By Onyekachi Ikenna
ABIA State appears to be in a hurry to show seriousness at the grassroots. Recently, the Governor, Dr. Alex Chioma Otti, did something spectacular by enlisting notable big men to serve as mayors in the state’s 17 councils.
Citizens and residents of Abia were thrilled when well-heeled businessmen like Dr. David Ogba Onuoha-Bourdex and Ide John Udeagbala accepted to serve the people at the grassroots. With that Otti could be said to have raised the bar in the quality of leadership to expect at the council level.
It is, therefore, interesting to note that in a space of five calendar months, despite the tantrums from the opposition, the Abia State chief executive has emerged as the toast of good governance advocates in the South East geopolitical zone.
Citizens of the state, particularly residents of the commercial city, Aba, have been singing the governor’s praises for what they consider his administration’s drive for excellent performance in the area of infrastructure.
Plaudits for the Abia State governor have been pouring not only on account of what the people describe as his impressive and progressive steps in the right direction but above all for tackling the near total lack of good governance in the South East zone in the last 24 years.
With the exception of former Anambra State governor, Mr. Peter Obi, none of the five South East governors was credited with all-round credible performance in all indices. In Enugu State, where Sullivan Chime pursued his four-point agenda, the overhang of insecurity and years of squalor that preceded and succeeded his tenure put the state back.
In Imo State, which crossed over from the years of iberiberism to the Ben Johnson interlude of insecurity and uncertainty, the citizens continue in nostalgia for the glorious Dee Sam Mbakwe years. For Ebonyi State, the mammoth provision of infrastructure projects, especially roads and bridges, which defined the Dave Umahi years eclipsed the dire need for human capital development and social welfare.
It was against that background that recent developments in Abia State under Otti’s watch have elicited positive reviews. The former bank executive demonstrated by his activities within the last five months that, in his administration, opportunity actually met with preparedness.
The governor has widened the scope of his administration’s developmental strides by doing something spectacularly different for grassroots governance. Since the 1976 local government reforms initiative, governance at the grassroots had been a mixed bag of political expedience and partisan fancy.
In the South East, where the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) held sway for a greater part of the last 24 years, local government councils had remained centres for political party mobilization and ready source of slush funds to cater for sundry godfather interests.
But in his determination to institutionalise good governance in Abia State, Otti decided to change the status and stature of local council administration in the state. Otti proved sceptics wrong recently by appointing a total of high networth individuals to man the 17 local government councils of the state as mayors.
Although the mayors are to occupy the offices as transitional committee (TC) chairmen, a strong statement had already been made about the caliber of individuals that should aspire to be the custodians of grassroots governance in the state.
Speaking during a stakeholder engagement in Aba, the governor had hinted that his administration plans to change the narrative in local government chairmanship, stressing that under his watch the local government councils should no longer be places for political thugs, human rats and locusts to hibernate.
On November 5, 2023, the governor confirmed his words by appointing the following persons: Dr. Elelenta Nwambuisi Elele (Isiala Ngwa South LGA); Mr. Newman Azu (Ukwa West LGA); Chief Joe Ezearu (Arochukwu LGA); Mr. Obike Ejike Nnochiri (Umuahia LGA); Mr. Cyril Nwankwo (Isiala Ngwa North LGA); Mr. Ndubuisi Ike (Umunneochi LGA); Air Vice Marshal Chinwendu Onyike, rtd (Isuikuwuato LGA); and Mr. Osinachi H. Nwaka (Ikwuano LGA).
Others are Barrister Chijioke Nwankwo (Bende LGA); Chief (Dr.) David Onuoha-Bourdex (Ohafia); Dr. Eric Egwuibe (Obingwa LGA); Comrade Nosike Ihesiaba (Ugwunagbo LGA); Dr. (Mrs.) Ngozi Nwagbara (Ukwa East LGA); Chief Victor Ikeji (Umuahia North LGA); Mr. Uchechukwu Wogu (Aba South LGA); Ide John Udeagbala (Aba North LGA); and Engr. Israel Nweke (Osisioma Ngwa LGA).
In a public service announcement, the Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Prince Uzor Nwachukwu, said the list of the nominees for local government transition council chairmen/mayors and their deputies had been transmitted to the Abia State House of Assembly for screening and confirmation as required by the law.
From this calibre of persons nominated into the chairmanship positions, it is evident that Otti is resolute in his determination to apply common sense in serving “God’s Own State” as its chief executive. Coming barely weeks after the governor opened talks with neighbouring Akwa Ibom State for the development of the Ibawa seaport, Otti has shown that team-building is crucial to the sustenance of good governance.
Otti’s resolve is buoyed by the extra mile and rigour he travelled and applied in fishing for capable hands to build a formidable team in Abia State. For instance, he brought a specialist who owns Tekedia Institute from the USA to head the team liaising with Akwa Ibom for the Ibawa Seaport.
Similar ingenuity was brought to bear in the composition of the TC chairmen/mayors. It was not a mean feat to drag the founder of Bourdex Telecoms, Chief (Dr.) Onuoha-Bourdex, from his palatial $50 million mansion in Michigan, USA, to serve as the mayor of Ohafia.
The import of drafting such a humongous wealth creator into grassroots governance would not be lost on those who had lost hope that things would ever get better at the local government councils in the South East. There is no doubt that the spirit of philanthropy, which people like Bourdex have exuded, would pander to the greater social benefit of the citizens as they deliver more than full value to governance.
Without doubt, Bourdex’s membership of the Abia State Governor’s Transition Committee, where he served as the chairman of the Sub-Committee on Economic Transformation and Poverty Reduction, must have convinced Otti to saddle him with additional assignment, instead of allowing the billionaire businessman to return to the comfort of his US home.
In recognition of his sacrifice and acceptance to serve, the Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate in the 2023 election, Mr. Peter Obi, congratulated the chairman and founder of Bourdex Group Ltd, describing the Abiriba-born business mogul as a “good and patriotic Nigerian.”
Also, for Ide John Udeagbala, Governor Otti could be said to have killed two birds with one pebble. The governor has squelched the deleterious discriminatory slur of non-indigeneship, which has been at the root of silent schism among Igbo in Southeast.
Applying the Igbo saying that ebe onye bii, ka-ona awachi (one’s abode is one’s area of influence/impact), Governor Otti maintains that Igbo unity is crucial to solving the socio-economic challenges of Southeast.
What is more, Udeagbala’s enlistment as Mayor of Aba, the commercial/industrial hub of the Southeast, would energise the Local Government’s effort at revenue generation, citizens’ inclusivity and mainstreaming of government policies.
As these eminent personalities get ready to take their oaths of office, it is obvious that Governor Alex Otti has caused all eyes to turn to Abia State for precepts and rekindling of confidence in grassroots governance.
•Ikenna, a public policy analyst, writes from Abuja