Abia State Government has renamed the State Polytechnic in Aba, after the late first Governor of the State, Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu.
Governor Otti, who stated this when Abia State Government received the body of the late Onu in Umuahia for a commemorative service in honour of the late first Governor of the State, said it’s to Onu’s eternal credit that the polytechnic and similar structures were established when he was Governor.
“It is to the eternal credit of our first democratically elected Governor that not even the uncertainty of the times could stop him from establishing himself as a development-conscious leader. Dr Onu did not only lay the foundation for the dynamic and structured development of all parts of the State (but also) set up major administrative and service-delivery structures that are still functioning till today.
“Dr Ogbonnaya Onu’s administrative genius inspired the setting up of the Abia State Polytechnic Aba, the Abia State College of Education (Technical) Arochukwu, and the National Ambassador Newspaper. It is also important to recall that it was under Governor Onu that the Federal University of Agriculture, Umudike, now Michael Okpara University of Agriculture (MOUAU), was established.
“The simultaneous establishment of these institutions in the three senatorial districts of the State speaks to Dr Onu’s distinction as a strategic leader who understands the connection between institutions of learning and the development of the critical manpower necessary for holistic and widespread economic growth,” Otti said.
Apart from excelling in building institutions for manpower development, Otti said within the short period Onu was in power, he achieved another distinction when he became the pioneer Chairman, Conference of Nigerian Elected Governors, providing leadership to his peers while galvanising the body of Governors into a veritable force for democracy, good governance and accelerated national development.
“It was no surprise that the next time he appeared on the scene as the country prepared to welcome the Fourth Republic, he was a major contender for the presidency.
“Dr Onu was by every measure, qualified to serve this country as its president at the dawn of the Fourth Republic and had a good run at it. He only had to let go of his ambition when circumstances contrived against it but he still found other veritable ways of serving the country he loved so dearly.”
The Governor described Onu as an important voice for democracy, a true nationalist and patriot who saw beyond the narrow prism of ethnicity and religion.
Otti said Onu saw every Nigerian as a citizen who has the right to pursue their economic and social aspirations from any part of the country, unrestricted by individual or institutional biases.
The Governor enjoined those alive to emulate the good legacy left behind by Onu which he said endeared him to many, even in death.
