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The people of Aba-Ngwa, under the umbrella of the Aba Ngwa Peoples Forum, have cried out following some reports on social media that claimed that indigenes of Aba-Agwa made attempts to stop the Port Harcourt road contract awarded to Julius Berger Nig PLC.
The group, which addressed the press on Wednesday, said the rumours that they demanded compensation from contractors before the important Port Harcourt road could be reconstructed were sponsored by enemies of Aba Ngwa indigenes to delay the road project.
In a communiqué issued and signed by Chimezie Nwagba, President, and Chinedu Ahuruonye, Secretary of the forum, after their meeting at Obuda Community Hall, Aba South LGA, the group urged the Abia State government to fish out the sponsors of the fake reports.
They made it clear that they never barricaded Port Harcourt Road in demand for monetary compensation, nor were they detained in Umuahia on the orders of Governor Alex Otti, as falsely reported on social media.
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“We condemn the cheap blackmail orchestrated against us and curse all those behind it.
We demand that the identities of those who were purportedly arrested be made public for proper scrutiny,” the group railed.
They called upon the Abia State Government to ensure that work starts at the Port Harcourt Road site, stressing that contractors are yet to begin work on the road after it was flagged off.
The Aba-Ngwa indigenes said they would always support every infrastructural activity in Aba and would not sabotage the efforts of the state government.
According to the group: “As progressive-minded people, we will continue to support every effort at building and restoring infrastructure in Aba and can never be a cog in the wheel of development of Aba, our beautiful land and Abia State in general, knowing that we stand to benefit most when Aba roads are built because we have no other home than Aba.”
The forum called on all the residents of Aba to disregard the sponsored blackmail against the Aba-Ngwa people, stressing that they are more eager to see their land fully developed than any other person.
The Eastern Updates recalls that the Special Assistant on Public Communications to Governor Alex Otti, Dodoh Okafor, denied the social media reports that claimed that Governor Alex Otti allegedly ordered the locking up of youths and elders who tried to stop the road project.
The governor’s aide, in a statement he issued, said the fake stories were concocted and misleading.
