ABIANS, WEEP NO MORE; HELP IS ON THE WAY (A Text Of My Governorship Manifesto)- By Dr. Alex Otti. (continued from last week)

ABIANS, WEEP NO MORE; HELP IS ON THE WAY (A Text Of My Governorship Manifesto)- By Dr. Alex Otti. (continued from last week)

“SECURING ” THE VOTES & THE NEW ELECTORAL ACT

Permit me to address one concern I know must have been agitating your minds; what many of you call “securing” of votes. I would like to acknowledge those fears because they are legitimate in view of our past experiences.

In the past this could have been a very major concern. I am glad to announce that with the signing of the amended Electoral Act, many of these imperfections have been eliminated and much of the anomalies that result in fictitious figures coming from certain locations shall no longer obtain.

My message for you all is clear: Things will be different this time, as several key provisions of the 2022 Electoral Act have greatly empowered the voters. Some of these changes include the use of Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BIVAS) and non-use of manual interventions in polling units and collation centres, which are subject to abuse.

My charge to you is to do your bit, go out in your numbers to elect those who will change the narrative of the state for the better. We will do everything within  the ambience of the law to make sure that your votes count. The play book has been proven at recent elections in Ekiti and Osun states. The same is possible in Abia. We will make it so.

In summary, I pledge to flawlessly execute the plans we have enumerated in this manifesto. My records in the organizations that I have led attest to my capacity and inherent drive to challenge the status quo in order to change things for the better.

I am itching to drive the changes that will make Abia a safe and prosperous destination for her citizens, and will work every day to restore the pride of our homeland. What you are reading here is a sneak preview of our agenda; a detailed blueprint, with timelines and costing will be rolled out and made public within the first sixty days after we have been sworn-in.

Who is Dr. Alex Otti, and how are we sure he can deliver?

To conclude this part of my presentation, permit me to let you know a few things about myself, and why I believe I am the best candidate for the governorship seat of our state come 2023. I consider this segment very important, because as one who conducted several interviews as a senior management staff in major financial institutions in the country for many years, the first question we ask those who appear before us for a job is, why should I hire you? I believe that now I have presented myself before you for consideration for the job in 2023, it would also be fitting that I tell why I should be hired.

Permit me to start by telling you that before I voluntarily left Diamond Bank as the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) in 2014, to present myself for service to this state, I served in very senior positions at two of Nigeria’s most respected banks- the United Bank for Africa PLC and First Bank PlC, with responsibilities for several critical markets, sectors, and departments. My time as the CEO of Diamond Bank PLC was described by revered Igwe Nnaemeka Achebe, the Obi of Onitsha, as the “brightest years of Diamond Bank’s 24-year history.”

We broke new grounds, created immense value for various stakeholders, and established a model that became the paradigm for operational excellence in the industry.

I have been blessed immensely by God. I have the ability and hunger to bring positive change, and appetite for improvements, which are undying desires to leave a footprint in the sands of time in whatever undertaking I get into. These are some of the greatest gifts I have been endowed with. I am coming from a background where you need to demonstrate capacity for creating value before you can be considered for promotion or higher assignments. With all sense of modesty, I can state that to the glory of God, I have always delivered beyond expectation.

I have been able to build an enduring relationship with former colleagues who have since gone on to create new paths for themselves in various fields. My friendship with these outstanding individuals has remained strong because of my commitment to the values of excellence and diligence. I also have the privilege of being a friend to some of the best minds in business, academia, and the arts because they find in me, a trustworthy friend and partner. One who can be counted on to bring something strategic to the table.

My love for, and long history of excellence in several endeavours, for which I remain immensely grateful to God, shall serve the state well, when I win the confidence of my majority of the electorate in 2023. we shall work with the best minds across different fields to bring rapid development to our dear state.

I have been a leading opposition figure in the state since 2015, speaking out against the obnoxious schemes and failings of the government. I have made countless interventions by requesting that the government should pay workers and pensioners their entitlements, and to use our resources for the development of the state among others. Beyond just speaking out against injustice by those ruling the state, I have also deployed my personal resources to ease the burden of many through my modest philanthropic efforts.

My foundation is also funding the university education of hundreds of Abia youths through fully paid scholarship programme that is modelled after the Chevening Scholarship in the UK, where candidates are carefully selected on merit and would be required to maintain a certain Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) all through their programme in order to remain in the scheme. The scholarship programme, for me, is special because I see it as my way of motivating our young ones to reach for the top.

As a columnist and commentator on key national and international economic and political issues, I have proffered original and practical insights that could enable the country overcome its many challenges by a deft combination of smart economic policies and development-oriented politics. I have also shared ideas with leading names in government and businesses who love to leverage my experience and practical understanding of key business and policy issues, to solve real problems or plan their success strategies.

Importantly, I would like to also inform you that I have been involved in several community development efforts, attracting projects, and investments to several communities within this state and beyond. God has given me the grace to always think home and understand how I can leverage the privileges that I have to be a source of blessing to others, especially in our communities. With my modest support, town halls, schools, water projects and other project initiatives have been completed across the state.

So, why do I still want to be governor if I am already doing so much as a private citizen? It is because I want to deploy my immense wealth of experience in the private sector, verifiable record of excellence, and passion for the development of Abia, to possibly serve the greatest number of people across all parts of the state. I have an overwhelming desire to return the lost glory of our state by harnessing the tremendous human and material resources in our land to build a prosperous, peaceful and decent society, and a place we can all be proud to call home.

It is my conviction that if our fathers built the economy of our region in the middle of the 20^th century, to become the fastest growing in the entire world, with resources from palm oil and tax revenue from everyday people, we can do even better today by leveraging on the endless possibilities of the 21^st century.

I believe that we have it in us to renew the face of our earth, and hand over a better society to our children. I have what it takes to mobilize and inspire our people to overcome the man-made obstacles to our greatness.

My covenant with you, as I round off this phase, is that I will never fail you. Alex Otti is a name many within and outside our shores associates with remarkable achievements, excellence and diligent commitment in pursuit of the common good. Far be it from me that I should tarnish my reputation by refusing to live up to our promise.

My biggest motivation, the very thing that has sustained me on this journey through the years is nothing short of a passionate desire to serve our people, reclaim our state from the grip of those who see politics as a money-making venture, and return ultimate power to the people by making you masters of your individual and collective destinies. That is what this is all about.

KEY STRENTHS, CHALLENGES, OPPORTUNITIES AND THREATS

Our journey towards restoring and rebuilding Abia started with painstaking research into the fundamental issues that have limited our growth and development as a people. We therefore have a crystal-clear understanding of the challenges we must overcome, and the opportunities at our disposal. We have put together a detailed work plan of what we need to do to make Abia work. We will highlight some of the levers of this manifesto, just to give perspective to our vision. A detailed work plan will be unveiled within 60 days after we have been sworn-in.

Key Challenges

1. Our public service is arguably our weakest link, we are going to inherit a team that is poorly trained, poorly motivated, who have normalised the deep endemic culture of impunity and abuse of office as the standard for running public office. Many of the departments and MDAs are owed salaries upward of 24 months. The offices do not have basic furniture, computers, and other modern tools are completely non-existent. Career paths are not streamlined, so productivity is at the lowest imaginable level.

• Our roads and other key social infrastructure are in terrible states of disrepair. Many communities are now not accessible during rainy seasons, many more are without tarred roads. The economic cost of the bad road networks in Aba, Umuahia, and other cities, in terms of lost man hour in traffic and lost business, is better imagined.

• Many Abia productive human capital and business have migrated to other states and countries, in search of opportunities while Abia state has since lost the conducive environment to attract human or production capital from other places.

• Abia economy is presently dominated by activities in the informal sector of the economy. This reality poses fiscal capacity challenges for the economy of the state. Therefore, the Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) of the state is insignificant relative to her Gross Domestic Product (GDP). This is not helped by the less than transparent revenue collection process encouraged by government. It is a fiscal limitation that must be rectified in order to leapfrog economic growth and development in the state.

• Less than 1% of the population has access to medical insurance, more than 35% do not have access to clean water sources and modern sewage management system. Education programs and infrastructure are not yet in synch with the needs of the people. We still have many children of school age who are not in school.

• Security incidents of various kinds are rampant in the state. Although some of these activities are perpetuated by criminal elements from outside the state. When such acts are carried out by Abia residents, they are performed by youths who have been driven to crime and criminality due to lack of opportunities for them to earn decent livelihood.

• Many parts of Abia state are under severe attack by active erosion, flood, land pollution and other manners of environmental degradation.

• The people have become numb to injustice and abuse. Many Abians now accept mediocrity as the standard. They are no longer able to hold their leaders to account or demand for the best. This menace will be reversed through public enlightenment and restoration of confidence.

• The nonexistence of transparent and effective process of tax collection, levies and other revenues is responsible for leakages and under reporting, which is the reason why the state IGR is among the lowest in the country, regardless of the presence of enormous natural and human assets.

Strengths and opportunities

Regardless of all the challenges enumerated above, Abia state is one of the states in the country that has been blessed with the critical levers and opportunities that if properly harnessed, will significantly trigger rapid development around the state.

We have some of the most creative, industrious and resilient individuals anywhere in the world. Our people are our greatest assets. We have the power to build, create, innovate, and dream. We will fully harness and unleash this strength to drive the greatest economic and social transformation any region in Africa has ever seen since the post-colonial era.

We will position Abia state to benefit from the federal government development initiatives. We will also establish structures and processes to enable us access opportunities from Direct Foreign Investments (DFI.)

Abia state is only second to Anambra state in terms of diaspora remittances. If we get Abia right, like we plan to do, this number will potentially double in the first four years. We will specifically provide investment opportunities that will target Abia ‘Diaspora’ who are actively looking for homeland investment windows.

Nigeria’s membership of AFCFTA offers opportunities for “Made in Abia” goods, to be exported and sold in over 43  African countries. This is a market that houses 1.3 billion people with a combined GDP of over $2.6trillion.

We have the capacity to attract funding from multilateral agencies for development projects to the state.

• The transfer of Abia ring-fenced electric infrastructure to Geometric Power Limited will open up a fresh vista of opportunities for the commercial and industrial hub. With the assurance of steady power supply in Aba, a new world of industrial and investment opportunities will be launched. We shall work to ensure that this model of energy generation and distribution is explored in other places to enable us achieve state-wide industrialisation.

• Abia is an oil producing state. Aside the statutory derivation which puts extra money into the state coffers, it also provides the potential for us to be energy independent and establish industries that will feed from oil derivatives.  

• Several national agencies and institutions are working to make access to  business finance very easy. Institution like the Nigerian Incentive-based Risk Sharing for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL), Bank of Industry (BOI), Bank of Agriculture (BOA) and several others have simplified and digitalised the mechanism for accessing credit facilities. As governor, I would work with trade unions, corporative societies and professional bodies in the state to ensure that our people, as many as possible, do not miss out on these opportunities.

• Our government shall seek to leverage on the interests of the multinationals to create a partnership framework that would serve the interests of Abians in urban and rural areas.

• The rising interest of wealthy Ndigbo or Igbos to invest at home would be served by our administration. We shall position Abia as a premium destination where investments are secure, with quality infrastructure, clean and conducive environment for work and play.

• The opportunities in the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) sector are enormous, and we shall leverage on it to unleash the creative talents of our youths, create jobs and establish a support system for our industrial sector.

To be continued next week on Freepressnews.com.ng

Dr. Alex Otti, (OFR) is the governorship candidate of the Labour Party for Abia State of Nigeria in the on-coming general elections in 2023.