BY BARTHOLOMEW MADUKWE

UMUAHIA—Governor Theodore Orji of Abia State has lamented the high cost of providing security in the state, noting that the process of maintaining peace and tranquility will be more expensive than the initial action that led to calm in Abia and Aba in particular.

In a statement, Special Adviser to the Governor on Public Communication, Mr. Ben Onyechere said: “The reason we have continued to enjoy this environment which has enabled the business to thrive in Aba and other places of commerce is due to Governor Orji’s determination to sustain the prevailing tranquility in the State.”

According to him, when Abia was gripped in the shackles of the menace of kidnapping, the state, in conjunction with the Federal Government, rose to the occasion by quelling that upsurge of mainly politically motivated gorilla warfare.

“If we think back we may recall that there was a time businesses were closed in Aba because of the restiveness of kidnapping and nobody talked about the condition of roads, but now with the prevalence of peace, people have forgotten so soon what we went through as they are now bemoaning the condition of roads which they did not remember in the days of kidnapping.”

Onyechere noted that the Governor is more than ever determined to make Aba roads more motor able than before, stressing that paucity of funds is one of the challenges, which is a reason for giving Abia a special status, if ongoning talks with the Federal Government materializes.

This one has diverted his security vote. Sustaining which peace?