…Applauds Signing Of Greater Ohafia Development Authority Bill by Governor Otti
Juliana Francis
Foundation for Environmental Rights Advocacy, and Development, FENRAD, a pro-democracy and environmental rights advocacy group in Abia State lauds and commends Governor Alex Chioma Otti on the recent signing of the Greater Ohafia Development Authority as a vehicle to drive development and growth in the Ohafia and Abia North axis spreading to communities in Bende LGA, Isuikwuato, and to Arochukwu.
The Foundation recalled that in a bid to map development and ensure efficiency in resource allocation, the old Eastern Region established in the early 1960s the Eastern Nigeria Development Board under whose watch the East became the fastest growing economy and a model.
The Executive Director of FENRAD, Comrade Nelson Nnanna Nwafor said: “The fact that a similar development authority bill was signed into law by the governor initially shows commitment to building infrastructural projects in the state. And now the same has been done in Abia North with a board set up to monitor implementation, Governor Alex Otti has shown a desire to accelerate the spread of even development in all parts of Abia; nothing can be more inclusive.
“After Aba and Umuahia, Ohafia ranks next as a major city in Abia State, yet has suffered neglect and abandonment for years. It has been promise after promise with no record to show for it in Ohafia.
“Yet, the town is vital to unlocking the Abia agricultural potential and boosting productivity in an era when food insecurity has become a nationwide plague. Such a development master plan, once in full operation, will improve communication and add more to the value chain lifting many out of poverty. This emphasises how result-oriented a project of this scale could be if well managed.”
The Foundation also called on the state government of the day to ensure that words are matched with actions in the area of critical state infrastructure which is core to rural-urban overlap and spatial and sectoral links. It is only through rapid infrastructure provision that local industries could be fed local raw materials; this underscores how chiefly important this project is.
Nwafor further noted: “The Foundation calls on the Ohafia Local Government Authority to tag along and join the initiative to enable development to cascade down to the locals evenly. While saluting the state government for this bold initiative, the Foundation urges the government of the day to develop and design a template or master plan that details project phases, as well as to carry out a needs assessment to ascertain the basic needs of the people to narrow gaps in infrastructural needs.”
