Senator inaugurates grassroots support group in two Abia LGAs
By Steve Oko
UMUAHIA — Senator Austin Akobundu, Director-General and Campaign Manager of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential campaign for former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, has said an Atiku presidency would reduce the cost of living, revive the economy and reactivate the Eastern maritime port corridor.
Akobundu spoke during the inauguration of the Atiku/Akobundu Vanguard, a grassroots support group, in Osisioma Ngwa and Isiala Ngwa North Local Government Areas of Abia State.
He blamed the economic hardship in the country on the policies of President Bola Tinubu’s administration, arguing that Atiku had the experience and economic blueprint to reverse the trend.
According to him, Atiku’s proposed targeted and transparent fuel subsidy would help reduce transportation costs and ease the burden of rising prices of food, housing, education and other essential goods and services.
“President Tinubu’s policies have pushed Nigerians into unprecedented hardship and made us the poverty capital of the world,” Akobundu said.
He added, “But Atiku Abubakar comes with the experience, compassion and competence to reverse this decline. He will make Nigeria affordable, productive and respected again.”
The senator also identified the reactivation of the Eastern maritime port corridor as a key component of Atiku’s proposed economic agenda for the South-East.
He said reviving the corridor would expand access to international trade, stimulate industrial activity, create jobs and strengthen the region’s economic base.
“Atiku has a clear, actionable plan to revive the economy of the South-East alongside every other region. With the Atiku Abubakar/Rotimi Amaechi ticket, no region will be left behind,” he said.
Akobundu described Atiku as a detribalised leader with the experience and national outlook required to unite the country, adding that his appointment as campaign director-general reflected the former vice-president’s commitment to inclusiveness.
The inauguration attracted ADC leaders, party candidates, community elders, youth groups, women leaders and grassroots mobilisers from the two local government areas and other parts of Abia Central.
Akobundu highlights constituency projects
The senator, who is also the ADC candidate for Abia Central Senatorial District in the 2027 general elections, used the occasion to highlight his legislative and constituency interventions in Osisioma Ngwa and Isiala Ngwa North.
On legislation, he cited bills seeking the establishment of a Federal Institute of Entrepreneurship and Technical Skills Development in Osisioma and a National Sports University at Nsulu in Isiala Ngwa North.
He also listed youth empowerment initiatives, including free training for more than 400 secondary school students in robotics, artificial intelligence and embedded systems engineering.
Other programmes, according to him, included digital skills training for 360 youths, training for 400 youths in cosmetics production and paint-making, and support for 100 youths trained in farming and tailoring.
He said beneficiaries of the farming and tailoring programme received sewing machines, start-up kits and financial support, while those trained in cosmetics production and paint-making received cash grants to establish businesses.
In education, Akobundu said he had paid ₦21 million in scholarships for 113 constituents at the Nigeria Teachers Institute, while 114 students in tertiary institutions received grants of ₦200,000 each.
He also cited medical outreaches, the installation of solar streetlights in markets across the two local government areas, solar-powered boreholes and school renovation projects among his interventions.
The projects, he said, included the renovation of Immaculate Girls’ Secondary School and the construction of a skills acquisition centre. He added that work was ongoing on a classroom block at Ntigha Primary School.
He listed the completion of Ihie Health Centre, renovation of Obikabia and Mbubo primary schools, and electrification of Isiala Amapu Ntigha Autonomous Community among projects planned for the future.
Woos Osisioma stakeholders
Akobundu and his entourage later visited political leaders and other stakeholders from Osisioma Ngwa at the residence of Chief Solomon Adaelu, where he sought their support for Atiku’s presidential ambition and his own senatorial bid.
He described Osisioma Ngwa as a politically significant local government area whose voting strength could influence electoral outcomes in Abia State.
The senator said he was addressing the stakeholders in three capacities: as the senator representing Abia Central, director-general of the ADC/Atiku Abubakar Presidential Campaign Council and the party’s candidate for the senatorial district in the forthcoming elections.
He urged the stakeholders to support Atiku, expressing confidence that the former vice-president could steer the country away from its current economic difficulties.
Those present included the Director-General of the Akobundu Campaign Council, Elder Sam Njoku; members of the campaign team; ADC candidates in the two local government areas; and associates of the senator.
The post 2027: Atiku’ll cut cost of living, revive Eastern ports — Akobundu appeared first on Vanguard News.