Abia State Governor Theodore Ahamefula Orji's New Year message to the people of the state is no doubt resounding. It is akin to his second-term inauguration speech. It also portends a brighter future for the state especially when he specifically reinstated his government's determination to improve democratic dividends for the people of the state in the area of massive road construction, conducive living environment, improved power supply, sound education delivery, comprehensive health care and above all quality security to ensure the safety of lives and property.

Governor Orji, fondly called Ochendo, was unequivocal in his quest to restore the state to its deserved position as soon as possible. Recall that the state has been in a quagmire caused by internal bickering by political power plays.

The current administration, according to the governor, is not unaware of the decline in the state, especially in the infrastructure and acknowledged that the sector has been relegated to the background by successive administrations in the state. The governor no doubt is on a rescue mission and has shown since he assumed the leadership of the state that his administration has become a role model for the younger generation to emulate.

The governor has proven beyond every reasonable doubt that his dream is to restore Abia State to the tracks of productivity, progress and glory. His administration is laying a solid rock subsequent administrations will find as the bedrock.

Up until now, the majority of the victims of inhuman administrations in the state have been the common man, and by extension, the rural dwellers. This category of people was being schemed out of the polity by past administrations before the coming of the Ochendo administration which has come to restore hope to the deprived. As such, the administration is set to provide social security to the elderly, cater for the deprived and the less privileged, and give a helping hand to mothers.

Ochendo has lamented times without number about the over three years his mission to reposition the state was thwarted due to distractions by godfathers who never had the state in good heart. However, he has overcome those distractions, and currently has placed the state on a faster mode to recover the lost grounds.

His second saving mission to the state in his second tenure, having been overwhelmingly re-elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party, is surely restoration. He has brought out his administrative acumen to bear by reaching out to every progressive Abia leader to close ranks with his administration in serving the state above self.

First he engaged in the re-orientation of all and sundry on the need to maintain peace as it is only on that platform that the dream of Abia State will become a reality. No wonder why virtually all Abians with a genuine interest to move the state out of its former crossroads have readily came on board to champion a unified front. The immediate effect of this has been the restoration of security in the state, the first of its kind in recent time.

Before the attainment of this feat, the mantra associated with Abia used to be 'kidnapping' and 'violent crimes'. This scared genuine investors away from the state with its attendant hardship, such as a dwindling private sector, unemployment and hunger. Today, it is all over for good. At present, other states borrow a leaf from the Abia methodology.

With the state now running in a secure and tranquil environment, the time is now ripe for the Ochendo-led administration to commence full execution of physical infrastructural development. Many of such projects need to be completed while new ones should be embarked upon.

To that end, more attention should be paid to road infrastructure, healthcare, education, power, housing and urban renewal, water and human capital development, among others. The giant strides of the Ochendo administration may not be captured in this write-up because of the scope; however one that must be pointed out is the new secretariat blocks for civil servants. The blocks encompass a multi-billion naira multi-purpose conference centre adjudged the largest in East of the Niger.

The game of politics is without doubt full of propaganda. It was an aspect that anti-Ochendo machinery adopted to misinform the world about the 'magics' of the governor. These people never wanted the true picture of the achievements of the governor to come to the limelight. As it is always said, no matter how much truth is subdued, it must eventually sprout. Those who masterminded the misinformation machinery are by now hiding their heads in shame.

The Ochendo administration has begun the construction of a befitting structure to house the government. The magnificent structure will, after completion, stand the state out as number one. Abia State has also got the reputation as one of the states that their judiciary operates efficiently for the common man. Just like various personnel in the employ of various state establishments in the state, their working environment is perfect to ensure service delivery.

Abia State is also reputed to be among the pioneer states in Nigeria to implement the N18, 000 minimum wage. The goal is simply to make the workers in the state employ embrace the challenge of moving the state forward. Beyond the stipulated minimum wage, the Ochendo administration added a cap to his by increasing it to N20, 000.

As Ochendo steers the ship of the state, the natives are abreast of his pledge of continued judicious application of resources. He has also opened the gates of his administration for everybody to have a say in how he or she is governed. He has also pledged a scientific method towards improvement in the internally generated revenue (IGR) of the state, as well as promised to disband and prosecute all those revenue collecting agencies and their agent that have defrauded the state.

It then behooves on Abia people to contribute their own quota in the running of the state. This is by fulfilling their civic responsibilities such as payment of taxes, and being ready to stand in the course of the state at all times.