At creation in 1991 by the military, Abia State adopted ‘God’s Own State’ as its payoff line just like other states in Nigeria have their unique brand names that distinguish them in the comity of states. Regrettably, in the first 16 years of democratic governance after the exit of the military in 1999, the state literarily turned into what some people re-branded as ‘God forsaken State’. This was ostensibly due to the huge backwardness suffered by the state in various spheres of governance under two successive administrations that governed for two terms each between 1999 and 2015.
When Dr. Okezie Victor Ikpeazu was elected as Governor in 2015, there were indications from the outset that he has come to change the narrative, even though members of the opposition in the state have not been happy with the pace of his developmental strides for some selfish reasons. In this no-holds-bare interview with our Editor-in-Chief, IKECHI ENWEREJI in Umuahia, Abia State Capital; the Honourable Commissioner for Information, Chief John Okiyi Kalu, tells the story with such finesse that easily dismisses the vague posturing of the opposition as he provides facts and figures in clarifying Ikpeazu administration’s position on any of the issues raised. The Governor has largely changed the narrative as Abia is on the threshold of achieving economic greatness that would reposition it in the world map. Kalu speaks more on this and other issues. Excerpts:
Some people still believe that Governor Ikpeazu has the capacity to do much more than he is doing at the moment. Taking a clue from what happened in Edo State between Governor Godwin Obaseki and his predecessor, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole; is the governor under any oath of allegiance or secrecy with his predecessor?
There is nothing like that. Please, quote me that I said, Senator Theodore Ahamefula Orji has allowed Ikpeazu total freedom to run his government and does not interfere with our government. If he was interfering with the government will I be here? I came with Ikpeazu, the man who is talking about template came with Ikpeazu, was he nominated by anybody else? Go and check their administration, even though you thought we were those who were previously in other regime, are Ikpeazu’s friends. Somebody like De Charlie Ogbonna is his personal friend; I do not know if you understand?
So, some of these narratives are funny; what has constrained us in Abia so to speak is the high wage bill. In June 2020, this year, total allocation to Abia was N1.9 billion, total salary outlay for Abia was N2.4 billion. In a neighbouring state, total salary outlay is N900 million. If you go and look at the new minimum wage that we been paying since January to compare Abia with any other South-East state you will see that, Abia is paying more per level than any other South-east state.
But now, the man who spoke concerning template, I confronted him asking, why did he not do the needful and he said, the civil servants resisted the move so there was no political will. I said no sir! you do not need to retrench anybody. How about you introducing technology; Let me explain it to you, who says you cannot deploy electronic time keeper in all the department, ministries and agencies of government? What will happen to the electronic time keeper, it is very simple! When you come in you put your thumb print and go in and when you are leaving you put your thumb print and go home. At the end of the month it automatically calculate your salary for that month based on your input made on the level and what you earn per hour.
Now, if you are a ghost worker we do not need to chase you around because you will have zero naira to collect because you have not been coming to work. If everybody is coming to work the civil service cannot be said to be over bloated because everybody will be contributing something to grow the state. What has happened in many instances is that, you have people living in Lagos, Port Harcourt and so on who collect salary from Abia State. You and I know that; and if you now say let us do verification; they will fly them in, drive in, come and do verification and go. But if you deploy technology as Commissioner of Finance or whoever that is responsible for it and say I am going to spend about N500 million to deploy technology across board; ultimately you will save more than N100 billion over time. People must think outside the box and not blame others for it.
Let me repeat, this administration led by Governor Okezie Ikpeazu is not in any way, form or manner controlled by Senator Theodore Orji and then we have enjoyed a robust relationship with him. He barely comes to Abia, he is busy in Abuja. When he comes to Abia we give him his due respect as our former governor and as our Senator but he does not try to redirect governance in any form or manner; I am telling you because I know. I might not be somebody you can call kitchen cabinet or whatever you people call it but as a Commissioner for Information and a concerned Abian, I am interested in the peace and progress of my state. I am aware of a paradigm shift under Ikpeazu. The progress we have made in the new order may not be obvious to everybody at this time but I also have a sense of history.
I was there when De Sam Mbakwe was governor of the then Imo State; I saw the attacks, the abuses; I do not know if you know that he used to be called “awo.” He owed teachers in those days and he was called all manner of names. And indeed, he was almost rigged out of that election. Some of the old politicians in Abia, I remember one of them used a casket to carry ballot papers in 1983, just to dethrone Mbakwe but today, history has shown that Mbakwe was number one.
History will vindicate Ikpeazu as the N27.4 billion he is spending at Ndiogoro area to control the flooding that made Mbakwe win. The first flyover in Abia State will vindicate him; Faulks Road and Ifeobara Pond will vindicate him. Ikpeazu will be vindicated by Aba Road; the automated shoe factory and by the levels of entrepreneurship development he has engendered in Abia State. Ikpeazu will be vindicated for the fact that back to back for five years Abia school children came first in West African School Certificate Examination (WASCE) whereas other states are celebrating coming twentieth and twenty something. Nobody is celebrating Ikpeazu. He will be vindicated by four model schools and over 415 brand new class room blocks that he constructed in this state. How many did they construct in Rivers State when one man was applauded heavily because of his work in education which I agree with. In any case, Ikpeazu has done much more that. Ikpeazu has done four model schools, they will vindicate him.
When you say workers, is it the state’s civil service; how about the parastatals and other institutions?
No… No… No… see, all the ministries, departments and agencies of government are all in new minimum wage since January. And we do not owe them one kobo. Now, when you talk about parastatals you need to understand the law guiding the operations. The law guiding the Abia Polytechnic, for instance, says that whatever revenue they make including school fees from students that they should not remit it to the state government, that they should use it. But that the state government would not pay their salaries, rather the state government should pay subventions to them to support their operations. The subventions are not necessarily meant for salary payment. There were structural challenges at the polytechnic. You cannot run that school profitably without anything less than 25,000 students but at the moment they have less than 10,000 students and then they are running a wage bill of between 140 to 170 million monthly. If you check how much they are making from school fees, even if we give them all the subventions due to them they will still not pay salary.
So, what we have done is to call a summit to look at those issues. What are the short term solutions we can put into place and what’s the long term solution? The short term included for the first time, the government to directly pay them salary and lastly we paid. We promised them at least, within two weeks we will pay one month as a palliative measure. And we said going forward we will give you N90 million monthly subventions as palliative but open your school, grow the student’s population. And then we are looking at the laws and practices inside. Many of the lecturers there also teach at private polytechnics for which they collect as little as N50,000 whereas they are being paid at Abiapoly every month over N200,000, N300,000 etc as salary. Do you know that one of the lecturers in Abiapoly for instance, earns higher than a Professor in Abia State University (ABSU)?
Where will you be paid, for instance, if you are on strike? How will they pay you? If you are on strike students would not come back to pay school fees. It is exactly what is distressing ABSU now. ABSU has been paying salary every month and we never heard of any problem with ABSU salaries, but then during the lockdown students went home; nobody paid school fees for six months, they could not pay. So the government has intervened and said we are injecting N400 million to help you ‘hold body’ because we know ABSU is well structured; they have enough students and collect enough school fees to be able to fund salaries there. So what they need to do is to reopen that school.
So, some of these things that people analyse and say, they do not really reach the depth of such analysis. Let me be frank with you, the federal government also does not pay salaries of parastatals’ workers. I hope you know the problem with IPPIS? That’s what’s causing problem. In this particular state called Abia, in 2017 Michael Okpara University is a federal institution, they could not cope with salary payment, sometimes they cut salary up to 50 per cent, they owe workers. That is a parastatal, meanwhile as at that time the federal government was paying MDAs very regularly, they never owed the MDAs. Now, when they are reporting the federal government, they did not report that Michael Okpara was being owed. They did not ask them what about the parastatals.
How do you look at the whole scenario where both MDAs and others are under the government regulated by the state and federal?
Do you know why they give them that level of autonomy? See, like the governor will always say, if the Rector of Abia Polytechnic say I want to bring Wole Soyinka, hire him as a lecturer to teach my students; governor has no power to say you cannot hire Wole Soyinka but the Rector who is saying it must have provision of salary he will pay a big man like Wole Soyinka when he hire him.
While we have some level of control over the governing council, this institution is running on its own because the academic environment must be made as independent as possible without frequent government interference. They are the ones that beg government to interfere. When you fail to pay workers and you come and collect money from government, you are begging government to interfere. If government puts money somewhere, government must follow up that money. If they are doing well like ABSU is doing, have we been interfering there? Indeed, they will even come and help us. During the pandemic they donated hand sanitizers and even money.
During the pandemic, you told Abians that the government is battle-ready to tackle the COVID-19; but when the governor was diagnosed to be positive, he was rushed outside the state for treatment, why? Is it a kind of misinformation or what?
Let me clarify the issue. Governor Ikpeazu was not rushed out because of COVID-19. I repeat, it was not Corona virus that made Governor Ikpeazu to be rushed to where he was managed. As at the time he left this state, the last test we conducted showed that he was COVID-19 negative. What happened was that here was a man who through two different tests confirmed negative and as at that time we did not have a test lab in Abia. He was tested at Eruwa in Ebonyi, that’s where the samples were analysed and both samples said negative and the man was going down in ill-health and we could not say what was exactly wrong with him and we were watching our Governor dying. It was when he arrived Abuja that another test confirmed him to be COVID-19 positive.
So, let me make that point clear, Governor Ikpeazu did not leave Abia because of Corona virus; he left because he has a health challenge that needed a wide spectrum of medical opinions and all kinds of equipment to diagnose him at that time. In fact, if you listened to the story of the Governor, he said when he got to Abuja and they told him it was COVID-19 he became relaxed because he knew based on our experience in Abia that COVID-19 is not a death sentence. And yes, I can boast that it is on record that no state managed COVID-19 the way we managed it.
Let me give you facts, in August 2020, the Presidential Taskforce Team said, Abia was the highest testing state in that month. Apart from that, more than 99 per cent of the patients we managed in Abia survived. And as we speak now, our medical facilities were not in any way overwhelmed. Because of the level of preparation we had we still have 130 bed spaces unoccupied for one day in Abia state; and we have added another 50 beds to it at Aba, and that is 180 beds. They are 100 per cent equipped. Indeed, we had the first case at Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Umuahia. We moved equipment from Amachara Specialist Hospital to FMC, put it on record that I said so. And I can name the equipment we moved; that is to show you the level of preparation that we had. And we did not understand COVID-19 the way others understood it. Others understood COVID from the ventilator point of view and that, what was required was to bring in the ventilator.
Our Governor is a pure clinical scientist, he told us point blank that anybody whose case has gotten to the ventilator, that person would die, that it is a very bad case. That our job is to make sure our people do not get to the level of very low SPo2 that will require ventilators. That to do that, we need to diagnose quickly first; make sure there is any diagnosis; second, ensure that that person is managed immediately in such a manner that the right thing is done. He had told us that he was the one who said this normal oxygen gas is more important than the ventilators. That is what he told us that time; that the ventilator was simply artificial breathing. Because as at that time we did not understand it and he said, ok, that we should imagine “onye akwuri machine n’ahu ka ona ekuru ya ume.” And that was the first time I understood the so called ventilator. All other states were going to procure ventilators and they were boasting that they have many of them. My brother, we have many ventilators in Abia and we never use them up to this date.
So, can you say that Abia is a high risk state like Lagos and Abuja?
Is there a higher risk state than a state hosting Ariaria International Market? Do you know how many people that enter Ariaria from the whole of South-east and Nigeria as a country? Please give us credit; I do not know why people are reluctant to give us credit too. If you look at the number of people in the South-east even with the risk posed by Ariaria and other major markets like Ahia Ohuru, Eke Oha, Obani, Asa Nnetu and so on. Even look at the result from the South-east, we are placed third in terms of confirmed cases but we are the first in terms of number of test conducted.
Why is it that the man who has conducted the highest number of test is not the first in terms of confirmed cases? God helped us in Abia; God gave us Dr. Ikpeazu and we worked very hard and people should credit us.
Today, as a result of our capacity to manage COVID; nobody remembers that, even long before the first infection came, Governor Ikpeazu trained all our medics both those in private and public hospitals. He said all of you, come and be trained. Initially, people were training their own epidemiologist; he said no, the doctors will manage them, bring everybody to be trained. Many of our private clinics came and they were trained. The only thing we said was that, as soon as you suspect that this is COVID, do not manage again but maintain high index of suspicion for even patients coming in with malaria. Once they get to those private hospitals, the next thing we get is a call and then we move an ambulance.
How many people know that in 2017, Governor Ikpeazu established the first of its kind, Tele-health Initiative in Abia? That infrastructure is in place, it was what helped us to excel during fight against COVID. What we were doing is that we gave our people the number; call this number if you are coughing or anything. The moment you call, we will move in vehicle to go and carry you. Even at a time we declared a man wanted and not only did we get that man, we found out that two of the family members were COVID positive and we managed all of them successfully, returned them home and even gave him money to live his life. Because we knew as at that time people would stigmatize him; we moved foods to the family to feed the children because the children were infected.
We know there were palliatives by the government to the communities; who and who did you really give these palliatives to?
My brother, most states distributed all kinds of palliatives. I am not boasting, I think we used the best model; the first palliatives we gave through churches for a reason and even in giving through Churches, we gave the big churches first.
The so called big Churches also complained?
Let me explain to you; you see, there is nothing you do that there would not be a complainant in life. Even as you are interviewing me people would complain and say why did you not ask him XYZ question? I am sure you know that. But let me explain to you, we gave to the big churches first for two reasons. First, we did not want people to gather and we knew they have the structure to distribute, the Youth groups, the Boys Brigade; in Assembly of God Church, there is what they call CASSOR, there was PIEPAN in Presbyterian Church and the rest of them. We needed an avenue where the church can take these things and give people in a small polythene bags to go to the houses of their members that were indigent and give to them right at home without them moving. Second, we knew that the big churches if we give them 100 bags they will at their own buy another 500 bags to add to it. And that’s what happened; our strategy worked. Catholic Church bought, Assemblies bought and the major churches bought and in addition to that, we gave them money N6 million, N5 million per church, the big ones to support them. You can quote me on that, it is public knowledge.
Apart from the rice, the beans, face masks, sanitizers, we gave cash as well. But let me tell you, we strongly believed that they gave more than what we gave to them. So, once we gave them those things, what they did was that, they checked. If you give Catholic Church 500 bags of rice, are you giving to one Dioceses or how many Catholic Churches, you understand. So, they took donations from their members and added to what they received and distributed. The same happened to all the churches. That is number one.
In 2016 we established another agency called Abia State Galliatry Services Agency led by Chioko Onuoha. Their job was to visit people who are above 70 years and are home-bound to clean them up, give them food and give them money. We said Chioko come and carry these foods and money, go to those people and tell them it is from their governor. My brother, we reached them because they are more vulnerable to others. We have videos I can forward to you and you will cry.
When I see these old people, I remember my late great-grandmother, I was hearing what they are saying, some of them could barely see. One woman they gave face mask said, if it is the governor that gave it to me, I will wear it, he is a good man. Is he not that governor that used to send people to come here and look after me? We have them on record. There is something we tried not to do in Abia; we are very careful not to over-publicize certain things because when you do good the Bible says your left hand should not know what your right hand is doing.
But in this case, you cannot afford not to make it public because it is your credential, it is your legacy.
That is why we have come now to understand that it is a mistake we did not make it public. We did not mount billboards in all the roads that we did. As far as Governor Ikpeazu is concerned those that are enjoying those things will remember him in their prayers. However, we found out during the last election, how the APC started claiming Aba Road, Umuahia as their project and when people started shouting this road is being delaying, they quickly joined the shouting that the state government is delaying the road. We said; haba! We thought you people claimed to be the one handling the project. In fact, I realize very early that if not that Faulks Road is still ongoing, opposition would have claimed it and indeed they tried to claim Faulks Road that it is the federal government that is doing it.
Are you not aware that they said it is the federal government that is doing flyover? But now that the flyover has been delayed, it is Ikpeazu’s project. When we finished it they will say is it not on a federal road? So I am learning, any road we are doing, I have told my governor, I will go and put giant billboard, “make una see an o, na Ikpeazu do this one”. Because we have done 94 roads projects and people are still complaining. Go to Aru Umueje Road, you will see how we have connected three local government areas, yet nobody is giving us credit.
So back to the issue of sharing the palliative, it is probably one of the best managed efforts and I want to tell you one secret, I deliberately volunteered to head that team. Not only did we go through the Galliatry Services Agency, we went to women group under the leadership of the wife of the governor. She would pack for this community, a vehicle would move because she has connection with women in all the local government areas and we realized that these women were even more important in this scheme than the men; because if a woman has food, the husband and the children will eat.
When the federal government was shouting that they want to do school feeding programme, the wife of the governor came and said do not do any school feeding, give me the food to go and give to their mothers since we know where these children are from and we know their mothers. And we distributed the foods to the women knowing that, if a woman cooks, not only will the school child eat even neighbours will eat.
In addition to that, we now say local government use your discretion, distribute through traditional rulers and that is the one most people are talking about. That was even the least distribution we made. We delivered palliatives seven times and after the whole hog, we remembered our traders that petty traders were staying at home that time, they were suffering and the governor said, go to the major markets, give them N10,000 each and we went and gave pepper sellers, garden egg sellers N10,000 each. We gave them at Ahia Ohuru, at Shopping Centre, Orie Ugba etc. We heard that at Orie Ugba the crowd was so much that they started giving them N5,000 each. But that is a governor who thinks about his people; it has never been done and nobody is talking about it. My brother, can you talk about it for us?
You are the chief custodian of information in this state. Why is it that every ministry and even direct government staffs are issuing press releases, for instance, the CoS, SSG, CPS and so on. Are there internal conflicts in the cabinet and misdirection of duties so to say?
I understand human beings very well; a lot of people do not know my background training. I am a properly trained human resources manager. I worked with UAC. I was fully trained as a business manager and that training I carry along with me. Members of the Executive Council, some of them want to be heard and seen. So what I did for them is this, sign-off your press releases but send it to me first. I vet and it goes out. After all, I have no particular need for people seeing me as John Okiyi Kalu signing something. My need is to make sure that what you are sending out aligns with policy and programme of the state government.
So, in answer to your question; all those things you see go through vetting by me and it does not matter who is signing because I do not want to overshadow everybody. I do not even think it is desirable so that the communities that nominated commissioners would also see and hear that their people are doing something. If people are complaining about it, it is simply because they do not understand my style as Commissioner for Information. Anybody can sign as long as I have vetted. In vetting I also know who should sign any kind of information.
But the public is seeing it that there is conflict somewhere?
Where will the conflict be? Chief of Staff is a very close friend of mine, for instance. The SSG is a very close friend of mine, if you know me well the Chief of Staff and SSG are the two people you will always see me with. Because, you know, when you come into an administration, there are people it works well with you and them. I know what they are doing and they know what I am doing. You have been interviewing me here and I have not consulted any paper. Do you know why? Because I know what everybody is doing; as I am vetting you, I am taking in the information and the governor himself has told the world his Commissioner for Information has never released any information without his vetting. Because at the end of the day even when you bring from another ministry to me, I will clarify from the governor once it is not something decided in Exco; governor are you the one authorizing this? He looks at it and say yes go ahead before I would go back to that person and effect whatever necessary corrections that have to be made in terms of language use or else.
https://any.peopleandpowermag.com/ikpeazu-has-changed-the-narrative-in-governance-says-information-commissioner-part-2/
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