Challenges facing S/East governors

Written by Dada Joseph
Monday, 27 June 2011


South-East Bureau Chief, Jude Ossai, with additional reports from Joe Nwachukwu (Owerri) and Clement Oko-Nnachi (Abakaliki), looks at the issues of governance which governors in the South-East geopolitical zone are expected to tackle in the next four years.

GOVERNANCE in the South-East geopolitical zone is unique, largely due to the republican nature of the people of the area and the growing demands on a modern government. The challenges facing the present administration in the zone are quite enormous and the governors themselves know it.

Between May 29 this year when the governors, except Peter Obi of Anambra State, renewed their mandates and now, the state chief executives had met more than three times to re-strategise on their policies and programmes with a view to meeting the aspirations of the people of the zone. Apparently sucking to build a stronger tie, the governors have crossed party lines to work as a team under the aegis of the “South-East Governors’ Forum”. The chairmanship of the union is held on a rotational basis.

The governors, in recent times, had involved top Igbo political leaders in their meeting, which is often held in Enugu, as the Coal City was once the headquarters of the defunct Eastern Region. These leaders of thought included former Vice-President and founding member of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Alex Ekwueme, and the ex-Senate President and current Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Chief Ayim Pius Anyim.The leadership of the Ohanaeze Ndigbo is also involved in the joint forum, with the presence of the President of apex Igbo socio-cultural group, Chief Ralph Uwachue.

The South-East governors and Igbo political leaders had, in a recent joint meeting in Enugu, called for the review of the revenue sharing formula. This, the Igbo governors maintained, would be a precondition for the payment of the new minimum wage in the zone as announced by the Federal Government. Chairman of the forum, Governor Obi of Anambra State, who gave the condition in a communiqué issued at the end of a meeting held at Government House, Enugu, last month, announced that the various state governors in the zone were committed to the payment of the N18, 000 minimum wage as prescribed by law.

To be able to pay the new wage, Obi said, “We join the clamour for the review sharing formula so as to help the states pay the new minimum wage.” Obi also announced that the various states in the zone would work together to complete the Zik Centre in Enugu. According to the communiqué, the governors would continue to meet regularly on issues affecting the region and Nigeria, irrespective of their political differences, in the interest of the zone and Nigeria.

[b]Enugu State
[/b]Governor Sullivan Chime of Enugu State is back for a second term as governor of Enugu State. Apparently determined to work with the opposition, the governor said, “I shall continue to run an open administration which welcomes that all hands must be on deck to make Enugu the best state in Nigeria. In this wise, I extend my hand of fellowship to my brothers who contested the election with me. I invite them to join us in the onerous task of re-engineering our state. We are all winners today and shall remain so, as long as the best interests of our people are served.”

The re-elected governor’s call on the opposition to come on board might have begun to yield fruits, as some opposition leaders in the state have accepted the olive branch extended to them. A congratulating message was, on April 30, sent to Governor Chime on his re-election by the candidate of the Peoples for Democratic Change (PDC), Dr Dan Shere. Shere, who spoke through his party’s image maker, Igbonekwu Ogazimorah, said,“ The incidences of the general campaigns are expected and accepted as normal stages in democratic election process, where there must be a winner, as there must be losers.

“Governor Chime, more than ever, now has a date with history and that date has imposed a tough duty. That duty can only be seen and accepted if performed within the precincts of rule of law, fairness and in its general inclusiveness.

He noted:“As there are very good elements in the existing programme of the government, there may also be gainful indices in the programmes of others. I, therefore, recommend to him my “3-cannons of development plans” to erect the necessary infrastructure, pleasurable social environment and seeds for sustenance of values.

“In the interest of our Enugu State and Nigeria in general, the road left open now is to pray for the good of our state and focus for the administration, believing also that in the fullness of time, other bidders to the office would approach the business with minds tutored in sportsmanship.”

But it is not yet Uhuru for the Enugu victor, as the gubernatorial candidate of the state chapter of the Congress for Progress Change (CPC) is threatening fire and brim stone. The party leadership insisted that the last presidential and governorship elections in the state were characterised with electoral malpractices, saying forensic test, anchored on biometric technology, would expose the alleged allocation of votes to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the zone.

In a press statement issued in Enugu and made available to reporters, the Enugu CPC governorship candidate, Osita Okechukwu, said,"Forensic test, anchored on biometric technology, will expose the jumbo allocation of votes to the PD in the South-East and South-South, characterized by monumental ballot stuffing. We are assembling evidence and will expose to the world the hi-tech rigging which polluted the presidential election. We are not crying wolf where there is none. We are not bad losers. No electorate throughout history rewards a political party which failed to provide common infrastructure like electricity. It will be inconceivable that the Nigerian electorate rewarded PDP for a decade’s stretch of failed promises.”

Governor Chime is faced with a lot of challenges, as he has to contend with how to revive the ailing industries owned by the state government. For instance, the AVOP Vegetable Industry at Nachi and Cashew Company at Ohebe Dim in Udi and Igbo-Etiti local government areas, respectively, if properly organised, would not only yield a lot of revenue to the government but also create employment for the jobless youths in the state.

Another area that needs urgent attention is the N18, 000 minimum wage for workers in the state employment. Many people are not satisfied with the position of the South-East governors on the wage palaver. Although the workers support a review of the federal allocations to states, they argue that the governors in the zone should commence the payment of the new minimum wage without any condition.

Governor Chime is also confronted with how to balance the three senatorial zones that make up Enugu State in terms of appointments and allocation of state resources without stepping on toes. He has to make sure that merit is not sacrificed on the altar of political patronage. Perhaps, this singular fact could be the reason for the delay in reconstituting of his cabinet.

Agreed that the governor performed creditably in the development of infrastructure in the Enugu metropolis during his first term in office, but he needs to extend same to rural areas by constructing and reconstructing roads in valages and towns. Health care and water facilities in various communities should also be improved upon in the state. This is a serious challenge to the governor.

[b]Imo State
[/b]Governor Rochas Okorocha is not new in the nation’s politics, having tried his hand in the presidential race and bowed out to the superior fire work of politicians like ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo. With his triumph at the 2011 governorship election, all eyes are on him to know whether he will break the jinx of winning the hearts of the Imo people. As a philanthropist, he is faced with the problem of how to manage the state’s funds, as he has to explain to his faithful and the needy the difference between public fund and personal money.

The newly elected governor is also faced with the challenge of how to keep the state clean, as refuse heaps are seen on the main roads of the Owerri metropolis and its environs. Ex-governor Ikedi Ohakim did his best to keep Owerri clean in the four years that he stayed in the office, which was why the state was declared the cleanest in Nigeria in 2009. The present administration should try as much as possible to maintain the standard.

Another challenge confronting the Okorocha government is how to tackle the issue of abandoned state projects. There are flyovers and uncompleted ring roads embarked upon by the past administration, which Imo people are in dire need of. The other challenge is how the governor would curb the influx of people to his office. The Government House, Owerri, has become a Mecca of a sort for politicians and people who come from far and wide to seek the governor’s attention. Critics of the governor contend that the hasty manner he plotted to probe his immediate predecessor, Ohakim, was in bad faith. To this group, expending all his energy on probing the past regime could be distractive, as he could end up not giving dividends ofdemocracy to the people.

Further challenge is whether the governor will remain in the All Progrssives Grand Alliance (APGA) or defect to PDP as this could affect his choice of cabinet members. To the larger segment of Imo State people, the governor needs to constitute his cabinet with men and women of integrity.

[b]Ebonyi State
[/b]Governor Martin Elechi’s administration is confronted with a lot of challenges ranging from paucity of funds from the federation account, to the uncompleted state of some of the ongoing projects, notably Unity Bridges, the International Market, the new secretariat complex code named Ochudo City; roads, among others.

The Salt of the Nation gets the least federal allocation in the country. Governor Elechi told newsmen recently that the state recorded a shortfall of N14 billion, as a result of the global economic meltdown between 2008 and 2010 fiscal years. This shortfall in revenue, according to him, adversely affected the implementation of most programmes of the government, and is a challenge facing the administration.

Another major challenge ahead of Elechi is the composition of the State Executive Council that was dissolved recently. The recent statement credited to the governor, alluding to the fact that no major changes will be effected in the appointment of commissioners and special advisers, did not go down well with a cross section of aggrieved party faithful, who are of the opinion that new hands should be injected into the machinery of government.

Elechi is equally confronted with the challenge of reconciling some PDP members who failed to secure tickets during the party primaries. Notable among these politicians are former members of the National Assembly and former members of the state House of Assembly.

Besides, another major challenge confronting the administration is the incessant industrial actions and strikes by labour unions in the last four years in the state. Worthy of note is the Nigeria Medical Association (NMA), the public servants, teachers and medical consultants, who all embarked on series of strikes in the last years.

[b]Abia State
[/b]Governor Theodore Orji, like his colleagues in the zone, is faced with the challenge of improving his low profile during his first term in office. Before the governor quit the ’’ tagged the Progressives Peoples Party (PPA), "tagged family empier’’ the people of the state were said to be in bondage. Both Governor Orji and his erstwhile godfather, Chief Orji Uzor Kalu, fought to produce a governor in the last general election. But all is now history as the PDP took over the mantle of leadership with the re-election the incumbent. The present challenge is for the governor to build bridges among the stakeholders with a view to moving the state forward.

Orji is also confronted with how to change the face of Umuahia, the state capital. Yet another area which the governor has to tackle is the decay in Aba, the commercial nerve centre of the South-East Many communities in the state do not have good roads and the governor needs to embark on aggressive rural transformation.

However, critics of Orji’s government say that he spends much of the state’s fund on sustaining the current political harmony in the state, as he has to maintain various interest groups and the league of godfathers.

Just like in any other states in the country, Abia is faced with the problem of unemployment. Many able-bodied youth are roaming the streets without jobs. There is the need for the governor to embark on aggressive agriculture as a hungry man is an angry man. The kidnapping saga and other anti-social vices would be reduced to the barest minimum if the youth are fully engaged in profitable ventures.

[b]Anambra State
[/b]Governor Peter Obi had, before the last general election, got his mandate to run for a second term through the APGA. But his challenge is how to sustain his party after his exit from office. Although the APGA controls the majority in the state House of Assembly, the emergence of Dr Chris Ngige of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) as a senator representing the Anambra Central Senatorial District is already a threat to APGA in the state.

However, critics of Governor Obi also agreed that the governor is prudent with the state’s funds and had performed creditably in developing infrastructure, such as roads. At least, the governor appears to have silenced the godfatherism syndrome in the state.

Funny article. See how the paragraphs on each governor diminishes as the article ends. Looks like our dear Mr. journalist got tired of writing, faster than he started.

We need at least two more States in the SouthEast.

ZnO:

Funny article. See how the paragraphs on each governor diminishes as the article ends. Looks like our dear Mr. journalist got tired of writing, faster than he started.

Or maybe the poor author only knows a lot about Enugu's internal politics.

ZnO:

Funny article. See how the paragraphs on each governor diminishes as the article ends. Looks like our dear Mr. journalist got tired of writing, faster than he started.

LOL!!! He was just writing a bunch of bull. We've seen so much of those SE this and SW that long grammer.

Muslcar:

We need at least two more States in the SouthEast.

Really?

When Abia and Ebonyi state dont even have any tangible show of development in the last 12 years and now 2 more for the likes of Andy/Chris Uba or Orji Kalu?