Reading John Okiyi Kalu’s aka Nwandugbom or JOK revisionism with the title “Between Peter Mba and Alex Otti: When Experience Makes A Difference” which contained several lies ,concocted figures and evil thoughts did once again throw one into deep thoughts about the evil master minds that dished out lies and painted glorious pictures of the State while it was being looted under the Gov. Okezie Ikpeazu infamous regime. For the untutored, John Okiyi Kalu was the Chief Propagandist of the Ikpeazu regime as the Commissioner of Information of that infamous era. One thought that came to my mind on reading that trash was to ignore it as it was not worth the paper on which it was written but it is often said that lies repeated severally often acquires the semblance of truth. It is this axiom that informs this rejoinder. The summary of JOK assumptions in the said article was that the Enugu State 2024 Budget proposals which he watched on TV according to him has turned Enugu State into an Eldorado. He limped from there to do a hatchet job of dishing out fictitious figures about Abia State public expenditure as well as a feeble attempt at a comparative analysis of the six month old administration with past administrations in Enugu State. He went further to cast aspersions on the personality of Dr. Alex Otti. The main kernel of the distasteful write up was to denigrate and insult the Government of Abia State as well as the personality of His Excellency Dr Alex Chioma Otti. The curious thing about John Okiyi’s half-baked and ignorant treatise is that he did not mention any of the past government of Abia State in his comparison with Enugu State or the personalities involved. Again, JOK displayed crass ignorance about Public Policy Analysis basic principles when he failed to understand that objective research data is usually the basis of such comparative analysis he set out to do and not information that is derived from Budget proposals that one watched on Television Sets. Research efforts based on verifiable Budget Performance is usually the basis of such comparative analysis in Public Policy Analysis. How well a government has done or is doing is derived from verifiable facts and figures and not imaginary and concocted figures. Again, his escapist tendency to compare previous Enugu State Governments with the Present one in Abia would have made more sense if he did such comparison with their past counterparts in Abia including the one he served as the Propaganda Chief. JOK comparisons has no tail or head. It was a concocted tale of an evil mastermind whose mission was to bring into disrepute the popular performing Governor of Abia State or at worst bring confusion and bickering between the people and Government of the two sister States of Enugu and Abia State who have for long enjoyed very peaceful and cordial relationships irrespective of partisan differences. It must be stated however that both the Governor and people of Abia State have deep respect for their Enugu State counterpart and there has always existed a very cordial relationship between the two sister states and their Governors. I can equally assert that nothing will break this cordial relationship. Not even the evil thoughts and machinations of characters like the said John Okiyi Kalu. Be that as it may, it is good to put Dr. Alex Otti’s ascendancy and performance in office in its proper context. Dr. Otti’s inauguration into office on May 2023 could be metamorphically be likened to Chinua Achebe’s tragic hero “Okonkwo in Things Fall Apart” who started out in life with nothing due to the character failure of his father “Unoka” who was a drunkard and a lazy man whom Achebe would describe thus “in his days, he was a lazy and an improvident man and quite incapable of thinking about tomorrow”. Achebe further categorized Unoka thus “if any money came his way as it seldom did, he immediately bought gourds of palm wine, called round neighbors and made merry. Unoka was of course a debtor and owed every neighbor some money, from a few cowries to quite substantial amounts. That was years ago when he was poor and his wife and children had barely enough to eat. People laughed at him because he was a loafer and they swore never to loan him any money because he never seldom paid back”. The net effect of Unoka’s physical and mental altitude was that his family was plunged into poverty and people laughed at them and his son Okonkwo started life from ground zero. It its exactly this Achebe fabled scenario in “Things Fall Apart” that played out in Abia’s recent political history. A State that is rich in human and material resources was plunged into debt and abject poverty and made a laughing stock due to the mental and physical laziness of its rulers. The tragic thing about the Abia situation is that it is the jesters and evil master minds like John Okiyi Kalu and Eze Chikamnayo who dished out lies and painted glorious picture of achievements as the information commissioners while the state was being looted. However, it is often the case that every day is for the thief and one day is for the owner of the house. In Abia the day of reckoning was 22nd April when Dr. Alex Otti, their chief nemesis was announced as the winner of the Governorship Election. Dr Alex Otti like his literary metaphor “Okonkwo” inherited nothing on assumption of office. Rather what he inherited were humongous debt and a government whose activities had long been grounded by the mental and physical laziness of his predecessors. In fact as at May 29th 2023 when Dr Otti was inaugurated into office, all the government offices in Abia State were under locks and keys as a result of the strike action embarked upon by public sector workers on account of salary arears amounting to over N70B that was owed to them. Most of the physical infrastructure of the state were all at various stages of decay and dilapidation. Most state contractors had pulled out of sites on account of debts owed to them. His Excellency Dr Alex Otti started from ground zero and it is against this background that any objective assessment of his six-month-old regime can be based rather than a nebulous comparism with the budgetary estimate of a sister government in a far away Enugu State. The truth of the matter is that His Excellency Dr Alex Chioma Otti has fully overhauled and reset the governance structure in the state since his assumption of office in May 29th 2023. His promise of paying public sector workers on the 28th of every month has been kept just as well as he is gradually tackling the backlog of salary arrears of the workers. It is also good to recall that Dr Alex Otti is not only very prudent in the management of the public treasure but also has imbued government processes with a lot of transparency and openness. Perhaps one of his greatest achievements may yet be reckoned to be his recruitment pattern into the top echelon of the Public Service where he has recruited top professionals from diverse fields to manage critical sectors of the Government. Governor Otti with his able managers has so far ensured that public policies and executions are conducted in ways that ensure not only quick service delivery but also that government procurement is achieved at minimal costs. Such innovative and prudent strategy has ensured the flourishing of the once moribund Government Ministries and Parastatals. In fact, the enthronement of transparency and due process in public sector procurement has ensured that the Abia public derives maximum benefit from government procurement activities. The resetting of all government tools by the Dr. Alex Otti administration has occasioned a quantum leap in the development of Abia State. This fact can be attested by a few significant checklists. All the internal roads in the major streets of Aba and Umuahia which were at various stages of dilapidation are now undergoing rehabilitation through the direct labour policy of the state government with its policy of “Zero Tolerance For Pot Holes”. This is just the same way that major arteries and link roads have been contracted out to reputable contractors who are delivering same at agreed time schedules. As at date, no state government in Nigeria can match Abia State in the quantity and quality of roads delivered and commissioned under the administration of Dr. Alex Otti within these past six months. This is also the same way that the hospital systems are being rehabilitated and wearing new looks. It is equally important to note that the free medical services being offered to people on weekends is still ongoing and have helped to ensure that a lot more people have access to quality healthcare. The “Light Up The City Project” which has led to the lightening up of our once dark cities of Aba and Umuahia is still progressing at a good speed. It is also good to mention that there has been an aggressive rehabilitation of public sector buildings and equipment of same in other to provide conducive atmospheres for government workers to carry their duties. This is a significant feat if we recall that most government buildings were at various stages of decay before may 29th 2023 due to neglect. Again, any one driving around the major streets of Umuahia and Aba and seeing how clean they appear may not remember that just six months ago, these cities were characterized by refuse and filth that filled out all its nooks and crannies. Dr Alex Otti has also been aggressive in laying the foundation of a meaningful industrialization drive in the State. The commissioning of the Abia Innovative and Industrial Park at Owaza and putting in place structures that will enhance “Ease of Doing Business” are just some of the measures that have seen the influx of Investors into the State. Indeed, Dr. Alex Otti has engineered a renaissance in Abia which has made the State the number one investment destination centre in Nigeria. All these feats have been made possible because of the transparency and honesty which has characterized government business since Dr Alex Otti assumed duty as the Abia State Chief Servant. The Governor himself leads through personal examples of hard work, humility, Christian Chastity, diligence, honesty, sacrifice and efficient deployment of scarce state resources. However, the likes of John Okiyi Kalu and his ilk who milked the State dry are blinded by these self-evident facts. They deliberately refuse to acknowledge all these positive developments. They are blinded by their evil thoughts. They had since loosing power engaged in acts that will undermine the Dr. Otti’s led achievement through various frivolous litigations and cheap propaganda. They will fail as it has been ordained by the divine powers that liberated Abia State from their iron grip through the Leadership of His Excellency Dr Alex Otti and The Labour Party. However, the times and the wicked machinations of the dark forces that held Abia State down for several decades calls for greater vigilance amongst Abians. The liberation which Abians are currently enjoying and which came through the blood and sweat of several patriots some of whom paid the supreme price should not been taken for granted. Abians should be vigilant and learn from the admonitions of the first Israeli Prime Minster Ben Gurion when he warned the Israelites in the twilight of their declaration of the Jewish State in May 1948 thus: “as Jews and more so as Zionist, we must forgo facile optimism and barren despondency. Basic fact are our allies. The tragedy of the Jews, the desolation of the land with it, our creativity. They have brought us thus far” And I will add to this admonition by stating that the struggle to liberate Abia State from the kleptomaniacs that held her down for several years took several years to achieve. Those who looted the State are still prodding around with their ill-gotten wealth angling for opportunities to scuttle the monumental developments that is ongoing and which has been engineered by Dr Alex Otti. Abians must resist them no matter what form they raise their head. They are a desperate lot and the times calls for greater vigilance amongst our people. I will end this write-up by abbreviating a favorite refrain that was popular during the civil war and which made a lot of impression on my young mind then and it goes thus: “Onye ndi iro gbara gburugburu neche ndu ya nche mgbe nile” Umu Abia, Unu e hikwala Ura. Hon. Jones Nnanna Ike General Manager/Editor in Chief Abia Newspaper & Publishing Corporation
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Gov Otti Vows To Resolve Salary Arrears Owed Institutions, Allocates N1.5 Billion Monthly

Amarachi UzoukwuJuly 22, 2024

 

Abia State Government says it is committed to offsetting all outstanding salary arrears owed Institutions by the immediate past government which is estimated at about 18 Billion Naira.

 

The Commissioner for Information and Culture, Prince Okey Kanu disclosed this while briefing Journalists on the outcome of this week’s Execution Council Meeting presided over by the Governor.

Commissioner for Information and Culture, Prince Okey Kanu

He said that payments of arrears of salary owed workers in various institutions in the state would commence in August, with 1.5 billion Naira to be disbursed monthly over the next 12 months.

 

Prince Kanu further disclosed that government has taken decisive steps to address the longstanding issues of salary arrears at Abia State University with the recent meeting where the Governor met with the Vice Chancellor and members of the University’s Governing Council to discuss and resolve these financial concerns.

He said that the Governor during the meeting instructed the Accountant General to ensure the payment of all outstanding salaries within the week adding that the directive applies to both verified and unverified staff.

 

“That meeting offered the Governor, the opportunity to bring those lingering issue to an end.

 

“In the course of the meeting, he directed the Accountant General to ensure that within the week, all outstanding salaries are paid, this will apply to both those that have been verified and those who have not been verified.

 

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“The Governor directed that the verification team be relocated to conclude all outstanding issues of verification“, Prince Kanu stated.

 

Prince Okey Kanu

The Commissioner while highlighting the Governor’s commitment to improving the welfare of the University personnel, noted that the salaries for April, May, and June have already been paid.

 

“So there’s no gainsaying the fact the Governor is committed to enhancing the welfare of our university personnel as never done before by previous administrations”, Prince Kanu pointed out.

 

 

He emphasized that Governor Otti in a bid to further enhance the operational efficiency of tertiary institutions across the state, also directed the Accountant General to meet with the heads of institutions to harmonize their overhead expenditure needs.

 

The Commissioner who also addressed the security of the assets in Educational institutions across the state said Governor Otti mandated the Special Adviser on Homeland Security to collaborate with the Ministry of Education to provide round-the-clock security for all schools.

 

He pointed out that the initiative is part of government’s strategy to safeguard the investments in the educational sector.

 

 

On the “Light Up Abia” initiative, commissioner said the recently commissioned JAAC building has been illuminated as part of the initiative adding that the programme has also been extended to Abia State University, to enhance security for students and staff of the institution.

 

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According to the Commissioner, efforts are underway to extend the initiative to communities outside the state capital and Aba metropolis, with several areas, including parts of Arochukwu and Isieketa in Aba, now connected to the 33KVA power line.

 

He disclosed that the Governor would visit Arochukwu on Saturday, July 27, to commission various projects executed by the Mayor of Arochukwu LGA, Chief Joe Ezearo, adding that the state government has cancelled this week’s environmental sanitation exercise to allow citizens travel freely to Arochukwu.

 

Mike Akpara

Contributing, the Commissioner for Finance, Mr Mike Akpara, clarified that the total amount approved for the payment of salaries being owed to workers by the past administration is N17,629, 767,342.09

 

Akpara who noted that the figure was initially estimated at N16.5 billion, pointed that a thorough verification process revealed a higher amount of N17,629, 767,342.09 and added that government has allocated N1,469,147,278.20 for monthly disbursements.

 

 

The Finance Commissioner gave the breakdown of salary arrears owed institution’s to include; “Health Management Board (HMB): 15 months, N1.3 billion, Abia State University Teaching Hospital (ABSUTH): 21 months, N3.1 billion,
Abia State College of Education (Technical), Arochukwu (ASCETA): 22 months, N540 million and Abia Polytechnic: 33 months, N4.5 billion.

 

 

Others include; “Abia Comets Football Club: 1 month, N14.1 million, Abia State University (ABSU): 11 months, N3.1 billion, College of Health Sciences, Aba: 2 months, N57.3 million.

 

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The rest are; “Abia State Universal Basic Education Board (ASUBEB): 8 months, N1.89 billion, Secondary Education Management Board: 15 months, N3.6 billion, and Abia State Signage and Advertisement Agency, (ABSAA): 2 months, N3.2 million“.

 

He said that the payments would be made in 12 tranches to avoid disrupting government operations and assured that the State Government is committed to resolving the arrears and ensuring regular salary payments going forward.

Ferdinand Ekeoma

The Special Adviser to the Governor on Media and Publicity, Mr Ferdinand Ekeoma while responding to questions on the incident that occured in Aba on Sunday, said that what the criminals are presently doing is to mop up arms while their attempt was rebuffed by security agents who successfully neutralized two of their members, and regretted that some innocent passersby were unfortunately affected by stray bullets.

 

 

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