Irene Chigbue and Her Detractors
By Hamisu Dangana
Any high profile public servant is like a gold fish. He or she has no hiding place. His or her actions are scrutinized every minute for various reasons and for different purposes. That is okay because, in addition to putting the public official concerned on his or her toes, it makes for transparency and accountability especially in the prevailing democratic culture with the due process sing song. He or she knows that a searchlight is on him or her. To that extent, therefore, it creates little room for errors even if not intended.
However, what bothers one is when the scrutiny takes a personal dimension when, instead of the action and or inactions of the public servant, attention is focused more on the person especially his or her private life. It is in this context that the tirade against Mrs Irene Chigbue, erstwhile Director-General of the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) by detractors, especially Online Publishers-Huhuonline.com comes to mind.
Since her assumption of duties as the helms officer at the Bureau on March 7, 2005, and subsequent retirement on March 7, 2009, it has been a miss-mash of kudos by those who saw the good work she did during her tenure but not so for the online publication and its co-travelers.
One then begins to wonder if Huhuonline.com was solely set up to x-ray the public and private life of Mrs Chigbue or to give accurate, balanced and correct reportage of events as the noble profession of journalism entails.
To be candid, not many gave her any chance of success when ex-president Olusegun Obasanjo in his wisdom announced her name as the Director-General of BPE to replace Dr Bala. Those intent on making her path rough, including the Online Publication have stopped at nothing to ensure that her attention was diverted from the job at hand. When it is not rumour mongering, it is gossip peddling or even petition writing. But glory to God she has, so far, weathered the storm, making her mark in a unique manner that has endeared her to right thinking members of the public. It is on record that since her assumption of office in 2005 till she retired her tenure handled the highest number of transactions as follows, 46 transactions in 2005, 30 transactions in 2006 and 31 in 2007, bringing the total to 107.
All these, especially the transactions in Eleme Petro Chemicals and Nigeria Aviation Handling Company (NAHCO) have been success stories. But the detractors, who see nothing good about her or her stewardship, allude that most of the transactions have been reversed. Nothing can be farther from the truth. The proceeds realized in all these are as follows: 2005, N172.2billion, 2006, N150.3billion and 2007, N183.3 billion. This translates to N505.8billion realized during her tenure as against the N81.1 billion realized from 1989-2004 during the tenure of her predecessors.
It must be noted that though reform of the utilities began in 2000, more impetus was given from March 2005, when she took over. This included, the enactment of electricity sector reform act, developing of new laws for (a) marine transport, (b) railway and (c) oil and gas policies and
bills.
Some of the reforms in the power sector include, the law enacted in March 2005, Corporation of NEPA as PHCN (May 2005), Approval for initial transfer of assets, liabilities and staff of NEPA to PHCN-July 2005,Inauguration of National Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) as independent regulator-October 2005, Unbundling of PHCN into 18 successor companies(Six Generating coys,one transmitting coy and 11 distributing coys-November 2005.There are also, Petroleum industry reform bill, Gas bill, Ports and Harbour Authorities bill, National Transport commission bill, The Nigerian Railway bill, Inland Waterways bill and Federal Competition bill initiated by the Chigbue’s administration and sent to the National Assembly which are awaiting deliberation and eventual passage.
In general administration, on assumption of office on March7, 2005, she immediately evolved ways to raise staff morale and build confidence which had been eroded by previous administrations. Unlike what transpired before her tenure, she engaged management in all decisions and everybody including, junior staff, given a sense of belonging. Staff are now free to air their views on matters that affect them. Staff welfare and working condition, grossly enhanced.
Despite the laudable achievements, the detractors have seen nothing good in her except to disparage and malign her person and character
Their latest modus operandi is to instigate attacks on her person by posting false and unsubstantiated stories on the internet just to break her spirit.
But that, too, like others in the past is bound to fail because darkness and its agents cannot overwhelm light. It doesn’t matter how far they are prepared to go. Notwithstanding, the truth is that they are missing the point especially in the face of the beautiful job she did at BPE.
Chigbue’s decision, from the inception of her tenure, to make transparency the bedrock of her administration’s policy thrust, has endeared her to many who wish the country well because it restored faith and confidence in the exercise of actualizing government’s policy of making private sector the hob and engine room of the economy.
Her masterstroke of introducing the innovative post-privatization monitoring (PPM) which has the main purpose of enabling the bureau in fulfilling its mandate and which has been making parties keep faith with the terms of the contract entered into in the privatization exercise has continued to attract accolades except from those who had always benefited from past inefficiencies in state matters.
Posting false stories about her on the internet by her detractors are reminiscent of a wolf in its last throes of death, a last ditch effort by them to do the impossible, to blackmail her. But it is destined to fail because a clear conscience will never fear any fall.
· Dangana, Writes From Abuja
