Kinetic Abia: Ikpeazu’s scientific ingenuity resolves infrastructural challenge

A systematic and scientific approach to road construction has finally solved the challenge posed by Abia’s problematic soil texture and provided a lasting solution to the headache of public infrastructural decay in the state, Governor Okezie Ikpeazu says.

Ikpeazu, who holds a doctorate in biochemical pharmacology, said he employed the scientific method to trace and resolve the challenge of rapid road degradation in his domain.

Before now, engineers were, according to the governor, having issues laying up lasting road infrastructure in the state due to their inability to appreciate the unique texture of Abia soil. That challenge is, however, gradually becoming history with the systematic way the current administration is implementing its laudable Kinetic Abia projects.

“As a biochemist, I define issues at the molecular level,” Ikpeazu said in an exclusive interview with The Realm News.

“What we are doing in Abia is research-based governance. So, from the beginning in 2015, I had people plan out where we were going. I asked myself, for instance, ‘Aba Road in Umuahia, why was it such a difficult road to handle?’ When I found out the problem I started to ask ‘what engineering device and strategy are we going to deploy to solve this problem?’ And I got that answer.

Like different countries are tackling the coronavirus pandemic with solutions unique to their milieu, the Ikpeazu government says it is systematically addressing road development in the context provided by the Abia terrain and collaborating with firms with the capacity to make things work.

“The next answer we wanted was, ‘who is competent and capable of doing it?’ That is how I arrived at Arab Contractors. Arab Contractors deployed what they called capillary to make sure that the presence of that tube there does not stop the flow of water and that has solved the problem there. This is the third year of that road (Aba Road) and yet it’s standing without a pothole.

“And you come to Aba, was it that the previous administration in Aba did no road such that we did not inherit any? The answer is no. I was part of the last administration when some money was voted for within the time, even when some money was voted for this railway junction along Aba Owerri Road. Then why is it that all the roads — Osusu Road collapsed, Port Harcourt Road completely collapsed, Ehere Umuola, Ukaegbu roast — all of them, had plantain and other trees flourishing in the middle of the road?

“Since I had been part of the government, I knew that the government had deployed resources but no solution.

“Then I found out that because water had sat on these roads for a while, the texture of the soil had been compromised and changed and become silty. So, doing flexible pavement on these roads will not solve all the problems.

“The second issue was that those roads were without drainage. So, we had to start desilting and dredging Aba River and the time we were doing that, people were clapping and laughing because they saw people all overdoing the job there and they were shocked. But little did they know that we were preparing recipient water for the stormwater because we were going to do all drainages leading to the Aba River.
“What you are seeing is a product of painstaking planning and tackling issues at the molecular level until it fits into expectations.”

In pictures: Abia government’s road project in Nkporo alone

Speaking further, Ikpeazu noted that, as governance is a continuum, those currently in political leadership would do well to lay a solid foundation for their successors than embark on unsustainable road construction for cheap and transient praise.

He added that this solidity approach has helped his administration set Port Harcourt Road on the right path.

“Two bishops are coming to help me commission some roads and they are appealing, ‘won’t you do Port Harcourt Road and all of that?’ But my mind is at rest on Port Harcourt Road. For the first time, we had end-to-end drainage from Asa Nnentu to No. 1 Port Harcourt Road. This means that I have done 70 per cent of the job.

“So, if we had evolved to a point where a government can come and do some roads and do drainages and leave them so that the next one can continue from there, that would be better than pouring bitumen and red mud and leaving it there, something that would not survive the next raining season.

Steady: Okezie Ikpeazu’s Kinetic Abia finally pays off

“So, what you are seeing today is a manifestation of long-standing planning. The metamorphosis is just leaving the first stage and getting to the next.
“I am being scientific in dealing with the issues that confront us in Abia and much more will happen,” he said.

Ikpeazu also had promising words for Abians who are now beginning to see the good works of the administration. He said those who thought his government could not do much are in for more good news. He also expressed gratitude towards those who criticise him as such criticisms have helped his administration grow.

“A lot of people underrated me and I like that. I like to be underrated. I am the most criticised governor in this country today, and they are helping me,” he said.

“For me, when you criticise me, it helps me to benchmark my minimum threshold above the national average. So, at the end of the day, it will end in praise.

“I now know how to feed on criticism and take note of all of them and deal with them. Already, I have a batch of all the issues that people are raising and we will tackle all the problems.

“By the time I do Ohanku, do Obohia, do Ngwa Road (I have done Osusu and Ọmụma), and do Port Harcourt Road, I will now ask the people, ‘what else do you want?’

“We will certainly do all these roads, certainly,” Ikpeazu assured.

The governor also touched on the issue of completing the Osisioma flyover. And as for the new Government House, Ikpeazu said he would sleep inside the building before his tenure runs out in 2023.
“We have paid everybody that will do Osisioma flyover and get that project done,” the governor said.

“We could not do much more last year because the stage at which they are now can only be done during the dry season. If you go there today, you’ll be amazed at how fast that flyover has gone. I am sure that in a few months, we will be done with it. I am not bothered about it. For me, in our books, the Osisioma flyover is done and dusted.

“As for the new Government House, I am a firm believer in government as a continuum. My predecessor left behind many legacy projects. One of them was the ICC.

“Now, we are on the Government House project. My commitment to you is that I will sleep in that building before I leave office,” Ikpeazu said.