Ojo Maduekwe<\/p>\n
Later this year when Abia State turns 25 in August 27, stakeholders in
\nretrospect will reach the conclusion that Abia has moved from a state of
\ndisorder to one of structured orderliness, and significant number will
\nagree that this feat was bolstered by the developmental strides of the
\nadministrationof Governor Okezie Ikpeazu, whichclocked a year on May 29.<\/p>\n
Within this exciting period of Governor Ikpeazu leadership, the
\nGovernment in partnership with the State House of Assembly has passed laws
\nto setup key boards and agencies to enhance good governance in some sectors
\nsuch as transport, education, urban development, etc. Also through
\nExecutive power, committees were setup for intervention in critical sectors.<\/p>\n
Take for instance, to curb lawlessness and ensure the restoration of sanity
\non the roads, Government created the Transport and Indiscipline
\nManagementAgency\u00a0of Abia State (TIMAAS) to enforce traffic laws and penalise
\ndefaulters. The agency\u00a0is empowered by law to also regulate parking in the State and check unlawful
\nactivities of vehicle owners.<\/p>\n
Before the coming of the administration of Governor Ikpeazu the skyline of
\nAbia State and public fences were being defaced by all manner of advert
\nbillboards and posters. Now the State has what is called Abia Signage and
\nAdvertising Agency (ABSAA), created to regulate indiscriminate mounting of
\nsignboards and other signage in the State for the purpose of restoring
\nsanity.<\/p>\n
In this era of decline in the monthly federal allocation to States,
\nnecessitated by poor returns in oil revenue, the importance of the passage
\nof the Abia State Solid Minerals Law No. 3 of 2016 cannot be overstated,
\nthe aim of which is to change the operations and improve the revenue
\naccruable to the State Government from this sector. And to show
\nGovernment seriousness, the Governor recently approved the constitution
\nof the Abia State Mineral Resources and Environmental Management Committee
\n(MIREMCO) to assist the State in gettingmaximum value from the sector.<\/p>\n
News of Governor Ikpeazu committed engagement in turning around the
\nfortunes of the city of Aba may have travelled across the country and
\nremains exhilarating but not many people know of the role played by
\nthe creation
\nof the Aba Urban Renewal Agency with the responsibility of restoring sanity
\nto Aba and ensure that the distortion of the city-scape is halted.<\/p>\n
Illegally constructed buildings are being restored back to their original
\npurposes, while make-shift and unauthorised markets are being dismantled
\nand houses built on drainages pulled down to ensure longevity of
\ninfrastructure and general order in the city of Aba. Prior to this time there
\nwere talks of Aba being the dirtiest city in Nigeria\u00e2\u20ac\u009d, but not anymore.<\/p>\n
One of the reasons why Aba was categorised dirty\u009d was due to the
\nconditions of markets located in the city. To address this, Government set
\nup the Abia State Market Development Committee for the purpose of
\nredesigning, remodelling and reconstruction\u00e2\u20ac\u009d of major markets, such as
\nGovernment intends to do with the Ariaria International Market. The
\ncommittee mandate also falls under the development of new markets in the
\nState.<\/p>\n
Right from his campaign days as the candidate of the Peoples Democratic
\nParty during the 2015 governorship election in Abia State, Governor Ikpeazu
\nhas been a strong advocate for Made in Abia products and has travelled
\nwithin and outside Nigeria in search of potential investors willing to
\nstake their money, especially in the profitable business climate that is
\nAba.<\/p>\n
The Abia State Marketing and Quality Assurance Board was set up and is
\nsaddled with the task of certifying that products manufactured in the State
\nis of high quality, and also serving as a marketing board that will
\nidentify ready markets for Abia products while working out modalities to
\npurchase produce from farmers in Abia State for export and larger markets.<\/p>\n
Serious about encouraging investors to take a more critical look at
\ninvesting in the State as a whole, the Abia State Investment Promotion
\nAgency, a One Stop Investment Centre (OSIC) was set up to serve as the
\nfirst port of call to any company, group or individual desirous of
\ninvesting in Abia. The agency is solely responsible for the coordination of
\ngovernment equity in private-driven companies and negotiates on behalf of
\nthe State the terms of all Public Private Partnerships between the Government
\nand private investors.<\/p>\n
In the area of managing government properties for optimum use, the Abia
\nState Utilities Maintenance Agency was created to manage public utilities,
\nespecially the maintenance of streetlights and sundry public utilities.<\/p>\n
In all of these initiatives by the Governor Ikpeazu administration, two
\nstands out, and they are the Due Process Office and Policy Implementation,
\nMonitoring and Evaluation Unit (PIME). The Due Process Office is headed by
\na Special Adviser and with the role to ensure that all government
\nprocurements go through proper vetting channels. So far over 60
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Certificates of No Objection\u00e2\u20ac\u009d have been issued for projects in the State
\nin the course of which over one billion naira was saved for the Government
\nin amounts over-invoiced or wrongly scoped by prospective vendors and
\nservice providers.<\/p>\n
For the PIME which is also headed by a Special Adviser, their duty is
\nto monitor
\nthe rate of implementation of the various policies of Government and advises
\non necessary adjustments that need to be made. The purpose of this is for
\na more efficient and effective Government.<\/p>\n
The above expatiated agencies, boards and committees are but some of the
\nstructured initiatives that have been embarked upon by the Government
\nof Governor
\nIkpeazu to reposition governance in Abia State. If this could be done
\nwithin a year and under difficult economic times, the remainder of his
\nfirst tenure as Governor promises to be a pleasant journey.
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2 Maduekwe is the Special Assistant on Media to Governor Ikpeazu<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Ojo Maduekwe Later this year when Abia State turns 25 in August 27, stakeholders in retrospect will reach the conclusion that Abia has moved from a state of disorder to…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":49698,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-49697","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles-opinions"],"yoast_head":"\n