The Nigerian situation is concerning. This is because of the preponderance of people who would rather pander to emotions than constructive evaluation of every circumstance in order to come to an informed opinion. It is difficult to place a finger on the exact moment when we descended to this position and the reasons behind this descent. But, it is evident all around us. Some have pointed to social media and its penchant for shallowness as the major cause of this pandering to emotions as against objective and critical reasoning.
Whatever is the case, the fact is that we have found ourselves here, and it does not seem like we are leaving this abyss anytime soon. Many, especially those gangsters pretending to be politicians have exploited this.
It is important that I start with this because decades of mal-administration have led to a situation where even the most objective of criticisms is misunderstood, mislabeled, and the critic called all sorts of names especially if such criticism is directed at someone perceived as “serving the people”.
I have decided to start my intervention by raising the above because I know that this well-intentioned piece will probably be misunderstood as a politically motivated criticism and I would be the recipient of many vitriols from people who probably would make their decisions based off a cursory glance at the title or the summarized interpretations of others.
Having spent some years on earth, and worked as a public servant in a normal society for more than twenty-five years, precisely in England, I do not let that bother me. I however think that my whole responsibility is to lay out my view so the younger generation can, if they wish, learn for the good of our people both now and in the future. It is very difficult to see a politician in Nigeria either currently serving or in the past that is not corrupt—that is just the fact in Nigeria whether we accept it or not. In a country where investigative journalism is active what we could have unraveled in this country would be monumental and unprecedented fraud in the name of politics or public office.
A few days ago, the Publicity Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Abia State, Mr Eric Ikwuagwu was a guest at Arise TV where he made several allegations against the Abia State Governor, His Excellency and my good friend Dr Alex Otti. Mr Ikwuagwu’s Arise TV appearance had quickly followed the appearance of Mr John Okiyi, former Information Commissioner under Dr Okezie Ikpeazu, the immediate past Governor of Abia State.
What is immediately clear is that both Ikwuagwu and Okiyi’s outings were fueled by the need to defend their former boss whose administration has generally been rated as the worst in the history of Abia State. My view remains that since 1999 Abia has remained the worst governed state across Nigeria .
Their outings on Arise TV also came at a time when Governor Otti was basking in the adulations of completing the severely degraded and abandoned Port Harcourt road, Aba. So, it was very easy to see that both Okiyi and Ikwuagwu were motivated by a desire to dampen the praises Otti was receiving and in the process, try to recast their former boss in a better light.
Yet, even in the worst of malice-born utterances, key issues arise that need to be addressed. As our people say, one should not throw away the baby with the bath water.That is the reason for this submission .
Mr Ikwuagwu in his interview had made two significant and yet damning allegations. First, he alleged that the contract for Port Harcourt road was awarded by Governor Otti prior to his inauguration as the Governor of Abia State on May 29, 2023.
Secondly, he alleged that the contract was awarded to Julius Berger because of a personal connection between Governor Otti and the Chairman of the Board of Julius Berger— Ikwuagwu is of the opinion that the same person doubles as the Chairman of the Board of Signature Bank, a bank purportedly owned by Governor Otti.
These two allegations point to a violation of due process, extant procurement laws, and nepotistic actions in governance. They further bring to the fore concerns on the cost of the construction of this very important road. According to Otti, “The cost of the road stands at about ₦36.5 billion, and it is money well spent”.
For a road which is about 5.8 kilometres, many have expressed concern that the cost is well above the World Bank projected cost of construction of roads in Nigeria. According to the World Bank, the projected cost of constructing a kilometre of road in Nigeria is N400m. This should place the total cost of Port Harcourt road at about N2.3bn. When you then factor in that it is a dual carriageway, perhaps the cost gets to about N6bn including street lights and whatever other things they included on the road to make it “world class”.
The awareness of a potential inflation in contract sum, underscored by the allegations of Ikpeazu’s boys, bring into sharp focus a sad twist to the joyful news of the completion of Port Harcourt road with the many economic boosts that it will bring. If these allegations are true, then they bring to question the possibility of reckless and irresponsible manner of spending public funds even in the face of a concerted effort by the administration of Governor Otti to bring good governance to Abia State.
The point is, while we must thank Governor Otti for his many efforts at redefining governance in Abia State, we must be wary that we do not fail to check any appearance of violation of due process and the law, while basking in the euphoria of good governance. In one of my previous submissions during the last election, l was the only person on record who said that Alex Otti’s administration can never be worse than twenty-five wasted years by previous administration in Abia State.
If contract sums were inflated to benefit people within a leader’s circle, the implications of this are dire for the people as the extra sums could have been used to address other critical infrastructural developmental issues. Public fund must remain public fund and never to be used for personal benefits directly or indirectly. My brother Otti, the ovation is high both from the people of Abia and Nigerians in general. Be extremely very careful as these accusations may make a mockery of the well-earned praises from the people of Abia and Nigeria and make a joke of their trust and love.
The essence of this opinion piece therefore is to call for caution and advise my brother and Governor to ensure that he makes efforts to clear this issue to the best of his knowledge. Please as always, remain focused and ensure that you continue to deliver good governance in a manner that abides by the law of the country and in a manner that would show commitment to moral correctness and genuine service to the people.
As the darling of Abians, every criticism of Otti is often perceived as being politically motivated. This one is not. This is just an experienced public servant who had worked in a normal society calling for caution in order to ensure that our Governor preserves his hard earned reputation as the best Governor in Nigeria.
