By Ihechinyere Chigemeri-Uwom
Gov. Alex Otti of Abia on Sunday promised prudent management of the available state resources to the benefit of the people and development of the state.
Otti made the promise in a statewide broadcast to commemorate the 32nd anniversary of the creation of the state.
The state was created on Aug. 27, alongside Enugu, Delta, Jigawa, Kebbi, Osun, Kogi, Taraba and Yobe.
He urged residents to support his administration’s “Rebuilding Agenda” to further drive socio-economic development in the state, by diligently paying their taxes and other statutory fees.
“I pledge to remain prudent in the management of your resources and do hereby assure you that accountability and responsibility shall remain central to my administration.
“Your resources shall be used to work for you and I pledge to continue to do my part.
“May I also invite you to do your own part because getting it right is a collective obligation.
“We have set up series of systems that support smooth and seamless payments across digital platforms for formal and informal sector payments,” he said.
The governor appealed to the state civil servants to “recommit themselves to being diligent in their duties and actively support the reform initiatives of the government”.
He also reaffirmed government’s commitment to prompt and regular payment of salaries.
He said that his administration remained committed to securing the lives and property of the people.
According to him, relevant resources have been committed to building a robust system, called “Operation Crush”, to tackle crime in the state.
Otti said that the government was determined to make the state safe and secure in order to improve its rating on the ease of doing business for accelerated socio-economic growth.
He, therefore, urged the people to support government’s security initiatives by reporting any suspicious movements or persons within their neighborhood to security agencies.
“Security is everyone’s business,” he said.
He commended the Legislative and Judicial arms for the support and cooperation they had shown to the Executive arm.
He said that the executive would continue to work hard to deepen its relationship with the other arms of government.
Otti disclosed that the government had engaged multilateral organizations and agencies to strengthen the primary healthcare services in the state with a view to improving healthcare delivery in rural communities.
He also said that government was poised to improve the health indices in Abia by reducing maternal and infant mortality, prevalence of common diseases, cancer, cardiovascular and renal conditions, through prevention and early detection.
He further said that the government had approved appropriate funding to match its commitment to improve the standard of education in the state.
“Education for us is the future and it is our goal to see that every child gets the opportunity to be taught and mentored.
“This is so as to take advantage of the opportunities that abound in the 21st Century economy, which favours mostly the skilled and properly educated,” he said.
The governor also said that the State Government had commenced massive rehabilitation of roads in Aba to improve vehicular movement within the city.
He said that strategic plans and programmes had been evolved for the transformation of Aba, considering the importance of the city in the development of the state.
“The present administration is unwavering in its commitment to refine governance processes as well as systems for efficiency and transparency in the state.
“We are currently working on a raft of reforms that would streamline procurement processes in the public sector to cut out abuses
“The new framework would give genuine businesses operating in Abia a pathway to enjoy significant patronages from the government, as part of government’s initiative to support and grow local businesses,”
he said.
He further said that the government would introduce major reform initiatives to strengthen institutions and enhance their capacities to meet his administration’s development agenda.
He also said that necessary measures and mechanisms had been put in place to specifically coordinate as well as interface with global and regional institutions to enable Abia to make the most of intervention funding opportunities for critical projects in the state.
The governor said that through collaborative efforts between the government and citizens, the ideals of the founding fathers would be actualised to enable Abia to take its pride of place in the comity of states.
“Actualising this potential has become a sacred obligation, a duty we owe the next generation and we cannot afford to fail for that would be the ultimate betrayal,” Otti said.
