buhari regime of deliberately frustrating efforts to improve the state’s economy by refusing efforts to execute federal projects in the state.

According to SaharaReporters, the governor lamented that his administration had completed many federal government projects since assuming office in 2015 and alleged that there was a deliberate conspiracy against Abia State by forces in the federal government.

Ikpeazu explained that his administration took over federal projects in the state to improve the welfare of Abia indigenes and make business activities easy.

“… we have intervened on many federal roads in Abia since 2015 to make business activities easy and also to improve the lot of our people. But sadly, enough we have not been receiving the needed encouragement from the government at center like most other states. I have not received any refund from the federal government for jobs done on federal roads since the life of my administration,” AF news quoted Ikpeazu to have said.

Ikpeazu said the refusal of Buhari’s regime to take on federal projects in the state had resulted in a serious impediment for citizens and the state’s economy.

Ikpeazu blamed his administration’s slow project delivery on the paucity of funds. He also accused forces within the federal government of frustrating his administration’s effort to fix roads believed to be pivotal to the state’s economic growth.

“You see in the case of Ekeakpara Road in Aba, it is a fact that we had fully mobilised contractors to the road, when suddenly some forces stepped in to stop work claiming that being a federal, the federal government was going to rehabilitate it. That is why that road is still in such a bad state. They have not done that road and they have refused to allow us to do it,” Ikpeazu added.

The governor however vowed to deliver the Ossisioma Flyover alongside other projects before the end of his tenure in 2023.