By Sunday Ani
When the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), declared Dr. Alex Otti as the winner and Governor-elect in the April 18, 2023 governorship elections in Abia State, there were wild jubilations across all nooks and crannies of the state; a development most people attribute to Otti’s popularity among his people, as well as a clear indication that he was a popular choice of the people.
In his acceptance speech after the declaration, he was quoted to have declared that the siege was over; a veiled declaration that the days of bad governance allegedly brought upon the people by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which held sway for 24 straight years in the state, were over.
He also vowed to unite the people rather than divide them, with his campaign slogan, ‘Weep No More, Help is on the Way.’ He also reiterated his determination to fully implement his five-point agenda, which included economic and social transformation, health and public service reforms, as well as internal security.
He said he was fully prepared to tackle head-on the deplorable infrastructure, roads, schools, and health systems in the state, even as he noted that there was no magic wand that could fix all the rot and decay in virtually all segments of the system, except selfless commitment and stoic determination to be resolute in implementing the state policies for the benefits of the people.
“For us to have sustainable development, it would require a very painstaking and elaborate layout of master plans to enable us tackle the menace of flooding and re-engineer our cities especially Aba, Umuahia and other cities that would be developed in order to support our urban renewal projects.”
He told the people that with their votes and collective will, the gates of hell in the state, cast in iron bars, had been broken and that the kingdom of hell would not prevail over the people of Abia State.
“With our votes and the collective will of our people, we have broken the gates of hell, and cast its bars of iron asunder. As recorded in the holy book, the kingdom of hell shall not prevail over us,’ he stated.
In that short speech coming amidst jubilation, he also told the people that they voted for him to alleviate their sufferings and not to compound or multiply them, and promised that he would not disappoint them.
However, in his inaugural speech after he was sworn in as the fifth civilian governor of Abia State, he reiterated his promise of better days for the people. He said: “Today, I stand before you, my good people of Abia State, to declare once again boldly that in line with my campaign theme, ‘Weep no more, help is here,’ my task is to dry your tears and help you to rediscover who you are and lead you to the pathway of sustainable growth, development and prosperity.”
He promised to do away with corruption in any form or shape, warning that gratification is forbidden in his government and would be treated as a grievous offence. “The time for the rebuilding process has begun. Transparency, accountability, and public trust shall be at the centre of everything we do. We will run a responsible and honest government and lead by example. We will not tolerate any form of corruption or stealing of public property. Gratification and kickbacks are totally forbidden in this government,” he stated.
Interestingly, Otti did not just stop at talking tough, he has gone ahead to walk the talk; a development close watchers of political events in the state since 1999 believe, is a sign that governance in the state is about to be redefined.
The steady progress and positive impacts of his less than two months administration have started to manifest in the core areas of his campaign promises, including health, education, waste management, security and internally generated revenue.
Otti, on Wednesday, June 1, two days after his inauguration, declared a state of emergency on waste disposal in the commercial city of Aba and the state capital, Umuahia. He was reported to have even defied the heavy downpour in Aba on that day to personally supervise the clearing of heaps of refuse on the popular Asa Road.
Recall that before his intervention, Abia State had assumed the status of the dirtiest state in Nigeria, with heaps and mounds of refuse dotting the entire landscape of the state, particularly Aba and Umuahia.
However, all those are now history as the appointment of Mr. Ogbonna Okereke as the head of the task force to implement the refuse disposal emergency changed the game. Okereke immediately swung into action, clearing heaps of refuse from everywhere in Abia, Umuahia and even the hinterlands, making the state the envy of many in terms of cleanliness today.
The task force team in collaboration with the Abia State Environmental Protection Agency (ASEPA), a hitherto moribund agency is performing wonders in the city of Aba, as life seems to have returned. People now breathe fresh air and the fear of epidemic which loomed large towards the twilight of the last PDP administration has all gone.
The ASEPA, which had become almost comatose due to underfunding and poor management by the last PDP administration, has once again come alive. Efforts are currently on to restore Abia to its former glory as the cleanest state in the country, all thanks to Gov Otti’s administrative acumen.
To ensure his directives are being strictly followed, the governor personally supervises the cleanup exercises, and because he has shown leadership and commitment, people also volunteer and work pro-bono to ensure that the towns and cities in the state are clean.
Before now, the ASEPA has become a political wing of the then ruling PDP in the state, and almost ineffective. It was ill-equipped and the low morale of its staff was also hampering the effective and efficient waste disposal efforts.
Otti’s administration met only four ‘fairly manageable’ compactor trucks for evacuation of wastes, with three of the trucks stationed in Aba, while the remaining one was in Umuahia. Also, only six out of the 11 refuse dump buckets in Aba are functional, even when the Ariaria International Market axis alone needs about 10 of such buckets.
In actual sense, the state needs about 200 buckets; 100 in Aba, 50 in Umuahia, and 50 in other emerging towns. The state also needs about 20 trucks for effective evacuation of refuse. These are what Otti’s administration has promised to tackle and is already tackling through a Public Private Partnership (PPP) arrangement. Aba and Umuahia have been divided into six zones for a more efficient waste evacuation system to be undertaken by private firms with proven competence and capacity.
To ensure that never again shall heaps of refuse resurface anywhere in the state, and also for the interest of the people’s health and policy direction of the government, the last Saturday of every month, between 7am and 10am has been set aside for the compulsory monthly environmental sanitation.
On health, Otti’s administration is almost at the verge of executing its plan to reconstruct and equip three general hospitals from the three senatorial zones within his first 100 days in office as the governor. The steps are being taken in the area of road construction. Some roads in Aba have been earmarked for reconstruction on palliative basis for the first phase of road construction. This must be done before his first 100 days in September.
However, plans are also under way to renovate one primary school from each of the 17 local government areas in the state even as the security agents have been charged to stem the tide of crimes and criminality in Isuikwuato and Ihube axis of the state. He is also determined to ensure that the government’s commitment to the security of Abia people and residents in the state is unshakable.
On the state’s IGR, Gov Otti has launched a new app for a new digital tax system. The app would be able to register every trader, shop and transporter without losing revenue. This would also make the revenue collection seamless. To ensure an efficient and effective tax system in the state, the state government is also planning to hold a town hall meeting with various stakeholders to interact and cross-fertilize ideas with them and equally keep them abreast of the modalities of the new tax regime.
In the midst of the foregoing practical steps by Gov Otti to redefine governance in the God’s own state, he has not forgotten the plight of workers and pensioners. He promised that workers would be getting their salaries on or before the 28th of every month. That, he has done with the June salaries of workers in the state, except for some workers who are yet to receive their June salary due to the non compliance with the verification exercise carried by the government.
Indeed, Gov Otti has shown capacity to deal with the hydra-headed challenges he inherited from the previous administration in the state. Truly, he has hit the ground running, holding strategic engagements with genuine and potential world-class investors, all in a bid to redefine governance in the state and transform the socio-economic status of the people.