Assessing Ikpeazu’s one year in office

The one-year scorecard of Governor Okezie Ikpeazu speaks of a man who is in a hurry to get to his destination. Notwithstanding the economic downturn biting hard on the states, Governor Ikpeazu has laid solid foundations that will serve as a springboard for the rapid development of the state.

Take the case of youth employment. He launched the State Traffic and Indiscipline Management Agency, which engaged over 200 youths as employees of the agency with the mandate for traffic control and protection. The agency is being run in collaboration with the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC). The FRSC provided the training and orientation for the new outfit.

The Governor also adopted another strategy in tackling youth unemployment by initiating the Youth for Employment (E4E) programme, which has skill acquisition and vocational training in its curriculum. The idea is to prepare the student to be self-employed after school and also become employers of labour.

The Governor has also worked hard to provide an enabling environment and infrastructural facilities for the growth of the state and its citizenry and this has positioned the state as the business and tourism destination. By paying attention to road infrastructure, the Governor is setting the standard towards the speedy recovery of the economy.

Thus, road infrastructure is a strategic roadmap towards the recovery of the drowning economy; Governor Okezie Ikpeazu administration is active on 65 roads cutting across the three senatorial zones with 27 of these roads completed. These roads are with good drainage network and streetlights and construction of bridges are also in place. The Governor also introduced the high cost intensive cement technology in the construction of roads in Abia. The idea is to enhance the load bearing capacity of these roads.

In his bid to protect the public infrastructure, he established the Public Infrastructure Management Agency with the responsibility to maintain and protect public facilities in the state.

Abia is in the speed line to increase Internally Generated Revenue (IGR). Governor Okezie Ikpeazu made effort to engage reputable consultants to harness the huge IGR, with the goal of driving the IGR of the state from N500m monthly to N1.5 billion. One step towards achieving this goal is the harmonization and integration of the tax system. Through the establishment of Abia State Economic Advancement Team (ASEAT) the governor is seeking to produce a new economic blueprint for the state. The team is driving the new economic initiatives, setting agenda and initiating new methodologies for the drive towards the new IGR mandate.

This vision has also led to a concerted war against double taxation and eradication of tout and illegal agents in the revenue drive. The government has blocked the leakages and conduit pipes through which government finances are being siphoned. These drastic efforts have yielded results in the recovery of government finances from the illegal agents.

In the area of security, this administration has done credibly well in securing the life and property of her citizens. The security standard of the state is now better than what it used to be in the past. Part of the strategy deployed towards maintaining law and order in the state is the donation of patrol vehicles to the Police and other law enforcement agencies. This is to enable them do their jobs effectively and efficiently.

In a bid to support the law enforcement agencies, the Abia State Vigilant Service (AVS) are undergoing training for them to be more educated and know their boundaries in assisting the law enforcement agencies. There have been new forms of threat and these agencies are being re-orientated on how to handle these situations. The AVS will also play   the role of fencing the communities from both internal and external aggression.

With the current security threat, beefing up the security service of the state is very crucial at this time. The State Vigilant service is going to be well oriented on how to work and operate in a democracy. Security of life and property is a priority for the government and this has been a highpoint of the Ikpeazu administration in the first one year.

The health sector has received a drastic boost. The Governor identified two tertiary health centres in each of the three senatorial districts in the state and brokered a public private partnership arrangement where a private hospital management firm will take over these hospitals and run them. The state has also reviewed its health policy with a view to reactivating and strengthening it for greater efficiency.

These health centres include: Federal Medical Centre (FMC) Umuahia, General Hospital in Okpuala Ngwa, Isiukwuato and Amachara. Arochukwu Cottage Hospital Owaza, Abia health office and 68 primary health care centres as well as Modern Chest Clinic at the Specialist Hospital, Amachara.

The one-year has been eventful and the leader has shown clear signs that he is prepared for the task. And Abians are happy that a Daniel has come to judgement.

Kingsley Maduforo is a Special Assistant (SA) to Governor Ikpeazu on Media