Abia @31: Ikpeazu pledges to maintain peace

The Governor of Abia State, Okezie Ikpeazu, has said the peace and harmony of the state is paramount to him and he will ensure its preservation.

Ikpeazu stated this on Saturday morning on the occasion of the 31st anniversary of the state.

Speaking during the anniversary broadcast, Ikpeazu warned, “Any attempt to test the will of this administration and disrupt the peace in this state will be met with decisive force”.

Ikpeazu who said his administration “have weathered storms and celebrated triumphs”, said his administration have taken Abia State further than they met it seven years ago.

He added, “Our works speak for us. We have delivered many pioneering and indelible landmark infrastructural projects across various sectors of Abia State.

“Our administration has ensured that even at great provocation and unwarranted poking, we have remained calm and promoted peace and mutual coexistence among socio-political tendencies within the state. There can never be meaningful development in an atmosphere of rancor and strife. I have managed to remain at peace with every strata of tendencies in the State. We do not have quarrels with predecessors in Abia State.

“We do not have Executive-Legislative cold war or rancor amongst arms of Government or across political divides. We do not have Abuja factions sabotaging Government efforts and internal party divides. We even work harmoniously with Abians holding Federal Appointments despite belonging to different political parties.”

Ikpeazu also highlighted his achievements in the construction of roads, the Osisioma flyover, health sector, development of shoe and garment factories, education, infrastructural sector, promotion of locally-made products and many other interventions.

He noted, “Even in the thick of succession electioneering which we are now, we have managed to maintain peace and harmony in Abia State. Not for lack of provocation, but because we understand that the value of peace is unquantifiable. We will continue to work to maintain the peace in our state until the end of our tenure.”