On Monday, July 6, Abia State governor, Okezie Ikpeazu, spoke on his achievements so far and future plans for the people. Special Correspondent ONWUKWE EZERU, captured the session.
Self-appraisal and way forward
I have barely stayed one month in office and intend to make appraisal of my achievements.
I want to emphasise here that I have done very well in the past one month of my stay in office, despite the economic meltdown in Nigeria and the world at large. All of us know that the dwindling oil prices threw up challenges and in Abia State our response is, which way forward?
We are mindful of decayed infrastructure here and there which, of course, is not peculiar to Abia, as well as payment of salaries and wages. However, my administration has put in place policies that would chart a new course in Abia. We have come to the conclusion that we are going to start with the economy of the state.
In doing so, we planned our strategy on five pillars: trade and commerce, education, oil and gas and of course agriculture. People should embark on the area where they have comparative advantage. Naturally, Abians are good in trading, commerce and we are endowed with oil, especially in the Ukwa East, West and Ugwunagbo axis of the state. Abia has arable land that is virile and therefore we cannot throw away agriculture. It is our belief that if we run through these pillars and tackle unemployment and industrialisation at the same time, Abia would be returned to the real hub of commercial activities. Aba is the capital of business in Nigeria and there is no doubt about that.
Strategically, my administration has decided to pursue this agenda starting from road infrastructure across the state, with special focus on Aba. Aba is not the only city in Abia. Rather, we see it as a pivot that will drive our economic agenda in the days ahead. This was why on the first day I resumed duty, we flagged off the reconstruction of seven roads in Aba. We are on 22 roads across Abia State. Some of these roads would be completed soon and their drainages would be de-silted. All contractors would lay emphasis on the drainage plan because, it is when the drainage becomes free and water flows, that any road constructed would stand.
We also have strategies on the socio-economy of other projects we are doing and their likely impact on the people. That is why we embark on roads first. Our other challenge is domestic waste management. Our plan was to do about 100 tonnes of waste every day in Aba for 30 days, but we discovered that the waste de-silted was much and we continued. From what we are envisaging, that may continue till December 2015. The reason is that for over 50 years, the drainages in Aba were not given attention. What that means is that the underground tunnels and gutters were blocked and that gave rise to flood. To achieve this, we are going to make de-silting a monthly affair for the next six months, so that we open drainages.
Some of the roads, so to say, are Ehere, Umuola and Ukaegbu. These three roads are interconnected and we have chosen to do them because they are connected to help us in evacuation of waste at Aba. In the next six months, we shall completely adopt the collection of waste from the source and straight to the dump and no more buckets on the road anymore. The roads when completed, will also have street lights to enable waste management agencies evacuate waste in the night.
The waste on Port Harcourt expressway is the output from Ariaria. Ariaria International Market has become too small and has no provision for waste dump.
Within the 100 days, we are embarking on three industrial clusters at the same time. That of Umuahia would be an agro-allied industrial cluster that would process food products. In Aba, it would be for leather and garments and that would commence very soon. The next cluster would be Owaza Gas City.
Abia is more endowed in gas than oil and therefore we want to draw the attention of Nigeria and the world to our rich gas deposits. We intend inviting investors to come and do business. Before long, our leather cluster would produce clothing, shoes and caps for the military and para-military. These products would have “Made in Aba” trademark and the goods would compete with the ones produced by the outside world. This is our mandate.
Unpaid salaries of Abia workers
There is confusion about who is being owed salary in Abia. The regular civil servants are being owed one month and workers of institutions and parastatals are in arrears of four months. Government gives them subvention for them to augment with their internally-generated revenue (IGR). Financial management is dynamic. These institutions collect school fees without telling the government how much they realise, to enable us know how to help. These institutions should come up with the number of students and fees chargeable, and that will help me determine what to give them.
The parastatals and these institutions should also fish out ghost workers in their pay rolls, to reduce cost. Huge expenses on fake workers slow development. Those who are in the racket of fraud should know that their time is up. Biometric data of staff would be ongoing. I am happy the state’s IGR has improved to N600 million monthly. Our target is N1.5 billion.
Illegal structures on waterways
Old Express Road near Ariaria is being dualised and several illegal structures were demolished. In some areas, the owners of the property who appreciated the good work removed the illegal structures themselves.
The policy of the government is to remove illegal property on the right of way. In Aba, a primary school was converted to lock-up shops. This is wrong and I have given order for the demolition of the shops.
Multiple taxation by agents of the state
Our position on multiple taxation is simple. Since tax collection and method attract investors, so does the system by which tax is collected determine who comes to the state for business. The Inland Revenue Service collects taxes. The government has instructed that all taxes should be paid straight to the bank, to avoid financial leakage.
Fund from the past administration
I inherited fund and debts. The beauty of economic management is the ability to manage fund. Despite the economic condition of the state, we will forge ahead. I have inherited assets and should also inherit liability. This is normal in change of government.
Agenda to manage and make good use of degradable waste
Abia State Environmental Protection Agency at Aba, when I was the Deputy General Manager of the zone, started by teaching the students ways of controlling waste. Within the next six months, the government will introduce better and more scientific ways of managing waste. Arrangement would be made to bring in investors who would manage and turn waste into wealth.