Gov Otti has Redefined Governance  – Ekeoma 

In this interview granted to Hallmark Business by the Special Adviser to Governor Alex Otti on Media and Publicity, Mr. Ferdinand Ekeoma, insists Governor Otti has redefined governance in the State, adding that critical sectors that were hitherto on life support have now fully recovered and are running perfectly. He also speaks on how the Governor has sanitized the transportation sector and payment of Pension arrears, among others.

Excerpts

The Governor will be celebrating his second anniversary on the 29th of this month. How would you rate his performance?

It is important to do a flashback starting from when Governor Otti resumed office as the Executive Governor of the State. He declared a state of emergency in key sectors of the economy: Health, education, road infrastructure, security, and waste management. After the declaration, the Governor swung into action to ensure that those key areas had emergency impact that would help jump-start the economy of the state in all facets, having met a dilapidated system on the ground.

Being someone who knows too much about administration, before his emergence in 2023, he had already itemized the challenges bedeviling the State. He started by setting up an emergency task force charged with the responsibility of clearing the dirt in Aba and Umuahia. Of course, you can also recall that before now, Abia State, especially Aba, was known as the dirtiest city in the whole of Nigeria. However, because of the Governor’s undoubted commitment to ensure that Abians live in a decent environment, the taskforce swung into action and different parts of the State, including heaps of refuse, were cleared. That exercise gulped billions of naira. But the good news is that in Abia State today, those who were disgusted about the dirty pictures from Aba and the State ab initio, are now pleased to visit the State.

The administration of Governor Otti doesn’t just talk; he makes reference, challenges people to go and verify, and see things for themselves. Waste Management in Abia today has recorded huge success. To further buttress the importance attached to waste management, the Governor, apart from appointing the General Manager of ASEPA, Mazi Ogbonnaya Okereke, Aba, Umuahia, and Ohafia, respectively, are under the supervision of different individuals, and of course, the result has been massive.

Another area where the Governor declared a state of emergency is on road infrastructure. How has his administration fared in this regard?

Like I said earlier, today, we don’t say what we are going to do, we tell people what we have done and allow them to make their findings and tell the rest of the story. The Governor has already executed key road infrastructure since assuming office. Since coming on board, there is hardly been a month that Governor Otti hasn’t flag off construction of multiple roads. As I speak with you, roads are being commissioned and executed on a daily basis to ensure that Abians enjoy the dividends of democracy. There are strategic roads in Aba, Umuahia and other parts of the state. This is in line with the vision of the State Governor who understands that having road  infrastructure is a prelude for any developmental effort. Today, there is ease-of-doing business in Abia courtesy of the massive road infrastructure and serenity of the Abia environment.

Before the inception of the administration of Governor Otti, a lot of touts and hooligans intimidated the people. They created a false picture of the State that was not conducive for business. That is why the Governor dislodged touts, and made sure there is ease-of-doing business in Abia because the touts also scared investors from doing business in Abia through intimidation, taxation, among others. Governor Otti has also sanitized the transport sector by stopping all loading charges imposed on tricycle operators, who also spend too much on servicing their tricycles, among other expenses they incur.

Has this also helped to shore up the IGR of the State? 

To a large extent, it has. The present administration is working tirelessly to ensure that all those revenue leakages are blocked. Part of it can even be said to be taking the shape of TSA (The Single Treasury Account) run by the government. Its benefits are massive.

Recall that recently, Abia State Government announced that it is targeting N120 billion as internally generated revenue (IGR) for the 2025 fiscal year and in a bid to achieve this, the State Government also announced the commencement of a comprehensive statewide tax enumeration and automation exercise.

Again, I said earlier that the Governor also as part of efforts to shore up the IGR of the State, stopped all touting that existed in the transportation sector in the State. Previously, touts under the guise of collecting revenue intimidated people, but never cared to remit the taxes collected on behalf of the government to the appropriate quarters. This dwindled the IGR of the State but today, this is not the case anymore.

Back to road infrastructure, can we get specifics on roads so far done by the Governor Alex Otti-led administration?

Yes, I was coming to that, key strategic roads are constructed in Aba: Port Harcourt road, Cemetery, Opopo road to Green avenue, College Road, University road, they are countless. In Umuahia, there is the Ossah road, 67 kilometer Umuahia – Uzuakoli – Akara – Alayi – Abiriba Highway is also another vision of the Governor to ensure that those plying the road do no suffer ensuing from years of neglect.

What about agriculture, the sector seem to be receiving less attention?

I don’t agree with that submission. Governor Otti is not leaving any sector behind. He is poised to ensure that all sectors develop concomitantly. Recall that the State Government has recorded tremendous successes in the agricultural sector. Last year, the administration of Governor Alex Otti sent about three hundred beneficiaries of a sponsored training programme in agriculture by the Abia State Government to CSS Global Farms, Nasarawa State, for a two weeks training.

The programme was indeed a success. The youths learnt a lot in various aspects of Agriculture they were exposed to. One thing is learning a skill, another is giving the necessary start-up packs which is also why the Government on her part, empowered participants in clusters with N1 to N3 million as “start-up packs”.

It will also interest you to know that a lot of them went into palm plantation among others, Abia Government is also entering into serious Public–private partnership initiative in this sector and today, rural roads are constructed not just to stem rural-urban migration but to assist those in the hinterlands to easily transport their agricultural produce to the urban centres where there are big markets to sell the products.

Additionally, Governor Alex Otti also directed that farmers be given improved seedlings to assist them in growing food for the State. Governor Otti has also approved N1 billion under the agriculture interest-free scheme, the NG-care scheme is also running, which is meant to allow farmers in the State to grow their food. As you can see, the government is not relenting in investing in these critical sectors.

The issue of Pension payment has attracted reactions, what has the State Government achieved so far ?

Before Governor Otti came on board, what was existing before was bulk passing, no effort was made to offset arrears of Pensioners genuinely, but today, “Pensioners are happy for promptly receiving their pensions without begging. Those who were here before now, made retired workers regret serving or spending 35 years in the service of the State.

At the inception of this administration, Governor Otti directed that a committee be set up comprising government officials and members of the Nigerian Union of Pensioners to develop modalities for offsetting pension arrears. And this committee did the needful, and today, pensioners in the State are happy to receive their pensions as and when due, without begging.

Pensioners are not the only ones carried along. Recall, that Governor Otti at his inaugural speech on May 29, 2023, promised to commence the payment of May 2023 salaries and pensions to all civil servants and retirees in the state within. The Governor started that immediately and since then he has not reneged on paying workers every 28th day of the month.

September last year, the Governor also defrayed arrears of salaries owed workers of institutions in the state by previous administrations. The institutions included: Abia State University Uturu, Ogbonnaya Onu Polytechnic, Aba, Abia State College of Education, Technical Arochukwu, Abia State Teaching Hospital, Aba and Health Management Board, Umuahia.

Others in the list included: the state-owned institutions of higher learning, such as the College of Health Sciences, Aba, Abia State Universal Basic Education Board, and the Secondary Education Management Board, among others.

As you can see, it is not just a talking government, we challenge those in the opposition to go and verify. This government is poised to ensure that Abians enjoy the dividends of democracy to the fullest.

…Cuts in, should I take that as your final message to Abians as the Governor marks his second year anniversary?

No, I mean the Governor is not leaving any stone unturned to ensure that Abians live a better life that eluded them all these years. In the health, education sectors, even security, a lot has been achieved by Governor Alex Otti to ameliorate the sufferings of the people.

As the Governor marks his second year anniversary in office today, what message do you have for Abians?

The message is clear. There was so much mess on the ground before Governor Otti mounted the saddle, but by the special grace of God, that mess has been, to a large extent, cleared. Mine is to appeal to Abians to keep on supporting and praying for Governor Alex Otti as he continues to change the trajectory in the state. It’s still a work in progress, but he is not relenting in changing the narratives.