Governor Alex Otti of Abia State and members of his cabinet on Monday presented their scorecards after three years in office, with health, education, and infrastructure development emerging as priority sectors.
Mr Otti, who was sworn in as governor in May 2023, made the presentation alongside his commissioners during a special anniversary Executive Council meeting with various Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) of the government on Monday.
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Details of the event were contained in a statement by his spokesperson, Ukoha Njoku, on Monday.
Otti speaks
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Speaking at the meeting, Mr Otti thanked God for the “milestone” achieved by his administration in the last three years of its inception.
The governor stressed that the milestones cut across all sectors, including health, road infrastructure, education, technology, power, and public utilities.
He praised members of his cabinet for aligning with his administration’s vision in carrying out their assignments in various MDAs.
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Mr Otti urged them not to rest on their oars but to ensure that any area where the government has not measured up to expectations is given attention.
From health to education sectors
The state commissioners separately made their presentations, highlighting achievements in their ministries.
Commissioner for Health in Abia State, Enoch Ogbonnaya-Uche, commended Governor Otti for his special interest and commitment to healthcare delivery in the state, which he said has led to the upgrading of medical and health facilities across the state.
Mr Ogbonnaya-Uche, a professor of neurosurgery, listed some of the projects in the health sector, including the Abia State University Teaching Hospital, the Abia State Specialist Hospital, and the ongoing upgrade of Amachara General Hospital to a specialist hospital.
Others were the ongoing upgrade of the Umunnato General Hospital to a specialist hospital, the ongoing reconstruction of seven general hospitals across the state, the rehabilitation and functionalisation of three cottage hospitals across Aba, Umuahia and Nkporo and the retrofitting of Primary Healthcare Centres across the 184 electoral wards in the state, among other medical interventions.
Also speaking, the Commissioner for Tertiary Education, Emeh Uche, said Otti’s administration met “a shattered and dilapidated tertiary education,” with non-payment of salaries and accreditation lost in some tertiary institutions in the state.
According to him, some of the institutions that battled non-payment of salaries and lost accreditation were Abia State College of Education, Technical, Arochukwu; Abia State University; and Ogbonnaya Onu Polytechnic, Aba.
However, Mrs Uche, a professor, said a lot has been done over the last three years to reverse the ugly narratives and emphasised that the Ministry of Tertiary Education’s major achievement was the infrastructural upgrade in tertiary institutions.
She further informed the cabinet members at the meeting that the first Sports Fiesta was organised for students of all the tertiary institutions in the state.
The education commissioner expressed pleasure that the relocation of Ogbonnaya Onu Polytechnic to the permanent campus at Osisioma Area of the state has started, adding that enrollment at the polytechnic has increased from 3,000 to about 15,000 students.
On his part, the Commissioner for Works, Otumchere Oti, said in his presentation that the government’s projects carried out over the last three years included both direct labour and duly contracted works.
Mr Oti listed some flagship projects of the administration, including the Port Harcourt Road in Aba, the Omenuko Bridge, and the expanded six-lane Aguiyi Ironsi Boulevard, among others.
He commended the governor for providing access and connectivity within the cities and between communities, easing the movement of goods and services.
The works commissioner enumerated a total of 414 roads completed by his ministry, the Greater Aba Development Authority (GADA), and the Greater Ohafia Development Authority (GODA), through direct Labour and contract.
GADA is an agency of the state government created to oversee the infrastructural and socio-economic transformation of Aba, while GODA is a similar agency established to ensure balanced and rapid development across the Abia North District, especially in Ohafia.
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Also speaking, the Commissioner of Lands in the state, Chaka Chukwumerije, said digitisation and modernisation of land administration processes have been done to improve service timelines, public sensitisation campaigns, and reforms targeted at transparency and efficiency in land management.
Mr Chukwumerije told the cabinet members that the government has embarked on the recovery of existing layouts, opening up of new layouts, land acquisition, acquisition of Abia Airport land, which is about 1026 hectares of land, issuance of C of O in 30 days, among others
On his part, the Commissioner for Power and Public Utilities, Ikechukwu Monday, said the government has restored power to over 100 communities in Ukwa land and has paid off accumulated electricity bills owed by previous administrations in the MDAs.
Mr Monday also said the government has restored power supply to over 32 MDAs, set up the Abia State Electricity Regulatory Authority, and granted more licences to power operators to open up the electricity market, among others.
In their contributions, the Commissioner for Information, Okey Kanu, the Principal Secretary to the governor and the Chief Strategy Officer of the Government, Chinenye Mba-Uzukwu, appreciated the level of progress achieved so far by the Governor Otti-led administration.
The officials highlighted some of the administration’s strides in soft infrastructure and reforms, saying the various reforms of Governor Otti have changed the narratives in the state.
They added that people on their own are testifying to the positive turnaround in the state.
According to them, it was the first time the state had seen a governor generally loved by the people.
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