When we get so critical of our political leaders, it is often borne from a place of deep affection for them and their mandates, so that they can deliver excellently.
Dr. Alex Otti is blessed to have been unanimously chosen during the 2023 gubernatorial elections in the state by Abia electorates to serve them to the best of his ability.
Owing to the experience he had gathered over the years from the private sector, the electorates took a bet on him for that reason.
We understand that politics in this part of the world is such a murky water infested with sharks and crocodiles which often manifest as committed sycophants, who cheer you on and in most cases to your own destruction as a leader.
This is why we are committed to advocating for good governance as a brand irrespective of whose ox is gored.
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The responsibility of holding our elected leaders accountable is a task we are committed to and that we must deliberately deliver on.
While we had called out the government led by Dr. Alex Otti for what we strongly suspect to be a deliberate plot to not support the development of Enyimba Economic City in the past, it would be justified to call us a biased and mean brand if we ever dare to not acknowledge the extremely excellent initiatives that are being implemented by this government towards the environmental sanitation of Aba city.
Over the years, we have lived with the reality of Aba being tagged a very dirty and stinking city before the world irrespective of being the best destination for commerce and industry related activities in southeast Nigeria.
This sustained dirty and stinking city status did not start today as I can remember that from 1999 till the inception of this government, the status quo has relatively remained the same.
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It was alleged that during the tenures of former governor T. A Orji, that Engr. Arthur Eze CEO of Orient petroleum a Nigerian billionaire who had visited the town publicly called Aba a very dirty and stinking city before the then governor.
One thing I am very definite about with the recent turn of events in the state is that Dr. Alex Otti must be exceptionally commended for the boldness to appoint an Abia State Environmental Sanitation Agency (ASEPA) Deputy General Manager Aba zone who “smokes”, to ensure that Aba zone is excellently taken care of in terms of sanitation.
Listening to Elder Okezie Ezengwa an Ngwa man from Nvosi speak about the innovations his teams have unleashed on waste management in Aba lately, you would agree with us without hesitation that only a man who smokes really hot in the brain would be able to pull off such a stunt within such a short time with the right support.
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The truth remains that when I listened to this visionary man talk about his commitment alongside his team towards making Aba one of the cleanest cities in Africa, I felt dearly for him because, his likes who are committed to excellence in service often do not last in government circles.
While at it, we must also commend the General Manager of ASEPA Maazi Ogbonnia Okereke. He is obviously leading a great team and as such, the success of the organization partly is a function of his leadership style.
It is clear that under the leadership of former governor Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu, one of such shining lights of that administration was the former commissioner for finance Mr. Obinna Oriaku who brough so much mind-blowing innovations to how the finances of the state were handled.
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However, for plugging so many leakages through which people stole so much, he was blackmailed and conspired against to make sure that he was sent out of that office. When he left, the tenure of the former governor never recovered till they completed their tenure.
Dr. Alex Otti must acknowledge that this man in question is delivering excellently on the mandates given to him and every human who has always known Aba can attest that indeed things have changed with ASEPA Aba zone.
ASEPA must also explore arrears of partnerships with Abia Polytechnic and Abia State university Uturu on areas of mutual interest like sourcing fabrication engineers, waste conversion and environmental scientist.
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Finally, we would love to have the governor expand the mandate of the men at ASEPA to incorporate the conversion of waste to wealth to their mandate in the state.
When it comes to environmental sanitation in the South East, what is happening in Aba shows that indeed a new dawn is here and that Aba is on its way to be reputed as the cleanest city in Nigeria.
Congratulations to the governor and everyone making this a reality. Efforts must be made to sustain this tempo and improve on what is on ground with respect to waste management.