An ex legislator , Hon Sampson Orji, has formally announced his intension to contest for the governorship seat of Abia State, pledging to galvanize all the revenue windows of the state to enhance the revenue profile of the state. Orji served in the Abia State House of Assembly from 1999 to 2003.
In a press conference after declaring his intention to seek for the office in 2023 at the PDP State Secretariat, Umuahia on Thursday, Orji said there are lots of revenue windows that are being left to lie in limbo, while many are not exploited fully, adding that if elected as governor, he will expand the internally generated revenue of the state for the benefit of the state.
The guber aspirant described Aba, the commercial nerve centre of the state as the cash cow that has not been properly harnessed, saying that under his watch as governor, Abia will witness accelerated development.
The ex lawmaker said he will be transparent in handling the state finances, and that if the people know that the administration is transparent and engages them in the management of state funds, they will readily pay their taxes and rates as at and when due.
“We’ll build federal roads and get the federal government to refund us. Our business is to give the people what they want. And we’ll run government of inclusiveness and we’ll ensure that state’s fund is used to work for the state”, he said.
On the recent zoning of the Abia State governorship seat, the aspirant, stated that he was not afraid of the double zoning by the leadership of the PDP, pointing out that what he would frown at is fraudulent manipulation to favour a particular aspirant.
“The party zoned the guber seat to both Abia Central and Abia North, that’s no problem. But what I want is a free, fair and credible primary. Let there be free and credible primary and everything we’ll be fine. But there will be problem if there’s a manipulation to favour a particular aspirant”, he warned.
Uche Nwosu is a two time Shell Petroleum PLC award winner in the year 2000;
He won the Shell Award on Investigative Journalism and Environmental Cleanliness.
