By Steve Oko

Governor Alex Otti of Abia State has declared that he would continue to focus on governance and not be distracted by the antics of his detractors seeking attention.

This is as he boasted that he had issued over 10,562 Certificates of Occupancy (C of O) to landed property owners in the past two and a half years, the number he said had not been met in the past decade.

The Governor, who spoke during a media parley in Umuahia, said his primary focus at the moment was how to deliver the change he promised Abia people in 2023, adding that it is only his works, and not propaganda, that shall speak for him in 2027.

Otti said he was not averse to criticism, especially when it is constructive, adding that he also welcomes advice.

But he regretted that some of his opponents, out of desperation for power, had resorted to malicious propaganda against his administration, but said they would have difficulty because the people already see his achievements.

“We will continue to pay attention to governance. And governance is key.  We will continue our efforts toward a developmental revolution. What we are doing has started yielding positive fruits.”

Otti noted that under his watch, Abia had received positive ratings across many sectors as a result of his administration’s efforts to transform the state.

“Just a few days ago, out of the 36 states and Abuja, Abia emerged the most prepared state to deal with medical emergencies.”

The Governor hinted that the electric buses he procured for intra-state mass transit would begin operating before the end of December.

“Our transport revolution is being rolled out. Before the end of the year, the electric buses that have started arriving in the state will be put into service, further reducing transportation costs.

“We will also pursue aggressive construction and reconstruction of roads. We have given contractors and the direct labour agency a mandate to ensure that many of the jobs are completed before the end of this dry season.

“Construction work, which  slowed down at some point, has resumed with speed. We will continue to give attention to our contractors, advancing the state’s infrastructure development.

Issues 10,562 ‘C of Os’ in 30 months

“We have rolled out a policy of issuing a Certificate of Occupancy (C of O) in 30 days. As of yesterday, we have issued about 10,562 C of Os in the 2.5 years we have been in charge.

“The whole idea is to inject value into the system. We have automated the process. As soon as it gets to me, I can sign and send it back.

ABCETA regains accreditation

“I am happy to report that the College of Education Technical, Arochukwu, which lost accreditation a few years ago, this afternoon, about 84 courses in the college were accredited.

“So we are now ready to run the way we plan to run  the College. If you visit there recently, you will see the massive work going on, both on the roofs and in the lecture theatres and classrooms. And the whole idea is to make it a home for proper training of our teachers.”

He also promised to continue with the ongoing revolutions at Abia University, Uturu (ABSU), as well as the Ogbonnaya Onu Polytechnic, Aba, expressing delight that students of Ogbonnaya Onu Polytechnic, Aba, are the ones fabricating the waste bin buckets used by the Abia State Environmental Protection Agency, ASEPA.

He commended ASEPA for keeping Abia clean, saying the state now ranks among the cleanest in the country.

The Governor promised that Abia residents would enjoy a more stable power supply in the months ahead, as the process of acquiring the distribution network in the remaining eight Local Government Areas outside the Aba ringed area was almost complete.

“Once this is done, we  can feed excess power from Aba Power Plant into Umuahia, so  we can also enjoy an unparalleled power supply in the rest of the state.”

Set to clear N60 billion gratuity arrears.

Gov. Otti promised to clear the N60 billion in gratuity arrears owed to pensioners, although he said the payment would be in installments due to the enormity of the figure involved.

He said that the committee set up to revisit the controversy had submitted its report.

“The joint committee that was set up by the national leadership of the Nigeria Union of Pensioners, and this administration has just handed in a report. Recall that after appeals were made, we decided to look at it again. We have done that now.

“It is disheartening that the pension has remained outstanding since 2001. From the report we saw, it is in  excess of N60 billion. That is a large number. So, I am going to make a decision very soon.

“But the way my mind is working is that we will have to begin the payment gradually because these are debts which date back over 20 years.”

“We are unafraid to work out a solution in spite of who incurred the debts. So one thing I would like to assure the pensioners is that their gratuity will be paid gradually.

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