The Chatholic bishop of Umuahia diocese Most Rev. Dr Lucius Iwejuru Ugorji had on Easter Sunday extolled senator orji Uzor Kalu. Speaking after the 10:30am Easter Sunday mass, during a banquet in the bishops court, the ordained Bishop of over thirty years enumerated the good works of Dist. Senator Orji Uzor Kalu as reported by parishioners living in remote and rural area of Abia North and environ as he said
“I thank you Senator Orji Uzor Kalu and your entourage for coming on a day like this when we celebrate our risen Christ. I thank you for all you have been doing for the people as a senator. The roads construction, water boreholes and rehabilitation of schools. In constructing roads, you are also enhancing economic activities in the state. But above all, I don’t even know if whether he knows that in constructing roads, he’s also promoting the work of evangelization, making it easier for us to reach our pastoral goals at the grass roots.
“We spend so much money maintaining our vehicles on accounts of bad roads. So, when these roads are done, it touches lives from different perspectives. From social dimension, economic dimension and even above all, in religious dimensions because without the rail ways and even the creation of roads, it wouldn’t had been possible to be recognized at the first place. Good roads plays a very religious role in the evangelization we have”.
Bishop L. I Ugorji lamented on the turn of the educational system operated in Abia state during the tenure of Dr Orji Uzor Kalu as a governor and thanked him for his efforts to renovate numbers of class room blocks in various schools in Abia North senatorial district and of the most distinguish gesture, extended to the Holy Rosary Secondary school.
“We thank you that you are thinking of many communities that had felt self neglected, right from Adam. When you were replaced in government, the government had never reached to touch their lives. The government goes to them during the elections, collect their votes and that is the end. So, to get a senator who is thinking about the welfare of the people, not just roads, we have instances of you giving water to very interior communities because people reports that and then your passion for education.
“We have the beneficiaries of that, in Holy Rosary Secondary school. In Holy Rosary Secondary school, he has helped. He already promised that he will build a hostel for the school. He’s very interested about education and I know that maybe he’s going to do more.
“There are many young people that could not and may never have school or education of least secondary education because there is no further free education that we use to have since many years you did that, of which, you have impacted the lives of many people and families on the account of that (Free education)”.
The Chatholic Bishop was sorrowful about the lost of lives of workers that had worked, serving the government and even till they are retired. The denier of the payment of salaries and pension. He called on political leaders to have the heart to work for the people.
“Today, I was talking in the church about many people dying on account of stress, none payments of salaries, none payments of pension to people who have worked and they are retired yet they are not able to buy their medicines and then they die. Many have been taken to their graves. In those days, during mass, I would tell you to remember to pay peoples salaries before their Christmas and you were always obliging on that area. We are praying that government officials in different levels may have the heart for the people.
“Government is about the welfare of the people, government is about good roads, it’s about good education, good hospitals and so on. We urge senators from Abia state and across Nigeria to have a heart for the people so that gradually, we’re able to advance.
“Today we’re celebrating the resurrection of Christ on an empty tomb and many people had been led to the tomb before their time but Christ won by his resurrection.
“We thank you for what you’ve done. When we thank you for the roads you’ve constructed, we’re also thanking you for the more kilometer roads to be done and we’re also thanking you for the more schools you will rehabilitate and also thanking you for the more water boreholes that you will be giving to rural communities and above all thanking you for the promise you made to build a hostel block for Holy Rosary Secondary School. Am happy to see all of you and we wish you a very happy Easter and let us all be the children of the resurrection and continue singing hallelujah and have cause to sing hallelujah”. He concluded.
Accopnied by Senator Orji Kalu for the Easter Holy Mass and banquet are the MD. Nigerian Films Corporation, Rt Hon Chidia Maduekwe, Rt. Hon Nnanna Kalu, Rev Ify Agu, Rev Jemaimah Ola Kalu, Barr. Udo Uduma, Hafia Azeezat Jimoh, Mrs. Ngozi Otah Nwoke and host of other dignitaries, the report gathered.
