Abia-born university don, Prof. Kalu Ukoha, has described the former Governor of Abia State, Orji Uzor Kalu as a transformational leader who has continually provided quality leadership to the people of the state since 1999 till date.
Ukoha stated this on Monday while addressing a group of young Abia Professionals in Abuja, noting that the former Abia state governor remains the only leader to offer the state purposeful and transformational leadership both as a governor and a lawmaker.
“I am a 66-year old researcher and consultant, nobody can tell me what to say about Abia state when it comes to leadership. Senator Orji Uzor Kalu is the best we have had judging by the quality of lives, security, education, health, agriculture, sports and infrastructure.
“Orji Uzor Kalu recruited the best professors in medicine and was able to keep and maintain people like Professor Frank Akpuaka. He built and equipped Abia State University Teaching Hospital (ABSUTH); he recruited reputable professors and made ABSU Faculty of Law one of the best in the country, and law students from Abia State University topped their peers for years in the Nigerian Law School while he was the governor of the state.
“Education was free from primary to secondary schools, salaries were paid promptly, he built houses for them and our mothers had access to healthcare and agricultural inputs. What happened to the about 15 general hospitals he built? I’m shocked to learn that those hospitals were abandoned by his successors. Today, ABSUTH is a shadow of itself — because it has been abandoned to rot. I am appealing to Governor Otti to invest in the healthcare sector by resuscitating those general hospitals.
“Most of you may not be aware, but he did all these things and still paid salaries promptly, built some of the major roads in Umunneochi, Bende, Ohafia, Umuahia and Aba. Government is a continuity, those who came after failed to sustain the momentum, rather they invested heavily to destroy him.
“I am happy Nigerians are now celebrating Geometric power — a project which will stand the sands of time. It all started under him like Governor Otti pointed out. It was unfortunate for Abians when then President Olusegun Obasanjo denied him and the Israeli company he brought to develop a seaport at Ohambele. It was all about vindictiveness and the desire to cage Orji Uzor Kalu.
“Today, we’re witnessing and seeing the same energy as when he was governor. Among all the lawmakers from Abia state, he is the only one constructing and reconstructing roads, building and furnishing schools, drilling water and installing street lights. He is the only one sending our children outside the country to study medicine and surgery, empowering youths and women with the requisite skills and resources and building factories in Abia. He is has been providing transformational leadership since 1999,” he said.
The convener of the group, Dr. Ndukwe Ibe said the gathering was to discuss good governance in Abia State and the impact of the newly commissioned Geometric Power project on the economy of the state.
