Abia State Governor, Alex Otti, has ordered the payment of the outstanding electricity bills of all Ministries, Departments and Agencies in the state.
Briefing newsmen Wednesday on the outcome of the week’s State Executive Council meeting, the Commissioner, Information and Culture, Okey Kanu, said, “The state is moving with the Enugu Electricity Distribution Company to reconnect all government offices in Aba and parts of Umuahia by paying off the accumulated bills owed the EEDC by previous administrations in the state.
“For many years, government offices in the state have been functioning without public power supply, except for those operating occasionally with mini-generators popularly called, ‘I pass my neighbour.’
“However, to make working conditions for government facilities to be conducive, the state government has stepped up the move to reconnect all.”
Also speaking, the state Commissioner for Power and Public Utilities, Engr. Ikechukwu Monday, explained, “Most government facilities are off the grid and if there is no power, it makes working conditions not conducive.
“The reconnection started with health facilities like Amachara General Hospital, and not only government facilities but the entire Abia.”
He further disclosed that the state government is talking with Aba Powers to see how to assist them, stating that the state government is also looking at the rural areas.
Kanu further disclosed that the state governor is set to flag-off the reconstruction of the defiant 6.3km Port Harcourt Road in Aba, on Thursday, while the state government’s ‘Operation Zero Potholes’ in Umuahia is on-going as a “deliberate effort by Otti for easy transportation and movement.”
He further informed that the state will fully participate in this year’s World Eye Sight Day which will afford the state the opportunity for free eyesight tests in the three senatorial zones.
Explaining further on this, the Senior Special Assistant to the state governor on Special Duties, Dr. Betty Obasi, said one in every six drivers in Abia who do not use eyeglasses have eye problems, disclosing, “government has therefore erected Vision Corridor free of charge for all where sights will be tested.”
They disclosed the determination of the state government to extend power supply up to the Ohafia area, having concluded same in Umuahia and Aba, alongside road constructions, while using the Aba Trade Fair that will also commence Thursday to showcase to the world, what Aba is known for.
The PUNCH
