he Coalition of South East Youth Leaders (COSEYL), the apex sociopolitical youth group in the South East, has condemned the ongoing feud between the media teams of former Governor Orji Uzor Kalu and Governor Alex Otti over the Ohafia-Arochukwu Road.
The organisation expressed displeasure over it and said that neither Abia nor Ndigbo will benefit from it.
Both camps’ statements, according to a statement released in Owerri and supported by COSEYL President General Comrade Good Luck Ibem and Publicity Secretary Okey Nwaoru, suggest that regional issues are more urgent.
They took issue with Governor Otti’s release from August 28, 2024, which was made during the flag-off ceremony for the road reconstruction and praised Premier Michael Ọkpara without mentioning other contributors.
They contend that the phrase implies the governor is merely thinking about himself and is discriminatory.
The statement reads, “It should be recalled, was the premier before the Nigerian civil war. So it is exclusionary to state, as contained in Governor Otti’s statement, that the road was built by Michael Ọkpara without mentioning others, including during military rule, who contributed to building the road, even though they did not complete the project begun under them.
“Before Senator Orji Uzor Kalu became governor of Abia State, Professor Chimere Ikeokwu, a board member of the Petroleum Trust Fund (PTF), and Mazi Ọchị Achinivu, a Senior Director, who are prominent Aro sons, used their good offices to attract the funds for the construction of the project.”
“Construction began under Gen. Sani Abacha but was later abandoned after the head of state then died in 1998.”
“As an elected governor, Senator Orji Uzor Kalu resurfaced the road in 2002/2003 and later facilitated the rehabilitation of the road as a senator in 2017/2018 when he attracted the federal government to the road.”
“Senator Orji Uzor Kalu did not relent; he kept pressuring the Buhari-led federal government to intervene in the road. So saying or trying to exclude Senator Orji Uzor Kalu and others like Dr. Ikeokwu and Mazi Achinuvu from the success story of the Ohafia-Arochukwu Road is a disservice to our history.”
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