The Chairman, Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) in Abia State, Chief Uchenna Obigwe says at 26 “the state is still crawling like a baby,” in terms of development. Obigwe spoke in a telephone interview with newsmen  in Umuahia, on the 26th anniversary of the state and level of progress so far recorded.
“At 26, Abia is still crawling like a baby because previous administrations failed to develop the state,” he said.
Abia was created on August 27, 1991, by then military President Ibrahim Babangia.
According to Obigwe, the extent of decay in infrastructure is enormous and that it will take time for any meaningful development to be achieved in the state.
On the fate of workers, the NLC chairman said that it had not been easy for civil servants in the state, owing to the delays in the payment of salaries.
“You know that this is my constituency, so I can safely say that this administration is doing well to better the lot of the civil servants in the state.
“Today, the governor, Dr Okezie Ikpeazu, has paid workers in the ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) up to date.
“We only have issues with the local government workers, teachers in primary and secondary schools, some parastatal agencies and pensioners.
“If the government can take care of the salaries of this category of workers like those in the MDAs then our problem is over,” he said.
Also, the pioneer chairman of the state council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Mr Ogbonnaya Iheaka, shared similar opinion that at 26, Abia had not done well in the area of development. Iheaka told newsmen in a telephone interview that the state had come of age, but lagged behind in terms of development.
He expressed worry that past administrations failed to put the basic things that would propel development.
“Certain basic things that ought to be done to drive development in the state were not done.
“For instance, it was only during the last administration that workers’ secretariat was built yet it was far below the standard you find in other states,” Iheaka said.
He also said that the state had not experienced the required federal presence and that past administrations did not do much to attract federal and international development agencies to the state.
He said that the state had achieved a milestone in power sharing, particularly the governorship position, among the three senatorial districts.
Iheaka, however, said that the development of the state was seriously threatened by sectional tendencies amongst the political leaderships.
He said: “Since the return of democratic rule in 1999, political leaders have concentrated development in their own areas and paid little or no attention to other sections of the state.