The Asa Development Union, ADU, the umbrella body of all socio-cultural organisations in Ukwa West, Abia State, Monday, stated that Asa people must parade their best and brightest minds to make impactful represention at the corridors of power.
The President General of the Union, Associate Prof. Ngozi Onwubiko Dike stated this during the celebration of Asa Day held at the Obehie Central School in Ukwa West Local Government Area, Abia State.
He said, “only Asa men and women with admirable attributes of deep-seated passion for service, strong experiential standing, sound knowledge, value-adding orientation, maturity of thought and reasoning and selfless disposition for common good of Asa people and humanity should be supported for elective representational political positions.
“Asa people cannot be having a numerical advantage in voting strength and be playing a second fiddle in the scheme of things in political representation at national arena.
“Whosoever that would represent Asa Land in any elective political representational position must possess untainted credibility and respectable pedigree”
Dike stated that both the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, and the Abia State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission, ASOPADEC, have not made tangible impact in alleviating the peculiar socio-economic challenges of Ukwa West, adding that their operations and activities have always been in breach of their mandate.
He enumerated the achievements of the Union to include, the fight against the wrongful nomination of an indigene of Osisioma LGA in 2016 to represent Abia State on the Board of the NDDC, challenging the acquisition of land of 17 Asa Communities for Enyimba Economic City Development, EECD, in Court, the protest against the planned siting of Cattle Business Market at Obehie, collaboration with the Independent Electoral Commission, INEC, in 2018 during the Continuous Voter Registration, CVR, which led to improvement in voting strength of Ukwa West, and the pursuit of the creation of ENOA State.
Earlier in his remarks, the Chairman of the occasion, Pst. Dike Nwankwo, said that it was very sad that the event witnessed a low turnout, and wondered where the traditional rulers and members of the clergy in Asa Land had gone to on a day when Asa was being celebrated.
He noted that the low turn-out meant that too many people were not not thinking in the same direction.
According to him, “We must gather to talk, we must talk to progress. We need to look inwards to bring out people who can represent us well at various levels.We are usually mocked as the only oil producing area. We are mocked because we don’t have anything to show for our oil”.
Pastor Dike encouraged the leadership of ADU not relent in their passion to make Asa progress, adding that leadership was not easy.
He also called on the National Union of Asa Students, NUAS, to try to always synergise with ADU in the overall interest of Asa project.
In his own speech, the member representing Ukwa West State Constituency in the Abia State House of Assembly, Hon. Godwin Anyamagiobi Adiele, said Asa Day celebration was supposed to be a great day, but unfortunately the turn-out was very poor, adding that there was no reason whatsoever to justify the low turn-out.
On the issue of which zone would produce the next Governor of Abia State, he said it would not be easy for an Abia South person to leave office as Governor and be succeeded by some one from the same Senatorial Zone.
Prominent among those that attended the occasion were; Hon. Mezie Ubani, former member, Abia State House of Assembly, Barr. Henry Chilaka, former Commissioner, ASOPADEC, Dr. Chibuike Kanu, the founder of Chyvik group of Schools, Dr. Iyk Ajuzieogu, Secretary General, ADU, Mr. ThankGod Ntaku, Publisher, Newsportal, Pst. Gideon Ogbonna, and Comr. Alozie Kenneth.
