Ending a year of impactful governance in Abia with soul-lifting Carol
– By Eagle Okoro
Great and beautiful things that are pleasing to God and humanity have continued to take place in Abia with the emergence of Dr Chioma Alex Otti as governor, the latest being last Sunday’s Carol of Nine Lessons, organised by the Abia State Government to gracefully wind down a glorious, action-pact year of our Lord in the state.
It was a colourful gathering of the children of God, and it provided a convivial and refreshing atmosphere for unwinding and greater bonding amongst top government functionaries, including technocrats and administrative officers in the upper echelon of government, led by the Governor, himself, who was clad in a close-fitted white-on-white long-sleeve attire and accompanied by his radiant, glamorous better-half, Priscilla.
The event, which took place inside the beautifully decorated main hall of the International Conference Centre, Ogurube Layout, Umuahia, was also attended by the Speaker of the House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Emmanuel Emeruwa, state Chief Judge, Hon. Justice Lilian Abai, Commissioners, Local Government Mayors, Permanent Secretaries, Heads of Government Agencies, Parastatal Organisations and other government establishments.
Also at hand to grace the gathering were prominent religious leaders, including the Archbishop, Methodist Church Nigeria, Umuahia Archdiocese, Most Rev. Chibuzor Opoko, Catholic Bishop of Umuahia Diocese, Most Rev. Michael Ukpong, amongst others.
It was a massive opportunity for the government officials, the clergy and Abia sons and daughters in attendance to honour God with melodious hymns rendered by attractively attired choirs from different church denominations and choral groups.
All the renditions were soul-lifting as many guests got directly connected to the spirit realm glorifying and thanking God for great things He had done for Abia, especially for sending his beloved son at a critical moment in history to salvage His own state and people from long years of servitude, sufferings, economic retardation and undevelopment, occasioned by 24-long years of misgovernance.
In a sermon, the highly revered cleric, Most Rev. Chibuzor Opoko, highlighted the essence of Christmas and likened Gov. Otti to the coming of Christ to be the Saviour of mankind.
Without mincing words, Okpoko, who is far removed from praise-singing and known for his bluntness, in and out of the pulpit, described the governor as “a liberator of Abia State”.
“God brought light to Abia through the election of Gov. Otti,” he said, and went ahead to declare, under the special unction of God, that “darkness cannot overshadow light in the state, again”.
So, the memorable event significantly signalled a glorious end to a great and fulfilling year for Abia and Abians at home and in diaspora.
It thus provided a moment for some kind of stock-taking for the government and that responsibility was smartly discharged by the Chief of Staff to the Governor, Pastor Caleb Ajagba, whose beautiful and hugely-built wife, Eniola, made some soul-lifting renditions at the event.
In a brief but powerful speech to formally welcome guests to the solemn event, Pastor Ajagba appreciated God for giving Gov. Otti to Abia. Citing the popular saying that “when God wants to bless a man, He sends a fellow man”, he said that God in His desire to bless Abia and its good people, sent Gov. Otti.
He expressed delight that the governor had given a good account of himself in barely 18 months of his mounting the saddle of leadership of the state, in line with his divine mission to redeem the state from the depth of poverty and gross underdevelopment.
He said that the 18 months of the governor had restored the lost glory of Abia as the state has become the darling of other states of the federation and admired beyond the shores of Nigeria, having assumed her rightful position as truly God’s Own State.
With a captivating, flawless and eloquent pastoral oratory, he took his audience round the revolution that has been going on in different sectors of Abia since May 29, 2023, ranging from the comprehensive overhaul in road infrastructure to extensive transformation and reforms in the health, education and security sectors.
Suffice it to elaborate that there has been a fundamental and strategic rejigging of the security architecture, incorporatjng technology to enhance intelligence gathering and operations by security personnel.
Without sounding immodest, all the security commands and formations in Abia are also enjoying close and strategic operational collaboration as well as unprecedented robust relationship with the Otti-led government.
Aside from undertaking a comprehensive renovation of the administrative headquarters of some of the security agencies, the governor also approved enhanced welfare package to motivate them toward giving their utmost in the onerous task of securing lives and property in the state.
Also, the governor has strategically invested in human capital development to systematically engage the youths in gainful and sustainable means of livelihood, amongst other people-oriented programmes. Recently, he approved over N600 million interest-free loan to be disbursed to the 298 Abia men and women sponsored by government for training in agricultural value chain at the CSS Farms in Nasarawa State.
During the year also, the governor commissioned many critical roads in the three senatorial districts for either rehabilitation or outright reconstruction, and while some have been completed and inaugurated for public use, many more are presently being executed, simultaneously.
An inexhaustible list of the completed and ongoing road projects include the Aguiyi Ironsi Boulevard, Umuahia (formerly called Ossah Road), Umuahia-Uzuakoli-Akara-Ohafia Road, Ohafia-Arochukwu Road, Ekeakpara-NNPC Depot-Osisioma Road and Port Harcourt Road, Aba, nearing completion.
Also in the list is the 19.1 kilometres Itungwa – Omoba – Amaise – Amairi – Mgboko – Ahiaba Ubi – Nkwo Elechi Road, a pilot project of the Rural Access Agricultural Marketing Project, among many other economically strategic and viable roads in Aba, a famous commercial nerve centre, East of the Niger.
The zero-pothole policy of the Otti’s administration, being executed by the Ministry of Works, has not only engaged the hitherto redundant technical corps of the ministry but also eliminated potholes, which rendered many roads in Umuahia and Aba impassable for the better part of the 24 years of the ill-fated administration of the Peoples Democratic Party in Abia.
Serious works are also ongoing in public primary and secondary schools with a view to upgrading them structurally and aesthetically, in addition to an upgrade in their curricula to ensure that upon graduation, Abia students are well equipped to favourably compete with their peers in the country and other parts of the globe.
The governor has also deployed huge resources to structurally renovate and retrofit many government-owned secondary health facilities in the state, in addition to the approval for the renovation and retrofitting of the 200 Primary Health Centres in the 17 LGAs. The essence is to make them functional to meet the health needs of the people.
Today, the Abia State General Hospital, Amachara, Eye Specialist Hospital, Umuahia and Abia State Teaching Hospital, Aba, which were literally abandoned by both staff and patients, amidst long years of rot and dilapidation, obsolete and non-functional medical equipment, have been thoroughly renovated and retrofitted and have become alive and functional again.
This is just to mention but a few landmark projects initiated by the present administration.
In what appeared to be one of his shortest public speeches, the governor thanked Abia people and residents for their sustained support to his government.
He described Christmas as a period of sober reflection on the love of God to mankind, which culminated in the birth of Christ and a time for special thanksgiving to God.
He said: “There have been arguments about whether Christ was born on the 25th December or not. Forget the arguments, he was born.
“So, if you agree that he was born, then we have taken out 25th of December to celebrate him.”
According to him, Christmas provides an opportunity for us to meet together and thank God.
Impressed by the huge success of the religious outing, the governor decreed that, henceforth, Abia State Government Carol of Nine Lessons had become an annual event.
“Last year, we struggled with it, we thought we should wait until we have done one year.
“So, having done it today and it turned out a successful one, it has become an annual event,” he enthusiastically declared.
He appreciated the efforts of the
Organising Committee, headed by the Commissioner for Arts, Culture and Creative Economy, Mr Mathew Ekwuruibe, and also thanked the fathers of faith, the church choirs and other choral groups and Abia people of goodwill that trooped out en masse to be part of the memorable event.
He also took the opportunity to convey government’s goodwill message of a warm and merry Christmas and prosperous New Year to Abia citizens and residents alike.
The occasion became more eventful and colourful with the celebration of the First Lady’s anniversary, which was accentuated with the cutting of her birthday cake.
Although, during the year, Abia, like many other states in the Southeast, nay Nigeria, also encountered a lot of security breaches, leading to the death of many compatriots, particularly security operatives in their line of duty, the scripture says in 1 Thessalonians 5:18, “In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you”.
It is on that count that I join millions of men of goodwill and sound conscience to felicitate the people-oriented, visionary, articulate, focused and God-fearing governor and his government for providing a positively impactful governance for the good people of God’s Own State in the past 365 days and looking forward to greater accomplishments in the years ahead. To God be the glory!
– Eagle Okoro is a Public Affairs analyst and writes from Umuahia