Daily Independent (Lagos)
Ben Duru
12 January 2009
Accountability has been described as a major ingredient which oils the wheel of democracy. Its absence in the system equates it with other forms of government based on the idiosyncrasies of men, which gives birth to the axiom that the worst democracy is better than the most benevolent military dictatorship.
As a result, political watchers blame the seemingly insurmountable demon of corruption at all levels of the public service nationwide to lack of accountability in governance, despite anti-corruption slogans and agencies.
Pundits also trace the protection of some highly placed officials from being apprehended to answer for the sleaze they have allegedly committed to absence of accountability in the system.
However, while some governors have largely remained lord of the manor, others are trying their best to change the status quo so as to command the respect of their people through proper accountability. Unlike in the past when some state governors published the Income and Expenditure of their governments without a commensurate breakdown of where and what these funds were expended, some are now giving their scorecards sector by sector.
The Chief Executive of Abia State, Governor Theodore Ahamefule Orji, belongs to this latter category. In his New Year broadcast, he x-rayed the focus of his administration in 2009 as well as the achievements in the past year. This is seen by political analysts as a step in the right direction, especially given the mounting opposition against it. In the state broadcast titled 'Precept upon Precept, Line upon Line' expressed optimism that the future holds a lot of promises for the state and her people. His words: "Exactly a year ago, I addressed the state wherein I enumerated the multiplicity of projects we had completed within the seven months we had been in office and those we hoped to complete in the near future. It is my good pleasure to inform you that most of those projects that were categorised as on-going in January 2008 have since been completed while a whole lot more projects have been commenced and have attained advanced stages of completion. I did inform you from the onset of our administration that I will strive at all times to be open and honest with you as far as it concerns our activities in government. This resolve stems from two cardinal principles. The first is because as the custodians of the mandate to govern you, we owe it to you all as a duty to constantly keep you abreast of what we have done with the mandate you entrusted in our care.
"The second reason is to eliminate or drastically minimise the debilitating effect of rumour mongering and negative propaganda in the state.
"Unfortunately, we have an opposition that has perfected the art of negative and destructive rumour mongering; and it is only when you are fully informed and keep abreast of the activities and intentions of government that you can be insulated from that vicious cycle. I am proud to report to you that we have been providing focused, purpose-driven and value-oriented service to the people of Abia State since the inauguration of our administration in May 2007. (Last year), 2008 was for us a particularly challenging year and by the grace of God, the year we resolved with unshakeable faith to give our all to the service of our people and leave posterity to judge our performance."
According to the governor, road construction and rehabilitation was the most active sector with the construction and completion of many roads and others still on-going and that the main objective is not only to beautify the state but also provide access to the rural communities in the 17 local government areas for the movement of goods and services and, that, whereas some of these rural roads cut across several council areas, others have hitherto constituted death traps to motorists and other road users. Some of these roads under construction are the Okigwe-Ohafia Road; the Ndi-Okereke - Ozu-Abam Road, the Amankalu-Alayi-Akoli-Imenyi Road, the Isuikwuato-Nunya Road, the Aba-Obikabia Road, the Umugo-Alaoji-Umunka-Umuodo-Ugwunagbo Road, the Ntigha-Nbawsi Road, the Nkata-Alaike-Umukabia Road, the Amaogwugwu-Umukabia-Umuekwule Road, the Isieke-Okwuta-Ahiaeke Road, the Nkata-Isiadu-Amaeke Road, the Umueze-Agbo-Ubani Ibeku Road, the Nkata-Mbom Road, the Okpara-Ofeme Road, the Enyiukwu-Afara Road, the Uwalaka-Ahia Orie Ugba Road, the Ahii-Isiama Afara Road, the Ibeku Road Extension, the Ihechiowa-Amuvi Road, the Mkporobe-Ohanku Road, the Ovim-Isuikwuato Road, the Iyienyi-Okwoi-Ozuitem Road, the Umuafai-Ndume Road, three internal roads in Ossa: the Osisioma Ring-Road and the Achara-Ihechiowa Road.
"The Amankalu-Alayi-Akoli-Imenyi Road for instance is a difficult-terrain road due to the clay texture of the soil there and the fact that most of the area is marsh land. The government has however at considerable cost, scooped out the clay soil, replaced it with regular soil and reclaimed most of the marshy area before constructing the road thereby guaranteeing the longevity of the road. This is in addition to the rehabilitation of federal roads in Abia State which has seen to the massive reconstruction of the Aba-Owerri Road, the Aba-Port-Harcourt Road and the Aba - Ikot-Ekpene Road which had hitherto remained impassable. We have also just awarded the contract for the rehabilitation of the Ohafia-Arochukwu Road which has remained dilapidated for decades now. The contractors for the project have moved into site and work has commenced in earnest.
"Also receiving attention in Aba is the Ezeogo Road, Okwu Avenue, Ikonne Street, Ngozi Avenue, the dualisation of Faulks Road, Uratta Road, Old Express Road linking Faulks Road to Uratta Road, internal roads in Ariaria International Market, internal roads at the Timber Market and the Ulonna Road.
"In Umuahia, I am proud to announce to you that the dualisation of the Abia-Tower - Okpara Square Road is virtually complete with streetlights currently being mounted and fresh asphalt being laid on the roads. The Link Road between World Bank Housing Estate and Aba Road as well as the link Road between Afara and Aba Road has been completed. Also in Umuahia, the state government has rehabilitated dilapidated federal roads, which were causing major hold-ups (traffic snarl) in the city. These are the Ikot-Ekpene Road especially at the World Bank-Ehimiri Axis and the BCA Junction. Also repaired is the stretch of bad spot on Aba Road."
In the area of transport, the governor explained that the introduction of the Abia City Transport Scheme was not only aimed at providing jobs for the teeming population but to further reduce, if not eliminate, the perennial problem of lack of township buses and taxis to serve the needs of the people and visitors to the state. He said that so far about 125 taxis have been introduced alongside 100 buses in the first phase of the programme, awaiting the second phase while the state transport corporation have been boosted with additional buses and manpower - all in an effort to serve the people better.
In the area of public utilities, his administration has performed more creditably than people had envisaged.
"In the area of street lighting in Abia State, not only have we sustained the street lights in areas where they were installed, several streets have since been linked to the scheme and, at the moment, virtually every street in Umuahia is lighted at night while Aba is gradually being implemented. The streetlights provide the dual services of beautification of the state at night while also serving as a security measure to check the menace of criminals who hide under the cover of darkness to perpetrate sinister acts.
"In addition, we have intensified our drive towards rural electrification by distributing transformers to about 100 communities in Abia State to ensure that they are connected to the National Electricity Grid. We are also vigorously partnering with Geometric Power Incorporated to ensure the speedy realisation of the Aba Independent Power Project. The project has attained 85 per cent completion and I am excited to announce to Abians that your state will make history as the first state in Nigeria to enjoy uninterrupted power supply as soon as the project comes on stream in April."
As for education, Orji told Abians of the reactivation of the scholarship board last year and the handing out of about N10 million bursary grant at N10, 000 each to 1,000 students of Abia origin, and that more funds have been set aside for the board to disburse to the students in 2009 adding that the tuition free education policy inherited from his predecessor has been sustained alongside the free bus scheme and that subventions to tertiary institutions in the state have also been upped leading to improvement in accreditation of courses with the sum of N200 million being spent on the renovation of primary and post primary schools across the three senatorial districts. In the area of environment, his administration has been able to tackle the embarrassment it caused the state. Continuing the governor said contracts for the evacuation of filths from the commercial city of Aba had to be terminated following the inability of the contractor to fulfill the terms of agreement and that a new contract has already been signed for more effective refuse collection and disposal.
The governor also explained that the agriculture sector has not been left out as a lot of in-roads have been made taking into cognisance the place of the sector in the face of downturn in the price of oil in the international market. According to him, the first batch of students in the state's Youth in Agriculture Initiative have graduated, making Abia the first, nationwide, to graduate students in the scheme which aim, he said, is to encourage youths to take to agriculture as a sure means of achieving their objectives in life and living above poverty line as well as providing food for the state and for export.
He recalled that one of the major earners before the oil boom, cocoa, has remained top on the agenda of the his administration and that the state has not only participated in all cocoa programmes locally and nationally but that farmers are being encouraged, through the setting up of co-operative societies, to make more progress from their produce.
The governor revealed that Abia has been granted the hosting rights of the Cocoa Day event scheduled to hold in March, and that it would make the state first in the entire South East to perform such a feat, adding that this is in recognition of the efforts of the present administration in taking issues concerning cocoa farming seriously.
"You will all agree with me that the emphasis for any forward-thinking government at this point in time should be on how to create an economy that will not be dependent on the allocations from the Federation Account. It is in line with this mindset that we have wholeheartedly provided the needed fillip for the revving up of our tourism industry in Abia State.
As a show of our seriousness, we have just concluded the Ugwu Abia Cultural Festival, the first time the festival will be held in eight years. We intend for it to be an annual event and we are currently receiving proposals from tourism experts on how to host cultural carnivals in Abia State annually. Like you all know, the Azumini Blue River is an international tourist centre recognised by the United Nations. The resort has, however, been allowed to run to seed due to years of mismanagement and neglect. Today, a contract has been signed with CEM 2000 Consortium to take over the resort and build a world-class tourist centre there. Preliminary paperwork is being tidied up pursuant to the commencement of work on the site. The revenue that will accrue to the state from tourism activities at the centre along with its attendant ripple effect can only be imagined.
We have equally ceded the Arochukwu Long Juju to private tourism developers who will be required to develop the site into a world class tourism destination."
On security the governor was of the view that a lot of achievement has been recorded but that the major focus of the administration in 2009 would be how to tackle the issue of kidnap for ransom, which he said was a strange development that has embarrassed not only the polity but the government itself.
"As I speak to you, we have given security formations in Abia State a total of 55 Security Patrol vans to enhance detection and prevention of crime in the state. We have equally set up the Abia State Vigilante Services by an act of the House of Assembly to assist the police in apprehending criminal elements in our state. The dimension that we are concentrating fully on now is the aspect of kidnap-for-ransom, a strange development that has crept into the Abia polity. We have instituted far-reaching measures with the collaboration of security agencies, governments at all levels, traditional rulers, age grades and village groups to curtail this alien innovation. I make bold to state that we have recorded huge successes at great human and material loss in the fight, but we shall not relent until these hoodlums seek another location for their nefarious activities."
The effect of the presentation of his scorecard at the beginning of the year is yet to be felt, especially from the opposition group which many has described as a vehicle to put the necessary checks and balances in place, but suffice it to say that it is a step in the right direction and capable of dousing some tension especially as these facts presented are verifiable.
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