Barr. Chris Ezem is the Secretary to Abia state Government, who can be said to be an integral part of the government of Dr Okezie Ikpeazu. Before this time, he served as the T.C. Chairman of Umuahia South Local Government Council. It was after the dissolution of that tenure that he was appointed the Secretary to the Abia state Government.
He interacted with All Facts Newspaper team ( By Chuks Isaiah and Emenike Iroegbu) on various issues affecting the state but discussed more on the performances of the Governor as a true democrat.
What do you think this administration has done to improve governance in the state?
If you ask me what the administration has done in Abia to improve governance, I can say that we have remained focused. Today is the first day of June, which has marked the beginning of our journey into the third year of our second term cumulatively, and the seventh year, when my boss Dr Okezie Ikpeazu was sworn in as the Governor of the state. And if I can take it in the various baskets, let me just start from the political stability. This is the last state that has been politically stable, because you need stability for you to run governance, there has not been one day you talk about any upheaval in the area of the legislature, any change in the hierarchy, or issue between successor and predecessor, the Governor and the Deputy Governor, it has been very harmonious relationship between the Executive, the Legislator and the Judiciary, the Governor and the leadership of the state. We ‘ve had stability at all levels, at the LGA, the state and what we call political stability which has advanced the cause of governance positively.
What has the stability really offered the people of Abia ?
If you look round the state today, you can see the revolutionary infrastructural development in Aba, since the beginning of this year , we ve been doing commissioning from Millerton to Eziukwu, and other places, we ‘ve been commissioning roads in Aba, and I can tell you that the Government has done very well, in terms of infrastructural development, not just in Aba, back to Abia North, back to Abia Central. If the state is not stable, the Governor would not concentrate to do all these things. I am just signing a document now, to allow one of the Construction Companies to work at night even though we have curfew, because they want to do an overlay in Aba. We ve continued to add up to our infrastructural basket in a positive area. You recall sometime in December, Exco met and we flagged 62 roads across the entire state, those 62 roads are progressively being worked and even in our Exco meeting yesterday, we approved another 6 roads for construction so I can tell you that the Governor has to add to the infrastructural bank of the state radically and positively, particularly in Aba area which has helped in the commercial activities there.
Are there other things the Governor has done differently to move Abia forward economically and otherwise?
Do you know that few days ago, Abia was declared the SME Hub of Nigeria because we ve done very well, particularly the Governor has been a staunch campaigner of made in Aba product. Everything he wears from head to toe are made in Aba. Recently we saw him enrolling in a shoe leather factory to learn how to make shoe, am sure he is one or the only Governor in the 36 states that has taken that bold step. You can see our leather factory, in Aba we had all those we sent to China to learn how to make shoe, today we are supplying the police, immigration and recently the Nigerian Breweries. The leather factory has become a talk of the town as I speak to you and we are going a long way to empower most of those entrepreneurs who are involved in that area. The garment factory is doing very well too, we ‘ve trained people in China to learn how to do these things. They can export what they are doing beyond Aba and the shores of Nigeria. In the educational area we ve remain top in WAEC for four years running. You know that our Governor came from Academic constituency, till today he still lectures, even when we had the COVID 19 lockdown, Governor was still going to the radio to teach. We have done over 600 schools within different LGAs, under basic education, all to ensure that we give qualitative and quantitative education to our people.
Could you throw light on what the Government has done on the area of Health and Agriculture?
In the Health area, we are not doing badly, Cottage hospitals are going on round, you could see our reactions and responses during COVID 19 Pandemic, our causality rate was very low, though we lost some lives but our responsiveness with respect to the status of our medical facilities was able to help us to respond to that situation. We are doing the mother and child hospital, which is being built around Umuahia South area. We equally have one of the Cottage hospitals in Nkporo, it is due for commissioning. So we ‘ve put in a lot in the area of health and ensuring that we respond to the needs of Abians and those resident here as it affects medical facilities.
On the area of Agriculture, we are not lacking behind, we ve done everything within that area to ensure that we respond to the need of this period as we know that we now have to look the other way from oil and think out of the box to ensure that we develop other sources of revenue.
We ‘ve been looking at the area of Agriculture, accessing those counterpart fund we need to develop that particular area from CBN and other views. I know what our state is doing for farmers to support the need to provide equipment under the agricultural funds that are available within the CBN, to ensure that we start supporting our food basket and developing alternative sources of income beyond what we get from Federal Government.
Really I can tell you clearly that this government has not done badly in all areas, you can find their finger prints everywhere, you see the flyover in Aba, very soon we shall be commissioning it , I know in the next two months we will commission it and that will ease out the kind of traffic you have going to porthacourt and into Aba. If you say I should score us, I will score us very good and excellent.
Could you kindly describe the Governor in one language?
I don’t think I will be able to describe my boss in one language, I will say, that he is an amiable young man, intelligent, academic and native combined together, disciplined, a rare model who has a listening ear, a team player, he is a man who goes out for solution, he is not daunted by problems, he believes if you work with him, always be there to find a solution, not looking at the problems. He is somebody I will always like to work with because you learn a lot from him. He gives very positive, direct and instructive leadership, because what makes you to always see a leader you learn from at every point in time you find in him. If your argument is okay, fine, otherwise, he will give you superior argument and you will see reasons why that he has a superior argument. He is a good leader, yes, a good leader, anytime any day a good leader.
What has he done or is doing to secure the people of Abia under the present circumstance of insecurity in the state?
The primary responsibility of Government is the security of lives and property and as a government we won’t shy away from that responsibility. My Governor is never daunted by problems rather he goes for solution which may be proactive, direct or dialogue. He is always finding a way out, I am not surprised that that is the impression people are having out there out, that he is always managing things well. We have a very daisy situation in our hands and at this point in time, it is a period you add wisdom and understanding, bringing them together to bare to see how we can get to the point where everybody will be happy. The major point is that life and property remains the responsibility of government and Government should at all-time rise to that challenge.
When one goes into the social media, you see a lot of negative things being written about the state government , are you not bothered about this development?
How can I when I know that these are the handiwork of political jobbers, there are people who have decided not to see anything good about the administration Okezie Ikpeazu, all you do to such people is to ignore them. Recently the Nigerian Guild of Editors were in Abia and went to Aba, and many other places like Enyimba city and economic city, when they left, they were impressed, they said that some of the things they see in social media are not reflective of what is on ground . Those who are not narrow minded will see that the Governor is doing his very best in all the circumstances. It is just that the last two years have not been very easy, going from COVID to End SARS and to where we are today. It has been a very trying periods and in this trying periods? Government has been trying its best to meet its challenges.
What type of government do you think your principal will like to leave behind?
The Governor intends to leave legacy and indelible foot prints, very soon, we will start taking stocks, and at the end of the day, you will see that under the prevailing circumstance, an eight years that was be-labored with various litigations and court cases, and two years engulfed with COVID to End SARS, and now to insecurity, the Government can still raise its head high to say that it has done well.
What is Your call to Abia citizens.
They should always know that this is a government they voted for, and should give their unflinching support. End
