Abia Governor will be the first “Common” Governor in Nigeria

The governor of Abia State, Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu, will be the first common and ordinary governor in the history of Nigeria and will be the quintessential servant leader, so said Godwin Adindu, Chief Press Secretary to the governor.

Adindu said Governor Ikpeazu is set to cause a revolution in Nigeria as far as the person and the office of the governor is concerned as he will demystify the office and the person of the governor and remove all the ceremonies and chivalries that disconnect the leader from the people. “He is the common governor for the common man. He emerged from the people and will remain with the people,” declared Adindu.

Adindu affirmed that Governor Ikpeazu will remove all the mystique and simulations that have become customary with the office in Nigeria and make the person of the governor appear like a transcendental being and will also drop all the frivolities and trivialities that distract the leader from the major call, like chieftaincy titles, unnecessary awards and social recognition. “He will remain available, approachable and accessible,” Adindu reaffirmed.

Adindu disclosed that Ikpeazu’s main thrust and mission in government are with work, service and performance and that his reputation will derive from his capacity in achieving these values. “He is not going to be a media creation. His personality in governance will be created by the three values of work, service and performance and these will be the parameter for evaluating him at the end of the day.

Adindu also noted that as a delegate cannot delegate, Dr. Ikpeazu as the delegate of the people will not delegate his duties and responsibilities but will personally take charge and supervise all projects, direct all commissions and oversee all works to ensure that things are done to his utmost satisfaction and for the general good of the people.

Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu Formally Directs Appellations Be Removed While Addressing Him

Special Government Announcement

The Abia State Governor, Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu, has formally directed that the appellations; His Excellency and Executive , be dropped in all official and informal communication with him.

He would rather prefer to be addressed simply as Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu, Governor of Abia State.

The Governor wants all public communication to be concentrated on the work and policies of the state and not on the person of the Governor and has therefore directed all contractors, political groups, individuals and party loyalists not to put his portrait on billboards, posters and signages but to ONLY use the pictures of ongoing projects in their billboards and posters.

The Governor has also directed the general public to remove all congratulatory posters and election billboards littering the environment as these public posters are defacing the environment of the state. He has further charged the people of the State to be partners with Government in ensuring a healthy and beautiful environment.

He is also, by this directive, re-assuring the good people of Abia State of his mission of service to the people and therefore urged the citizenry to key into the new vision.

Signed:

Godwin Adindu

Chief Press Secretary to the Governor.

Abia guber: Alex Otti was an intruder —T.A. Orji

The immediate past Governor of Abia State and Senator-elect, Abia Central Senatorial zone in the 8th Senate, Chief T.A Orji, has described the candidate of the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) in the recently concluded governorship election in the state, Dr. Alex Otti,  as an intruder who wanted to take what did not belong to him.

Orji, while speaking with Hallmark in Umuahia, debunked the perception in some quarters that his successor, Governor Okezie Ikpeazu was not validly elected at the polls.

He said that this could not have been the case, proclaiming the elections in Abia free and fair. He also defended the ceding of the governorship slot by the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP to the UkwaNgwa zone, saying the zone had been long marginalised.

“Since the creation of Adam and Eve, UkwaNgwa people, who incidentally are Abians, have never produced the governor, whether civilian or military.

They have never, but they have all along been yearning, fighting and struggling to be governor even for one day but it had never been possible for them.

“That desire has been burning in their hearts. My government was the only government that decided that marginalization is bad. The state is owned corporately by the Bende Division and the Old Aba Division who are the UkwaNgwa people. Bende comprises of Bende and Umuahia, which is all of us.

“That is how the state is owned, and the founding fathers of this state wrote a charter which they called the charter of equity. The charter stipulated how power should be distributed, how it should shift, and that is what we have done. Along the line, it was thrown overboard, people never referred to that.

“This is the only government, the PDP government, that came on board and said no, there should be fairness; there should be justice and there should be equity.

“From the Bible, which is the one I know, God said I am a God of justice; I am a God of fairness; I am a God of equity, and because we all try to emulate Christ in our lives, that is what PDP emulated and decided that if God is a God of justice, equity and fairness, we should implement same in this mundane world that we are living so that people will be happy.”

On the new role of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as an opposition party at the federal level, he said that there should be no undue apprehension over the party’s fate, maintaining that they would simply continue from where the former opposition party at that level, the All Progressives Congress (APC) had stopped.

Orji affirmed that given that people do not really go to the school of opposition, what is critical is to be able to fill the role when it emerges.

“The PDP has been in power for many years as the dominant political party. When they were dominant, they had opposition. The APC came as a force, as an opposition party opposing PDP. As they were doing that, PDP was getting experience of opposition.

“So, those tactics that the opposition used in fighting PDP are the same tactics the PDP will use in fighting as opposition and they may add new ones. So it is vice versa, that’s the way I see it.

“There is no school for that, you don’t go to school of opposition. It is on the job that you learn it. If the party is not doing well you criticize, if they want to initiate a bad policy, you say no, it won’t work.

This is the way to do it; it is a two-way affair for the opposition and for the ruling party.

“The beauty of the whole thing is that one party should not come to dominate; there should be opposition. Now that the APC is the ruling party, we should have stiff opposition. When PDP was the dominant party, it had stiff opposition and that’s the beauty of the whole thing.’

The former governor said that it was not correct to insinuate that the PDP’s stint in governance at the centre was a total failure, stating that the mere fact of their winning and sustaining power for four full terms was indeed an achievement in itself.

“For the PDP to have stayed in power for such a long time, we need to give the party credit for consistently maintaining and sustaining democracy. The military did not come, external bodies did not come to truncate our democracy; at least they needed to be praised, if not for any other thing, for being consistent with democracy.’

Governor Okezie Ikpeazu speaks to Abians today.

My beloved Abians,

Let me first thank you for your enthusiastic and overwhelming support during the ceremonies that ushered me into office as the 4th Governor of our great state. During the election campaigns, I travelled the length and breadth of this state and felt your collective yearning that Abia was due for a comprehensive transformation. Today as your Governor, I pledge, that before the expiration of my tenure I will deliver “A New Abia”. An Abia state that is better and more focused on uplifting the lives of all Abians.
The new Abia will be defined by the our people’s time honoured values;
• Performance – We deliver to the “best in class” standards and operate at the highest ethical standards
• Ownership - We live, breath & think Abia and we take full responsibility all the time
• Innovation - We create solutions to optimize every opportunity & Challenge
• Commitment – We put our best effort into play
• Integrity – We say what we will do and we do what we say. We have zero tolerance for corruption.

As contained in my inaugural speech, I will like to emphasize that our direction will revolve around our 5 key growth pillars; Manufacturing, Trade and Commerce, Agriculture, Infrastructure and Environment.
Mindful of the importance of infrastructure to economic development, we will focus on the improvement of electricity, potable water, rural & urban roads and the railway system. Partnerships will be activated to facilitate the provision of necessary infrastructure. Our Manufacturing programme will focus on re-igniting the brand “Made In Aba” and make Abians once more to be proud of their products. Trade and Commerce will be anchored on the regeneration of Aba and her recreation as a hub for business in West Africa. We will exploit agriculture aggressively to create employment, ensure food security, grow our economy and empower our people. Finally no longer shall our cities be associated with flooded streets and nauseous refuse dumps
While we will be strategic in our approach to achieving the “New Abia”, we have also identified some quick wins. We have flagged off our “Clean Aba Programme” and the rehabilitation and reconstruction of several arterial roads in Aba and Umuahia. Over the next few days we will be making major interventions in some very key areas.

Waste Management remains a very big challenge in our state. Our major streets, especially in Aba have been taken over by refuse. In the New Abia, this will no longer be tolerated. Commencing tomorrow we will start a massive intervention on domestic waste management. We will be deploying equipment to the streets of Aba. We are also exploring the fastest and most efficient ways of managing waste dump sites, to avoid our major highways being blocked with refuse. We must collectively take responsibility for this task. Henceforth dropping of refuse in non-designated places is prohibited and offenders will be sanctioned. If there are no designated refuse drop points in your area, we strongly advise that you call our waste management hot line for prompt intervention.

Road Construction/Rehabilitation will be a major thrust of our 100 days plan. A lot of our roads are impassable and we feel the pains and frustration of Abians in this regard. With our lean resources, it is impossible to fix these problems all at once, so it has to be phased. We will begin the simultaneous rehabilitation of 10 major roads in our State and you have our commitment to deliver them to the highest standards possible. This will be made possible by simultaneously managing the drainage problems that undermine our roads, making them to fail soon after completion. We have commenced the assessment of the Aba underground tunnels as a possible solution to fixing the perennial drainage challenge in Aba. In line with this, drainage rehabilitation, construction, channelization, storm water and erosion control will receive immediate attention. These roads will be delivered with street lights which will extend the business hours in our urban centers. In the spirit of this development I urge all those with unserviceable or abandoned vehicles to remove them immediately. Structures that are erected on the way of the roads and drainages will certainly be pulled down irrespective of who is involved.

As part of our plan to improve on the ease of doing business in Abia, we have commenced the process of harmonizing our tax collection process. Until this process is completed, all forms of Multiple Taxation must stop henceforth and all Agents and Touts are hereby advised to stop collection henceforth. Any agent that is caught collecting taxes and rates illegally will be sanctioned.
We are determined to pay salaries and pensions as at when due, but we shall lead Abians to challenge our public service to fish out ghost workers as well as plug all leakages in revenue. We shall deploy technology in keeping with world best practices to streamline our payroll and audit system. However, I assure all diligent and resourceful staff that their hard work and commitment will be rewarded.
Security of lives and property is of great importance to us and will be reflected in our coming actions and policies. We have commenced meetings with the Security Chiefs in the state and we are committed to providing the necessary support for the security agencies to sustain and uphold the prevailing peaceful and secure atmosphere of our State.

As a bold step to managing Unemployment meaningfully, empowering our youths and meeting the capability needs of our industries, we have concluded plans to launch an education for employment (E4E) program which will enable 100,000 youths acquire fit-for-purpose skills over the next 4 years. We are commencing a pilot at BTC Aba during these first 100 days.
Agriculture is of critical importance to our economy and we have a need to boost our agricultural production for food security and to create jobs. Against this background, over the next 3 months we will distribute 2,000 bags of fertilizer per Local Government and supply agro-chemicals at 50% discount to all our farmers. Both interventions will help improve our crop production yield this farming season. During the period, we will train and equip 10 youths per Local Government in agro-chemical deployment.
Our desire to claim our position as the SME capital of Nigeria will be realized through the proposed New Industrial City with emphasis in leather and garments. We will begin to develop our industrial clusters within our first hundred days.

My beloved Abians, I will like to state that we cannot achieve our goal of uplifting the lives of Abians, without participation and commitment from every Abian. We all have our roles to play on this journey; I therefore solicit your support. We all have to embrace and live the 5 Abia Values, which we have proposed earlier in this speech.

I urge everyone to be a watchdog. Please report any breach of our laws and non-conformity to our values to relevant authorities and demand feedback on actions taken. We need sincere, constructive assessment and feedback of our performance. We have opened-up feedback platforms to enable you criticise and send your suggestions on how we can meaningfully improve our performance and achieve our collective dream.
We would urge you to Pay Your Taxes as at when due, your demand for performance only becomes credible when you perform your civic responsibilities. We urge you to Think Abia all the time.
Let me use this opportunity to thank the outgoing members of the Abia State Executive Council for a job well done over the years. I will also like to use this opportunity to request that they handover to their Permanent Secretaries latest close-of-business, Wednesday 3rd of June 2015. I join other Abians to congratulate them for their selfless service to our fatherland and promise to call you up as the need arises, because the reward for hard work is more work.

Finally, I will like all Abians to demand the same high standards of delivery that we have promised, because I am most optimistic, that with good conscience as our only sure reward, with history the final judge of our deeds, and with God on our side we will provide the leadership that we all will be proud of.
Kanyi Mezie Abia !!!
God Bless Abia State!!!
OKEZIE IKPEAZU PHD
GOVERNOR OF ABIA STATE

Why We Funded Aba Mega Mall – FCMB

Aba (Abia) – The Regional Head, South-East / South-South, First City Monument Bank plc, Mr. Okey Ezeala, has said that the bank funded Aba Mega Mall to create more jobs for Nigerians.

He said that although the bank saw the enabling environment and political will in the government, it was more interested in creating jobs than making profits from the project.
Ezeala disclosed this during an interview with newsmen in Aba after the inauguration of first phase of the Aba Mega Mall.
The Aba Mega Mall is a Public-Private Partnership project jointly owned by the Greenfield Assets Management Ltd and the Abia State government.

The owners say the mall sitting on a 280,000 square meters will on completion host 100, 000 shops.
“We became willing to partner with them for as long as we were convinced that the project will impact the environment.
“It is going to impact the neighbourhood and the community. It is going to put a lot of people out of the job market.
“It is going to put food on the table for so many families. It is going to bring uplift in the lives of our people.
“Some of these things are done not because of the profit motivation. Some altruism comes into it,” he said.

Earlier, the State governor, Chief Theodore Orji in his speech thanked the people of Osisioma Ngwa who donated their land willingly for the project to be sited on.
Orji said that the project would add value to the business environment and the lives of the people of the state.
“We are leaving Abia State better than we met it and we urge the incoming government to make it better,” he said.
According to him, the project would change the face of Aba and the way people in it traded for the enjoyment of all residents.
The Group Managing Director, Greenfield Assets Management Ltd, Mr Paul Obanua said that the company invested in the project in line with its commitment to urban renewal.
He thanked the governor and his men for giving them approval for the project without asking them for any favours or taking money from them.

Obanua said that the first phase of the project which has been completed, has about 1000 shops, and that the mall would host 100,000 shops on completion.
He said that the mall would contain an abbatoir, host the first dry port in the South East, a cinema hall and a Customs and Excise duty post with a controller as the head.

Obanua said the company recognised the creativity and potentials of Aba residents and were putting up structures to help the town harness its potential.
He called on business people around the city to buy into the plan of owning shops at the mall.

EFCC Lists its Achievements - A Must Read

Some of the milestones achieved by the Commission in the investigation, prosecution and recovery of assets of Politically Exposed Persons, including ex-governors...

DSP Alamieyeseigha

Until he was pardoned by the Nigerian government, it is on record that former Bayelsa State governor, DSP Alamieyeseigha was the first former state governor to be successfully prosecuted by the EFCC. Over N3billion which includes the proceeds realized from the sale of his properties has been returned to Bayelsa State. These properties include Chelsea Hotel, Abuja. Other real estate investment of Alamieyeseigha which accounts were frozen by the Commission include:
1.   Plot 26 Dalhatu Close, Abacha Estate, Ikoyi
2.   20 Obaji Street, Diobu Port Harcourt
3.   1. Community Road, off Allen Avenue, Lagos
4.   247, Water Gardens, London W2 2DG
5.   14, Mapesbury Road, London NW2 4JB
6.   Flat 202, Jubilee Heights, Shootuphl L, London, NW2 3UQ
7.   68-70, Regents Park Road, London
8.   4A, Ilu Drive, Ikoyi, Lagos
9.   18 Mississippi Street, Maitama, Abuja
10.               V & A Water Front, Cape Town, South Africa
11.               2, Marcibit Street, Ishaku Rabiu Estate, Off Aminu Kano Crescent, Abuja
12.               24, Amazon Street, Maitama Abuja.

Lucky Igbinedion

Another former governor who was prosecuted and convicted by the Commission is former Edo State governor, Lucky Igbinedion. Apart from the Conviction, the Commission equally recovered some properties from him. The properties include:
1.   A property located at  57, Ihama Road, GRA, Benin
2.   Another property located at 24, Izekor Road, Benin
Following the furore generated by the option of fine handed the governor by the trial judge, the Commission filed fresh charges against Lucky Igbinedion. The action was challenged in court with the trial court ruling that the Commission cannot try the ex-governor on the same matter for which he had already been convicted.
The EFCC appealed against the ruling with the Court of Appeal affirming the Commission’s position that Igbinedion really has a case to answer.
Following that, two of his accomplices, his younger brother, Michael Igbinedion and his Personal Assistant, Charles Eboigbodin who were charged alongside the former governor of Edo State, were successfully prosecuted and convicted, just last month (April 29th 2015, precisely).

Chimaroke Nnamani
The case involving Chimaroke Nnamani, former governor of Enugu State has been in court since he was first arraigned in 2007 alongside Sunday Anyaogu, his then aide and six firms linked to them:  Rainbownet Nigeria Limited, Hillgate Nigeria Limited, Cosmos FM, Capital City Automobile Nigeria Limited, Renaissance University Teaching Hospital and Mea Mater Elizabeth High School.
EFCC in 2014 sought for a separate trial of the companies and on May 19, 2015 the companies pleaded guilty to an amended 10-count charge. We await the court pronouncement on the fate of the assets.

Orji Kalu


Former governor Orji Kalu’s case is currently at the Supreme Court where he is challenging the competence of the charge after the court of appeal affirmed the trial court’s ruling that he has a case to answer.
The Commission has however seized the following properties belonging to the former Abia State governor. They include:
1.   Property at 9A, Queen Amina Road, Ungwan, Rimi GRA, Maiduguri
2.   Bungalow at 21, Gwari Avenue, Behind Gerau Hospital, Off Kachia Road, Maiduguri
3.   Parcel of land at Kirikiri Industrial Estate, Lagos
4.   Block of flats at Plot 103A Olumeni Street, Old GRA, Port Harcourt
5.   Identical duplex at Plot 65, No. 7& 8. Orogburn Crescent, Diobu GRA 11, Port Harcourt
6.   3 Nos bedroom bungalow plus adjourning buildings at Mairi Village, Maiduguri, Borno State
7.   3 bedroom bungalow at GRA Maiduguri, Borno State
8.   Warehouse at Mairi village, Maiduguri
9.   Former Progress Bank Building, No. 45, Baga Road, Maiduguri
10.               Former Orji Alex Bakery, Bulunkutu, Seleke, Maiduguri
Several accounts in various banks linked to his companies were also frozen by the Commission. The accounts includes those belonging to:
1.   Tourism Development Area, Gambia
2.   Slok Investment Limited
3.   Slok USA INC
4.   Slok Nigeria Limited
5.   The Sun Publishing
6.   Astel Offshore
7.   Neva Nigeria Limited
8.   Reality Organization
9.   Kachi Agwu Enterprises
10.       Menco Resources Limited
11.       Nnachison & Co
12.       Slok Air Nigeria Limited
13.       Firmbase Inter Limited

As for Saminu Turaki, former governor of Jigawa State, the accounts of companies linked to him were also frozen by the Commission.
The companies are:
1.   INC Natural Resources Limited, 7 Civic Centre Road, Kano
2.   Wildcat Nigeria Limited, 31 Kuta Road, Minna, Niger State
3.   Arlek Construction Nigeria Limited, 7 Civic Centre Road, Kano
4.   Gethel Nigeria Limited, 7 Civic Centre Road, Kano
5.   Wallong Camco Nigeria Limited, Tukur Commercial Layout, Dutse
6.   Gansu Construction Engineering Limited.

Joshua Dariye

For Joshua Dariye who was recently ordered to proceed to trial after the supreme court rejected his appeal against the appeal court affirmation of the competence of the Commission’s charges against him, the following properties were recovered from him:
1.   Property at Plot 1802 Ao4, No. 19 Frederick Chiuba Close, Asokoro, Abuja
2.   Plot of land in the name of Jambo Holdings Nigeria Limited, Rayfield, Jos
3.   House No. 11, Rest Road, Jos
4.   Plot of land at Gada Village, off Adiko Bukuru Road By Pharm Headquarters, Jos
5.   Plot of land at Liberty Boulevard, Jos
6.   Plot of Land at Ibrahim Taiwo Avenue, Jos
7.   Two additional plots along Dogon Dutse Road, Jos
8.   Plot of land at Gold & Base Neighbourhood, Jos
9.   Plot of land known as Yelwa Club, Bukuru, Jos.

James Ibori


In the case involving former Delta State governor James Ibori whose conviction in a London court was largely based on the evidence supplied by the EFCC, the Commission secured the final forfeiture of the $15million bribe, which he allegedly offered to a former chairman of the Commission, to the Federal Government.

Abubakar Audu, Danjuma Goje, Akwe Doma, Rev. Jolly Nyame, Ayodele Fayose, etc
The cases involving former Kogi State governor, Abubakar Audu, former Gombe State governor, Danjuma Goje, former Nasarawa State governor, Akwe Doma, former Taraba State governor, Rev. Jolly Nyame are progressing in courts, as several witnesses have been called by the prosecution.  Of course the case against Ayodele Fayose has only been temporarily halted by the fact of his re-election as Ekiti State governor.

We could go on and on. These records apply to cases involving ex-governors only.

They do not tell the whole story regarding the prosecution and convictions record of the Commission.
Between 2012 and 2014, the Commission recovered N65,320,669,350.35 (Sixty five billion, three hundred and twenty million, six hundred and sixty nine thousand, three hundred and fifty naira, thirty five kobo).
Also, the sum of $245, 952,030.13 (Two hundred and forty-five million, nine hundred and fifty-two thousand, thirty dollars, thirteen cents); and 693, 399.00 (Six hundred and ninety-three thousand, three hundred and ninety-nine, Pounds Sterling) and 62,600.00 (Sixty two thousand Euros) were also recovered during the period.

But, these facts mean nothing to Ibekaku who, in the pursuit of her latter-day ambition is willing to publicly repudiate the achievements of an organization which she was a prominent part of and one on whose pedestal she stood to attain all the “glowing” personal achievements she has been parading in the media.

The obvious goal of Ibekaku is to hoodwink unsuspecting Nigerians by her posturing as an anti-corruption czar, what with her curriculum vitae that advertises her as a top official of the EFCC, where she spent about 7 years of her recent adult working life.

Ibekaku has declared a media misinformation war on the Commission for simply telling Nigerians she was no longer in the service of the Commission, contrary to her posturing.

Before her latest image-tarring outing at the APC Policy Dialogue, Ms. Ibekaku engaged one Emmanuel Onwubiko of the so-called Human Rights Writers Association, HURIWA, to mudsling the Commission.
Onwubiko in his many blind interventions at Juliet’s behest claimed variously that she was dismissed because she was from the South-East and for advocating for an independent Financial Intelligence Unit.
Lately, he has modified those positions to include the fallacy that the Commission is after Ibekaku because she is being considered for a ministerial position or even the chairmanship of the EFCC!
Ms. Ibekaku can aspire to whatever office she wants, but, she does not need to malign the Commission by deliberate distortions and outright falsehood to achieve her ambition.

Let it be emphasized once again, that in apportioning sanctions to Ms. Ibekaku, along with her co-traveller, Michael Nzekwe and nine others who were dismissed from the Commission, EFCC was guided by its Staff Regulations and extant Public Service Rules.

Ms. Ibekaku is challenging her dismissal at the National Industrial Court and we call on her to allow the court rule on her application and not to engage in acts tantamount to self-help, which only highlights among other acts unbecoming of a public officer, the reason she was dismissed from EFCC in the first place: Gross Indiscipline.

Abia’ll pay workers 24th of every month – Ikpeazu

Respite appears underway for civil servants in Abia State as the Governor-elect, Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu, has said his coming on board would mark an end to the era of salary arrears in the state, assuring that under his watch, Abia workers will earn their salaries on the 24th of every month.

He, however, added that he would carry out workers’ audit to verify the actual population of Abia workers, arguing that it is not logical to spend a whopping N2.5 billion of the state’s paltry N3 billion monthly allocation on civil servants that are less than 15,000 while nothing is left to cater for other citizens of the state.

Ikpeazu, who stated this while speaking at an interactive forum with Aba business community and members of ‘Kezie Abia Forum,’ said his administration would not neglect the welfare of workers but added that it would also not sacrifice the interest of non-civil servants that constitute the greater percentage of the people.
While civil servants in the core ministries are not being owed according to government sources, workers in the parastatals complain of arrears ranging from two to five months in some instances.
Government argues that the parastatals are creations of law and should source for funds to augment their subventions and pay their staff.

Ikpeazu also read a riot act to contractors and those jostling for space in his government, vowing to disgrace anyone who failed to deliver according to specifications.
“If I give you a job and you fail to deliver, we will disgrace ourselves,” he said, adding that his decision to ban visitors from paying him homage was to enable him prepare for the task ahead.
He further hinted that when sworn in, he would not want to be addressed as “Your Excellency,” but simply as “Governor,” arguing that “it is only God that is excellent.”

Earlier in his remarks, Leader of ‘Kezie Abia’ group that organised the forum, Comrade Dan Ubani, tasked Ikpeazu on service delivery, saying Abians will hold him accountable for all his campaign promises.