Okonjo-Iweala Counsels Abia Governor-elect On Transparent Govt, As Otti Inaugurates Transition Committee Council Members

The Director General (DG) World Trade Organization (WTO), Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has charged the Abia governor-elect, Dr. Alex Otti to run a transparent government throughout his term as the governor of the state.

Dr. Okonjo-Iweala who was the keynote Speaker at the inauguration of the members of the Dr. Alex Otti Transition Committee in Aba, the commercial nerve of the state noted that one of the reasons most state governors in Nigeria shy away from disclosing the monthly income of their states was prevent citizens of their states and indeed Nigerians from questioning their spending, which she said was one of the reasons the Ministry of Finance under President Olusegun Obasanjo’s government decided to publish the monthly allocation of states in national dailies.

The former Minister of Finance who emphasized on the need for the incoming Labour Party (LP) administration in the state to gain the confidence of the citizens of the state lamented the huge debt profile of the state and called for an improvement in the monthly Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) of the state and servicing of the state’s debt.

The former World Bank MD who noted the place of Aba and the Aba entrepreneurs to the economic development of the state and the country at large, noted the need for an alternative power supply with emphasis on renewable energy in order to ensure uninterrupted or provide alternative power supply to the teeming Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs) and other entrepreneurs who need constant power for their machines and do other businesses at a more reduced cots.

The WTO DG who joined the event virtually, said that there was need for the incoming government to also find ways of attracting investors to the state, urged Otti to explore the state’s Diasporan base to ensure that he makes the state conducive for investors to come in and invest.

The governor-elect in his remarks while inaugurating the over 100-man Transition Committee while noting the enormity of the challenge ahead of his government, acknowledged that the expectations of Abians and indeed Nigerians on his administration was high and said that he was prepared to tackle the problems facing the state headlong.

Otti who assured Abians that he was going to run a lean government, added that the membership of the Transition Committee made up of technocrats was non-partisan, but an opportunity for well-meaning Abians to help draw a roadmap for his administration, at least, in the next four years.

The LP governor-elect who decried non-payment of workers salaries and pension arrears to the civil servants and senior citizens, gave the current debt profile of the state to worth around N190bn.

He said that he has no doubt that the committee would be able to deliver a document which he would kick off with on May 29 in line with the vision of his campaign manifesto.

The chairman of the Committee, Mr. Victor Onyenkpa while responding on behalf of the members of the Transition Committee thanked Otti for finding them worthy of being chosen to serve, adding that though the task ahead of them was daunting, it was therefore their responsibility to ensure that they come out with quality work that would be in line with the vision of the incoming governor of the state.

Other members of the committee, former Speaker and acting governor of the state, Rt. Hon. Stanley Ohajuruka and Dike Chukwumerije in their separate interviews promised to do their best in ensuring that the committee delivers the mandate given to them.