*SOUTH EAST DEVELOPMENT:*

*...HIGH CHIEF IFEKUDU ADVOCATES FOR DR OKPARA'S FISCAL DISCIPLINE AND TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADERSHIP.*


The pacesetting and outstanding Officer of the Order of the Federal Republic (OFR), Renowned Entrepreneur and Chairman Diamond Leeds Limited, High Chief, Dr. Kenneth Ifekudu, OFR, (Agbalanze Onyekachukwu na Ozubulu) has appealed to Governors from the south east Geopolitical Zone of Nigeria to reinvent the golden era of Eastern Nigeria's pragmatic development witnessed under the leadership of Dr. Michael Okpara, former Premier of the Eastern Region by emulating his fiscal policies and people oriented leadership style.



Addressing a cross section of Abuja based business moguls from the South East who visited him in his office over the weekend in Abuja, High Chief Kenneth Ifekudu expressed deep concern over the abysmal performance of the fourth republic South East political leaders when juxtaposed with Dr. Michael Okpara, who run the fastest growing economy in the whole of West Africa through his agricultural revolution, infrastructural developments and promotion of commerce and industry in the defunct Eastern Region of Nigeria.


High Chief Ifekudu described Dr. Okpara as an enigma, an extraordinary administrator and manager of men who left
enduring legacies and indelible imprint on the sands of time through his programmes and policies which redefined social services in the old Eastern Region forever


He revealed that Dr. M.I Okpara was responsible for setting up the Trans Amadi Industrial Area, Hotel Presidential in Port Harcourt and Enugu Michelin Tyre Factory in Port Harcourt, Obudu Cattle Ranch in Calabar, the Owerri shoe Industry, the Aba Textile Mill with industrial gas piped from Port-Harcourt and Port Harcourt sea port expansion.


He stated that Dr. Okpara innovated farm settlements patterned after the famous Israeli Kibutz in Igbariam, Anambra state, Ulonna North and South in Abia state, Uzo-Uwani in Enugu state and Ohaji in now Imo state and further established enormous estates of oil palm, rubber, cocoa, cashew with intercropping of pineapples, banana, plantain and cassava at Amaeke Abam and Ndioji Abam, Arochukwu, ozuitem, with massive palm plantations spread across the entire region to make the old Eastern region economically self sufficient. He reiterated that Dr. Okpara
implemented the industrial urban renewal such that Eastern Nigerian townships and cities blossomed, not just with commercial clusters but with integrated industrial presence.


High Chief Ifekudu opined that Dr. Okpara achieved his uncommon feat without crude oil earnings and allocation. He therefore challenged the Governor's in South East to emulate the life and extraordinary public service life of the late premier through his fiscal policies which grew the GDP of the old Eastern region and impacted positively on the livelihood and wellbeing of Easterners.

Dr okpara is the man really.. His policies were fantastic

You can see his hand work today in all the eastern Region from transamadi to aba to emene to Onitsha to calabar to obudu

The master plan was fantastic