I have been involved in the electronic media. I have worked with Galaxy TV, DBN TV, SilverBird TV, and TV Continental, all in Lagos. I was also the Bureau Chief of DBN Abuja and, of course, served in NTA way back in 1982/1983 and this gave some advantages. I have also worked the now defunct Third Eye Newspaper, Diet Newspapers, which is today the Daily Independent.

How do you feel being the CPS to the governor of Abia state?

First, it is a big honour to me to serve the governor of Abia state, who is well considered a father and also it has helped to showcase me back home. It is a leadership platform for the governor to give people like us who are the youth such a sensitive position. That means, he is also packaging us for leadership, not just in the state, but beyond the state. So, it has been a plus for me and it has also helped me to come home to my own village. This is because, you can stay away and your people know you in Lagos, Abuja, Ibadan, but when you come to your home, nobody know you and you cannot make any positive impact. But the fulfilment is that I am in my little village and I am also contributing to its development in my little way. Thanks to the state governor. Then as the Chief Press Secretary to the governor, it is not quite different as what I have been doing as a journalist, which is also to report the activities of Chief T. A. Orji and that of the state to the public. This is because when a man does so much and people don’t get to know about it, then it doesn’t help the growth of such a state. So, what I am doing is that first and foremost, I am a reporter, I am reporting his activities and also to correct impressions. So it is also a way of reporting events as they are in the state because a lot of people have mindsets, say a lot of things that are not true, a lot of people say things that are not quite true of what is happening in the state.

You came at a time your principal is faced with mounting criticisms from the opposition, how have you been able to cope with these criticisms?

Opposition is part of governance. As journalists, we have covered politics for close to 20 years and somehow we know the terrain a bit. Oppositions are there to do their job, to oppose, even when it is right. So it not just myself alone, but I want to also give credit to my colleagues who are also media aides to the governor. We all rose to the occasion, did our best. The simple magic is that the governor himself is a brand and when you have a brand, you don’t have difficulty selling such a brand. So that has been what really helped us. Now you can see that I don’t know whether we still have opposition in this state. They have even come to acknowledge the fact that yes, the start may be slow, but now it is fast, especially on the developmental level.

How do you react when opposition wrongly criticises the governor?

There is nothing wrong when people say they are critical about a government. Yes, they have to be critical, but at the same time, they must criticize constructively, not just want to be talking so that people will know that you are existing. That is the aspect that people don’t really appreciate. They cannot just wake up and say, ‘Governor Orji has not done anything in the state.’ When people say such a thing, we just laugh at them. They can say that the governor has done 70%, but there are still rooms for more to be done. Yes. We know that work will continue to go on and that was what the governor has promised that he will never relent even as a second term governor. So when the opposition come out with their criticisms which are not factual, ours is to tell them in more dignifying way that saying, “look, you are our brothers. If you have not seen the conference centre in Umuahia, just take a time and go there and see. Probably, you have not been going to the new Umuahia. Please, go there and see. So, that is the difference. We recognize that they are our brothers. We recognize that we are in the same state and nobody is greater than Abia State. So, we talk to them in the language that they would understand. This is a government that is so civil, a government that takes time to carry everybody along, irrespective of who you are. That is why you see the governor, even those who offended him in the past, he forgave them and now works with them. So that is the kind of a personality we have.

Is your principal serving the people the way it should be?

Yes definitely. This is a governor that has made himself uncomfortable for people to be comfortable. Look at the new Government House he is staying in. people know, like he always say, he is trying to remodel, re-do things by making himself uncomfortable for Abians to be comfortable. Look at the resources that come into the state, very meagre, yet he is managing it prudently. Look at the projects he is carrying. And you ask yourself, how much comes into the state; N3.8 billion, pay salaries of N2.5 billion and paying the minimum wage which is very high, N20, 100.00. So he is doing the will of the people, not just that, he is doing the will of God. When you do the will of God and do what the people want, people will be happy with you. So the governor has worked extra mile and will continue to go extra mile to ensure that people are happy at his own discomfort.

You and I know that when you look at this state from the inception, you will say with all boldness that this is one governor who has come and is making a monumental progress, achievement with projects that generations yet unborn will ever be grateful to him. The legacy projects are uncountable. Counting the projects, you will forget most of them. From the High Court to ASEPA building, International Conference Centre, New Government House, upgrading of Amachara General Hospital, Mecure, Abia State Diagnostic Centre and Specialist Hospitals in Aba and Umuahia, High Court in Aba and Umuahia, and the ABSUTH Theater in Aba.

The roads he is doing in Aba, Umuahia, Ikwuano, Isuikwuato and across the 17 LGAs, Ubani Ibeku International Market, industrial Market, the Onhiya Power station, and Onhiya Mechanic station. When you look at some of these things, look at the new Deputy Speaker’s lodge, the new Deputy Governor’s lodge, the State Planning Commission House, the Shoprite that is being built, the abia Hotels that is going on, ASUBEB complex, and E-Library centre. Look at the Ministry of Local government and Chieftaincy Affair that is going on. Look at the upgrading of Arochkwu, Okikpe and other hospitals, the Government College where he is building hostels, and reconstructing classrooms. These will stand the taste of time. Look at the secretariat. These are legacy projects that nobody can take away.

Apart from the financial challenges facing the governor, are there any other challenges?

Well, the challenges are mainly fund. If you have fund, it is just like closing your eyes and opening it, and things are done. This is the major challenge that is facing us, and then that is why the governor, who was in Hopkins University (USA) to deliver a lecture on “The Role of Governance in Nigeria”, made a case for more resources to be given to the states. So, these are some of the issues that are quite challenging, which gladly by God’s grace, the federal government is also looking into it.

What is the magic behind your performance as CPS?

The governor has good publicity, but it is just few people who has their own media, has their own newspaper. They believe that they want to use their paper to overshadow what the governor is doing and for some of us, we are his media men, and his media team. We have a formidable media team which has risen to the occasion. It is not everything that you will place in the public domain. Our secret is our secret.

Do you have challenges in performing your job?

Yes.

Like what?

People tend to feed so much on rumours in the state. I take time to disguise and enter the Keke NAPEP (commercial tricycle) from my village to the office. I do that sometimes. You will hear people say a lot of things that are so out of this world, and you will begin to laugh. So, those are the things we try to correct, we try to make sure that people don’t go to get information from the street. We make information available to them. Most times, I go on air, my colleagues also go on air and people call us, asking all sorts of questions and we put records straight. But it looks as if when you say it, people will say, ‘Oh! It is the Chief Press Secretary that is saying it. It is not really a fact’. Those are the things we are gradually changing and I believe that with time, people will get to know that when people make information available for you, you don’t need to start listening to or going to the beer parlour to pick information you know that is not factual. So those are the challenges that were surmounted by the grace of God.

In the course of your job, have had cause to disagree with the governor?

There is one thing about His Excellency, Gov. T. A. Orji. He is a man that is so humble. The way we relate is like father and a son. Each time he tells me what to do, I do it well. Each time I have also have cause to tell him this is from the professional point of view, he will tell me, ‘You are the journalist, you go and do it. The result is what I want’. So, I have never had cause to feel bad doing my job. You can also see the way we also relate with our colleagues who are working with us. Journalists in Abia state, in terms of getting information, had never had it so good during this period. On every time we out on assignment, every journalist would always talk to the governor and information would be made available to them. It is a fact that the information flow in the state is wonderful. The governor also takes time to address them. Even when the journalists ask questions, the governor also takes time to explain.

People are accusing your principal of recycling old politicians instead of injecting new blood into the system. What is your take on this matter?

This is not true. I am a typical example of Gov. T. A. Orji’s blend of youths and experience. When you say, old politicians, these are the people who have the experience. Some of us are coming up to blend the agility of the youth and experience of the old.

Are expecting the dissolution of the exco in the near future?

A journalist had asked the governor that question, so it is not in my position to re-echo what the governor had said.

What advice do you have for Abians over Governor Orji

They should continue to support the man who is sincere. If you check out the people who have ruled this state, there is one thing about the present governor, he is a Godly man. He is a man who has enthroned Godliness in Abia State. The days of idolatry have gone, days of oath taking have gone and days of worshiping idol are gone. He is sincere about God. When you say this state is God’s own state, he has gone whole circle to make sure that we, not just profess it, but also practice it. So that is one thing Abians should know. If there is nothing else the governor of Abia state has done, the fact that he has taken away Abia from darkness to light with the grace of God is something we all should be proud of. When you are free, you are no longer in bondage, and then you have to thank God. Every other thing that is coming is additional and which he has also shown. There is peace in Abia state. Peace of the mind, political gladiators working together, security is at the highest level.

This is a state that used to be the den of kidnappers, but today we are the safest state, investors are coming, partners are coming, and you see what is happening in other states. We are not happy that it is even happening in other states, but what we are saying is that when it was happening here, it looked as if the state is gone, but today with the help of God, President Goodluck Jonathan, Chief of Army Staff and the governor, things are working well here. So, let us work together to sustain this security and love. Before in Abia you see corpses here and there, but now, they don’t happen again. One man has come to say; “Enough is enough”