The new governor of Abia State, Dr Alex Otti says Abia is facing a difficult and challenging road ahead, even as the state is starting from an enormously negative position.
Gov Otti disclosed this in Umuahia during his acceptance speech after he was sworn in, stating, “We have a very difficult and challenging road ahead of us. Abia State is starting, not from zero, but from an enormously negative position.
While we were busy battling with the devastating effects of insincere and corrupt leadership, the rest of the world, and even many parts of Nigeria, would appear to have left us behind”.
According to him, “Despite the initial assurances from the other side that the endless season of antagonistic and predatory politics was finally over, we have been the target of the most vicious and pernicious attacks through vile propaganda and the unconscionable abuse of judicial processes.
“Abia citizens, have had our time of tribulations and pains, of darkness and doubts. To the glory of God, this is now a time for us to wipe our tears. It is the time for rebuilding, not just the state’s physical infrastructure and fiscal buffers that are in a sorry state of decay. It is now the time to take back our society”.
“I have abiding faith in our ability to conquer the challenges of decades of poor-quality governance; the decades of stunted growth and development; the decades of deprivation, injustice and loss of self-dignity, the decades of hopelessness, anguish, and pain. But I have news for them. Someone should go and tell them that we have decisively broken free from our bondage”, and declared a state of emergency on refuse disposal and waste management in Aba and Umuahia.
Gov. Otti made a startling disclosure that Abia has a local and foreign debt of about N200 billion and an alleged N50 billion in unpaid salaries, gratuities, and pensions.
“We have a treasury that has been criminally ravaged to the extent that we have an alleged N50 billion in unpaid salaries, gratuities, and pensions. Our local and foreign debt overhang is reported to be in the region of N200 billion, in addition to other debts to contractors”.
He assured of fixing urban centres in the State, stating, “It will not be wrong to describe some of them as glorified villages”, while others he said, include the Abia educational system with a paucity of quality teaching personnel, especially in very critical subject areas, entering into a new social contract with Ndi Abia on social contract not to be a government of excuses and finger-pointing, the worsening state of insecurity in the state, legitimate discontent amongst many sections of the State, to forbid spilling of blood, destruction of public or private property and hostility towards the innocent and vulnerable.
He further assured, “We shall commence the payment of May 2023 salaries and pensions to all civil servants and retirees in the State. There shall be no more distinction between the so-called “core” and “non-core” civil servants”, and “you shall, beginning from this May, earn your legitimate entitlements as and when due. From June 2023, all salary and pension obligations of the State would be settled by the 28th of every month.
“We will rebuild our school system by making it produce better quality students, We shall see to it that our teachers undergo regular refresher courses to update their knowledge and teaching skills, and under our government, teachers shall never be shabbily treated as reportedly had been the custom in the past.
“We shall address headlong, the persisting challenges in the health sector, the challenge of youth unemployment, and our government shall, within the next one month, launch a N10 billion Micro, Small and Medium scale Enterprises (MSME) financing scheme, which will comprise conditional business grants and low-interest loans minimum of 20,000 MSMEs shall benefit from this fund over the next two years,” and will partner commercial banks, local and international development agencies, venture capitalists and independent investors to target MSMEs in high impact areas.
Guests at the occasion include former Emire of Kano State, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, Vice Presidential candidate of Labour Party, Yusuf Baba Ahmed Datti, Commodore Ebitu Ukiwe (rtd), Sen. T A Orji, Sen. Enyi Abaribe, Sen. Chris Adighije, Sen. Victor Umeh, Rotimi Amaechi, Ike Nwachukwu, the state Deputy Governor, Ikechukwu Emetu, and the wife of the governor, Mrs Priscilla Otti, among others.
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