Abia State Commissioner for Local government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Charles Ogbonnaya, speaks with Special Correspondent, ONWUKWE EZERU, on his plan for a reformed council administration in the state, among other issues.
Pledge for a reformed local government system in Abia and current situation
When I came here, the first thing I did was to organise series of meetings with the stakeholders in the local government system. They include National Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) members, the apex body of local government workers, heads of service and Treasurers of Local Government (TLGs), Local Government Service Commission (LGSC) and finally with the education secretaries. The essence of the meeting was to look at developments in the local government. First was the wage bill that was so high in the local government system, except pensions. When we probed into the system, we were able to identify that there were people who collected salary without working for it. There were also many people who were in the employ of the local government system with fake certificates. So we have started something. In Umuahia South, we discovered 11 ghost workers who had been collecting salary. We also saw somebody who works in Amachara General Hospital on Grade Level 13 and at the same time working in Umuahia South on Level 14. In Umuahia North, about 15 of them were discovered. There, too, we discovered a staff of Immigration Services in Umuahia who is also on the payroll in Umuahia North. Also a policeman who received salary in Umuahia North was discovered. There were people who were teaching in Imo State and at the same time were teaching and collecting salary here in Abia. These were some of the things we uncovered.
I am a product of the local government system; whatever that will bring sanity in the system, I will do it.
Doing away with the biometric system in the local government system that was intended to check ghost workers in the system
In 2014, when the government decided to introduce the e-payment system, I was one of those that condemned it because ghost workers would be paid through the bank. Some traders receive alert when they are not LG workers. For me, I am an analog person who believes in paying staff I can see. I should know you, your office and department before I can hand over pay packet to you.
What is biometric? Clock in and go out for private business, only to come back in the evening to clock out. I said no to this system. To correct this, I have introduced the card system where staff would sign and the time keeper watches. Staff are checked even in the afternoon. The era of getting unmerited salary in Abia LG system is gone.
I have informed Governor Okezie Ikpeazu of these discoveries. By what we are doing, the wage bill will go down. Another problem is that there was no checks and balances in the local government system. Who checks who? No discipline. A lot of revenue windows are available, but nobody cares, and the focus is on the federal allocation.
Reflecting on Abia governorship election
Let me start by thanking God for where we are today. You know, in Nigeria usually, after elections there must be petitions and tribunal is set. In the past, election petitions stopped at the Appeal Court; but now, the Supreme Court is the last journey of governorship petitions. Nothing has happened that one would say is a surprise. It is the usual thing we can see in election. Before, the Appeal Court sitting in Owerri took its decision, we shouted foul against the selection of a panel in Appeal Court from one judicial division, but nobody listened to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and at the end of the day the Appeal Court nullified the election of Okezie Ikpeazu. I am happy that the Supreme Court in Abuja saw things as they were, and hence its verdict in favour of PDP. The problem we have is over-ambition which people bring into politics. Under normal condition, if one loses election, one should accept defeat and wait for another dispensation; but in Nigeria, it is not so.
In the wisdom of our founding fathers, we in Abia sat down and agreed that governorship must be zoned among the three senatorial zones. Immediately Abia was created, Abia North took the first slot. When Ebonyi State was created (partly out of Abia), Orji Uzor Kalu from the same Abia North ruled (Abia). At that time, Prince Vincent Ogbulafor, who contested with him and failed, wanted to go to court, but Abia elders stepped in and stopped him and he obeyed. Senator Theodore Orji took over from Kalu and ruled for eight years for the slot of Abia Central. When the tenure of Orji elapsed, it became the turn of Abia South, but Dr. Alex Otti from Arochukwu insisted on running.
For Otti of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) to have claimed that he was from Ngwa to enable him become the governor of Abia State was wrong. Even at that, the Isialangwa North he was claiming to have come from is in Abia Central. So politics should not be a do-or-die affair.
PDP confident before Supreme Court judgement
I don’t know, but I believe that everybody in Abia was into prayers and God was ready to hear our prayers. May be that gave our party the confidence.
Message to Otti
My message is that he who fights and runs away lives to fight another day. Otti is a young man that has age on his side. After Ikpeazu’s eight years and the governorship slot goes to Abia North, he can contest. He comes from Arochukwu in Abia North. After Ikpeazu’s eight years, if the senatorial zone says he should come out, fine. When he won the Appeal Court petition, he celebrated it in Arochukwu and well-meaning Nigerians attended. His Local Government of Origin certificate read Arochukwu. Why denying his local government of origin?
Year 2019 and expectations of PDP considering the last election and the Supreme Court judgments
PDP will have problem because of the attitude of the ruling party on PDP chieftains. All allegations of corruption were against PDP governors and members just to tarnish the image of the party before the electorate. The campaign against corruption is targeted at PDP. All the governors and PDP chieftains who defected to APC were not arrested and none of them was accused. The ruling party wants to rubbish PDP that had done a lot for the nation.
PDP will re-strategise and clean itself before 2019 election. I am sure we will win because Nigerians have confidence in the party. President Muhammadu Buhari as a person is good, but the All Progressives Congress (APC) used him to win election. APC as a party has no respect for the rule of law.
