Amidst some criticism against governor Alex Otti administration’s operations in Abia state, he has asserted that though governance is not an easy job, is a continuum, disclosing that his administration inherited N60 billion unpaid retired workers gratuities, but that he operates with humanness.
He said that while his administration frowns at lies, and welcomes constructive criticisms, implementation of statutory stipulations is effectively being without looking at peoole’s faces.
Speaking Friday night during his November monthly interaction with the media tagged ” Governor Otti Speaks to Abians”, he noted that there are those who like what his administration is doing, and those who do not.
He said some of those who did like them in one way or the other expressed themselves, doing so is part of the beauty of democracy,
He declared ” Governance is not a very easy job, but it is a job we are assigned to do, and we must do it.
We welcome criticisms, particularly when they are constructive. We also frown at lies. And unfortunately, the so-called opposition in this state has perfected telling lies, some of them to their own shame and embarrassment because our people are not blind”.
The governor encouraged the majority that he said ” like what we are doing, and want the progress of the state not to be deterred by the very infinitesimal tiny minority who either want to be recognized or want to constitute some nuisance, or those who are planning for something, and want to draw attention. But we cannot however say that we have gotten everything right”
Pointing out that Rome was not built in a day, he noted that his administration still has the mandate of the people for another one year and six months adding ” If it pleases God, our mandate will be renewed, of course, by the power of our well-meaning people who are in the majority”.
He flaunted some of the palpable results of his administration’s activities to include issuance of Land Certificate -of -Occupancy ( C-of-O ) within 30 days after an application is filed.
” We had as at Friday, within the past two years rolled out and issued about 3,562 Land certificates of occupancy, each within 30 days after application. The whole idea is to unlock value that were hitherto locked by the difficulty in issuing certificates of occupancy” adding that the processing has been automated such that as soon as they gets to him, it’s easy to sign them and be issued”.
He also said that efforts have also been intensified to ensure that those who are running the government pay up what they are owing and or owed stressing that
” as a government that does not discriminate, we do not look at the faces. That is why anyone who is owing would get visited by the State Harmonized Tax Force.
” We have even followed the process, including going to court to get a court order. As a rule, we do not move in without first issuing demand notices, and also getting a court order. Once in a while, we can intervene.
” But even when we intervene, the culprit must pay. We have had to intervene in a few cases because we are also a government with a humane face. It is not our objective to have our people suffer”
Arguing that Government cannot do all the things it is doing without receiving adequate compensation, he said that if government did not create the prosperity, it would have no moral right or justification to ask or demand for legitimate taxes/levies.
On the gratuities owed retired public servants since 2001, which his administration inherited, hence governance is a continuum, he said that the committee the state set up between the National Body of the Nigerian Union of Pensioners and members of the administration has just handed in the report about outstanding gratuities.
” It is disheartening that gratuities have remained outstanding since 2001. The total verified outstanding is in excess of sixty (60) billion naira, a large sum incurred dating back to over 20 years ago.
” We have always maintained that the government is a continuum. Whatever you are handed over, you deal with it. Whether it is asset or liability, you pick all of them. We are not afraid to work out a solution in spite of who incurred the debts. One thing I would like to assure the pensioners is that their gratuity will be paid gradually, since we have said so”.
Reporting on the advertised vacancy for 4,000 new teachers, he said that the recruitment Portal was opened two weeks ago, and that a total of 27,980 applications have been received.
” We will go through the process like we did during the previous recruitment of over 5,000, and ensure that the recruitment is transparently done. One thing I would like to assure our people is that the process cannot be manipulated”.
WRITTEN BY GORDI UDEAJAH
