With the joy and jubilation over Governor Alex Otti’s magnanimity of car gift to Permanent Secretaries in the Abia State civil service and the 100% increment of salaries of councillors has come a sad wave of misrepresentation and misinterpretation of the governor’s intent and purposes.
A hearty congratulations to the college of permanent secretaries for being the latest beneficiaries of the Otti’s magnanimity. The governor’s car gift to you is part of the fulfilment of his campaign promises to restore the dignity of the workforce, and the dignity of the civil service. You remember the bill-board messages: “Weep No More”, “A Labourer Deserves His Wages” and many more? Otti, true to his vision, is now keeping his promises and this is one outstanding gesture. Congratulations, also, to the body of councillors, the legislative arm of the local government system, for your own upgrade.
Sadly enough, the gang-up of the Peoples Democratic Party and the All Progressives Congress is mis-framing these kind gesture and policy actions as being a fallout of the speeches by Hon. Ben Kalu, the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives. I consider this notion as preposterous, almost foolhardy, and as an illusion of biased minds. It is rather ridiculous for anybody to associate the governor’s action as having been precipitated by a careless and unguarded statement that falls short of any logical or economic appraisal.
What actually did Kalu say? He exploited his inherent and inalienable freedom of speech and opinion right, and made unfounded comparison of the past and present allocations to the state without recourse to the time value of money. His was a partisan and doctored voice that lacked the force of objectivity. His statement failed to factor the indices of today’s purchasing power of the Naira as against yesterday’s, the variables of the exchange rate and the quality of work being delivered by Otti.
His statements didn’t also take into cognisance the encumbrances of such intractable projects like the Port Harcourt Road and inner-city areas of Aba — the Omuma Road, Omoba Road, Obohia Road, Ohanku Road, etc, that have now been conquered by the governor. Or the long stretch of Umuahia-Ohafia Road, the Bende-Arochukwu Road and the many long stretches of rural roads being opened to link the heatherlands to the cities and to civilisation.
Truth is that Otti is acting out of his volition to serve Abians. He is keeping his promises and not looking back at any careless talk by any disgruntled element.
