Abia State Governor, Dr Okezie Ikpeazu, has applauded the contributions of Abians living in the diaspora to the success of his administration urging them to continue working with his administration as integral partners in the Develoment of the State.
The Governor made this known in a statement personally endorsed by him and made available to newsmen by the State’s Commissioner for Information, Chief John Okiyi Kalu, on Sunday in Umuahia in commemoration of this year’s Diaspora Day.
Governor Ikpeazu listed the support his administration has received from Abians in the diaspora to include assisting in providing medical supplies worth more than One Million US Dollars, coordination with international education service providers engaged in the retraining of Abia school teachers as well as support for the realization of the proposed Diaspora Village.
The Abia State Chief Executive also commended the diasporans for providing critical personal protective equipment (PPEs) and palliative items to medical institutions and communities in the state to support her in the fight against COVID—19 pandemic. According to him, “our people will not forget in a hurry the critical roles you played in 2020 as we battled to contain the novel coronavirus disease that threatened our lives and livelihood.
The PPEs, palliative items and cash remittances you sent home in that critical period not only provided much needed support but also helped to save families who otherwise would have been more adversely impacted by the socio-economic consequences of the measures taken to contain the situation we faced. “It is in the light of this that the theme for this year’s National Diaspora Day, ‘Diaspora Integration for National Peace and Development’ becomes most apt, and at the same time, a clarion call for us all to do more”.
He called on them to continue to be good ambassadors of the state in their host countries and help promote investment to the state assuring that his administration will continue to partner with them and others to ensure that the state achieves all its develoment objectives anchored on the 5 pillars of his administration.
He promised to inaugurate the Diaspora Commission soon to help accelerate the realization of shared objectives.
