BY ANAYO OKOLI &  Mike Ebonugwo

Working hard for a re-sit

Held down in a web of intrigues that clouded governance, the people of Abia State glimpse the prospects of a government for the first time in years. Is it for real?

THE administration in Umuahia says it is the beginning of a new dawn. The opposition, however, disagrees noting that nothing has significantly changed. Even where there are changes some say that Governor Theodore Orji could only be doing what he was elected to do.

Governor Orji nevertheless agrees even with his worst critics that his performance in his first term was nothing to write home about. It is as such not surprising that administration officials are proclaiming a new dawn in the infrastructure landscape of the state in his second term. In his first term the state was comatose, security was virtually absent.

Criminal elements, particularly, kidnappers almost over ran the state. Besides, his first term was embroiled in controversy and crisis. Litigation against his victory in the 2007 elections lingered for close to three years of the four year tenure.

Again, Orji confessed that he and the wealth of the state were held in complete bondage allegedly by his estranged political mentors. For this, he said that funds meant for the development of the state were allegedly diverted to other areas to serve personal and family problems, to the neglect of the state issues and problems. In his second lap Orji, however, has shown some momentum which according to his associates is aimed at laying the foundation of the state.

Gov. Theodore Orji of Abia State

DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS.
Among the key projects now underway that Governor Orji envisages to lay a new foundation for the state are a new Government House, a new secretariat complex, a conference centre among others. Aba, neglected in the last 20 years with its infrastructure decaying by the day, is presently receiving a facelift.

As a first step, the government collaborated with the Federal Government and moved troops led by Major General Sylvester Audu to restore security by fighting and subduing the kidnappers and other criminal elements that molested residents. The troops returned life to Aba.

Residents who fled the city returned. Today, Aba is secured. Business and investment confidence is returning. The troops have come to stay in the state. They have their main barracks at Ohafia and a large Camp in Asa, less than 20 minutes drive from the Aba city.

WOOING INVESTORS.
Expectedly, the Government has cashed in it to woo investors. Among the foreign investors that have shown interest in the state is Alkamali Petroleum, a  Dubai based oil and gas company which has shown interest in the oil and gas rich area of Ukwa West.

The company has promised to build a refinery in the Ukwa area of the state, rich in oil and gas. There is also an investor that have declared interest in building a cement factory in Arochukwu while a Malaysian company has shown interest in the palm oil palm plantation which the state is also very rich in.

The Government has also opened negotiations with a South African Brewery to revive the moribund Golden Guinea Breweries in Umuahia, the state capital. An Irish company has expressed interest to invest in the abundant quarry industry in Abia state. Already, officials of the company, Quarry, Roads and Mining Unique Services Limited (QRM), have visited the state and held business talks with the Governor.

GOVERNEMNT’S DRASTIC ACTIONS.
Last August the Government took a decision to return all non-indigenes in its employment to their various states. This action was not well received by some of the states whose citizens were involved, but the administration was unwavering.

The government also suspended some senior officers of the Local Government system, mainly the treasurers, for their alleged plan to sabotage Government’s biometric programme aimed at checking the infiltration of ghost workers into its payroll. The government, however, later recalled them after over one month with a stern warning to sin no more.

In February, about 8 commissioners, the 17 Local Government Transition Chairmen and some other senior aides were also sent on suspension for allegedly playing a role in the embarrassment of the governor during the lying-in-state of late Ikemba Nnewi, Dim Emeka Odumegwu Ojukwu at the Enyimba Stadium, Aba. Though some of the chairmen were recalled, few of them lost their positions, while in the case of commissioners; it led to cabinet reshuffle which saw some them swapping ministries and few new ones joining them.

OPPOSITION
Abia state in the real sense of it has no strong opposition. However, two political parties, personified in their 2011 governorship candidates, Ochiagha Reagan Ufomba for All Progressive Grand Alliance, APGA and Prince Paul Ikonne for Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN have been criticizing the government, insisting that the government has not done anything, especially in Aba. Orji has time to maybe disprove them!

Now, a chat with the governor. Hear him:

What are the challenges in governing Abia State and carrying out the projects credited to you?
Our revenue profile is not palatable. But a lot of things have happened in our state before now. People collected revenue and pocketed it. It is now that we are getting consultants to improve the IGR to N500 million. Before, it used to be N250 million.

When I came, I met only N150 million which I raised to N200 million. I never surpassed N250 million a month since I came on board. So, with this revenue profile that has not changed, I want you to judge us from that angle. Now, since I came and with all these projects ongoing, I‘ve never obtained a dime from the bank; you can check this out from any bank. Neither have I taken any bond; the only loan I have taken is the N1 billion agric loan from the Central Bank. And the Central Bank has its conditions for giving these loans and how to expend it. It is tied to agric and these are facts.

So, when the N3.5 billion (monthly allocation) comes, they first of all take their loan and what remains is what we use. So, it is not even N3.5billion that we get, it could be less. Now compare this with what we are doing.  You went round, I’m sure you have not seen half of what we are doing because you went to Aba and Umuahia; you have not gone to Arochukwu, Isikwuato and many others where work is going on in the area of roads, public buildings which are springing up everywhere.

This is the first puzzle I’m giving you; go and think, how is this man managing? And how can you compare this man with this type of situation to confront security. The security situation that we have here is scaring away investors. You don’t send a policeman to go and pursue kidnappers without arming him, without giving him money; you have to buy vehicles for him, for the police, for the army, for the SSS because if you don’t, they won’t work.

People at times they go to Akwa Ibom State and come back to say ‘Ah, look at what is happening in Akwa Ibom’, same with Rivers State. Compare us with them. Check it out, all the governors, military and civilians who have been working in Lagos, Rivers and Akwa Ibom states, they’ve been doing well. It is because they have the money.

So, I want people to judge us based on what we have. We don’t have money, we can’t manufacture money. I challenge anybody to go and point out one building and say this was the building that was built within the eight years in the state capital, Umuahia.

None! Today, I can confidently count what we’re doing: the Secretariat Complex is there, the International Conference Centre is there, we are building a Government House, we are adding more quarters to the Commissioners’ Quarters, we have a new Diagnostic Centre, a new Dialysis Centre, a new Children Hospital, Housing Estate at Amaokwe, a new Broadcasting Complex, the new market- all within my second tenure.

All I could not do during my first tenure because of circumstances which many of you know about. I don’t want to re-echo them. But if you look back, you will realise the wonders that are happening in Abia State. I mean, I met no foundation here, I’m starting afresh.

If I had had a Government House, I won’t be thinking of constructing another one. All my colleagues surrounding me have foundation laid for them. Rivers State, is he talking of building a Government House? No. Akwa Ibom, Imo have secretariats. So, you see, mine is just bare, nothing is there. And you can’t compare a person who is starting afresh with someone who has gone far. So that is the problem.

So, how were you able to do these projects in spite of the challenges you have enumerated and even without borrowing?
You have to cut your coat according to your size. First, it’s not true that I’m not going to borrow money, I will, if I have to in order to complete all the ongoing projects. I don’t want to leave any abandoned projects. I will. The banks are coming, giving us offers, but let me manage first; I don’t want to infect our state because we have suffered enough.

I inherited a bill of N29 billion even though my predecessor said he left a clean bill of health for me.  I went to the Ministry of  Finance to get details which include the sum of N26 million which we are owing The Sun newspapers. The chairmen that were on boards then left a bill of N2.9 billion for me as unpaid salaries. I’m still paying for all these debts; I’ve paid off most of them.

So, I don’t want to do this for anyone coming after me. If I’m going to leave any debt at all, it will be a manageable debt which can be cleared quickly. If I didn’t inherit this N29 billion debt, it would have solved a lot of problem for us.  But I had to pay it; I had to start paying debts before doing other things.

On the bond issue, I attended one seminar where the then CBN governor, Soludo advised state governors to go to the bond market, I went. But that was the time I had a tough time in the state with allegations flying about that I wanted to transfer money out of the country; for this, I left it; it became a challenge to me. I said let me show them that I’m not only a manager of human beings, I could also manage resources, I could also manage money and that is what I have done.

Besides what you have done so far, what else do you have in the pipeline for the people of the state?
Yes, I will tell you the projects I’ve not done. Why we are concentrating on roads is because our people are passionate about roads. To them, road is all and all, they use it to assess governments; if you are building roads, they say you are a performing governor, they don’t look at other sectors but the other sectors are very, very essential.

If you go to Abia State University Teaching Hospital (ABUTH), you see the auditorium we are building for capacity building for our students. We want to train them as number one health institution. And in terms of programmes on HIV, tuberculosis, diabetes which we partner with foreigners; they come here and meet our people.

We are fighting polio; Abia is one of the states that don’t have polio. So, we make sure our people are healthy. That is on the health sector.

On education, that is where we excel really.
Of course, you know Abia people are intelligent; we have institutions of higher learning and we are funding them handsomely and paying their salary; the new salary, not the old one but the new university scale. And as of May, we have repaired more than 400 primary schools that were dilapidated since the war. We have repaired them, we have furnished them, we have equipped them. The scheme is ASOPADEC.

You know we are an oil producing state. When we get our 13 percent derivation, there is a law we made; we have shifted some money to ASOPADEC to carry out rural development.

We are also repairing schools, repairing roads, providing water, providing electricity. So, while the state government is doing its own part, ASOPADEC is also doing its own.

Our students, when you get to Nigerian Law School, check out, at least from 2007 when I came on board, the best graduating students, at least an Abia daughter or son will be among them. The same thing with Medical School , an Abia daughter or son must be among the best graduating students.