Chinese experts would in the next three weeks arrive Abia State to begin discussions on the establishment of an industrial site in the state. The location of the site, according to the state Commissioner for Information, Culture and Tourism, Elder Ralph Egbu, is Mgbarakuma in Umuahia South, which was acquired in 1982 by the old Imo state government for the same purpose but was not utilized till now. Addressing journalists in Umahia recently, Elder Egbu disclosed that in addition, the state government plans to establish its own common facility center following the success of the commissioning last week of the one jointly built by the federal government, UNIDO and the state government. The state owned cluster, according to the commissioner, would be for leather and garment works and would have the features of the popular Tinapa business resort in Calabar. Other resolutions of the council, include the establishment of a market development/ advisory council to make markets in the state conducive for business and another committee to ensure the comfort of non-indigenes wherever they reside so that they would contribute their quota to the development of the state, assuring non Abians resident in the state that there would be no discrimination against them in any form. While announcing the inauguration of a full debt management office to ensure due process and transparency in government transactions and completion of government projects, Elder Egbu also disclosed that a committee was set up to investigate allegations of illegal deduction of local government funds which found that apart from the statutory deductions for primary school teachers salaries, LG retired workers pensions and gratuity, retired primary school teachers pensions and gratuity, LG training fund, Auditor General of LGs and mass literacy, adult and non formal education, no illegal deduction was discovered. Elder Egbu who blamed the opposition for the false information being peddled about the federal allocation to the state, said the commissioner for Finance would soon publish details of the government revenue transactions. He further stated that no local government chairman have been directed to retrench workers and called on anyone with such intension to rescind until after the government joint staff audit, but however warned that government would not support any employment made without following laid down procedure. T h e g o v e r n m e n t spokesman said the state government would collaborate with the NNPC to find lasting solution to the problem of petroleum product scarcity arising from the inability of the corporation to pump fuel to Osisioma Depot because of rust and vandalized NNPC pipes. Meanwhile, Governor Theodore Orji has challenged the police in the state to introduce effective measures to tackle the nagging problem of growing kidnap and armed robbery in the state. Governor Orji, who threw the challenge when the Assistant Inspector General of Police in charge of Zone 9, Umuahia, Mr. Olusegun Efuntayo, called on him at the Government House. Dr Orji noted that part of the difficulty the force was having in combating the menace is the report that people who volunteer information to the police get haunted by the hoodlums because the report leaked out from the police to the criminals and called on the police to investigate the allegation with a view to so that people would have the confidence to offer information that would enable them track down the miscreants. He also called on the police hierarchy to see the need for re-branding of the police to restore the battered image of the force and restore people’s confidence in them, adding that respect for hierarchy should be revived and sustained. The governor lamented that the Zone 9 headquarters is being neglected by the states under it, noting that while the states cater for their state commands the headquarters was neglected and pledged Abia state government’s continued support to the command. He announced that the state government has ordered for more patrol vehicles for the police, adding that government appreciates the hazards the men subject themselves in the course of their duties and assured that his administration would continue to assist the families of officers who lose their lives or are injured while on duty. AIG Olusegun Efuntayo had drawn the attention of the governor to the problems of logistics, accommodation and equipment facing the command and solicited his assistance to boost the morale of the police in discharging their duties effectively. The Zone 9 police boss called for return to traditional values of hard work, integrity and honesty so that people who make dubious wealth would be questioned instead being worshiped and celebrated. He also made case for the proper rehabilitation of prison inmates so that after they are released they would not go back to crime and called for information on the operations of criminals which was the reason the force hierarchy established the community policing, adding that days are gone when police chase criminals, maintaining that all over the world the practice is to act on available information and networking. Efuntayo who was one time Commissioner of Police in Abia State said his former success as CP could be repeated this time around against kidnapping, which he described as a new phenomenon in the state.
Jun62008