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Orji, Ebonyi Commissioner: IPOB’s Sit-at-home Illegal

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Ebonyi State Commissioner for Information, Mr. Uche Orji who spoke with Ugo Aliogo recently disagrees with the thinking that the sit-at-home order imposed by the Indigenous People of Biafra was successful

Next month October, Ebonyi State will be 25 years, by the vision of the founding fathers; do you think the creation of Ebonyi State has satisfied their yearnings and aspirations?

I can say so far with the coming on board of the Governor, Mr. David Nweze Umahi, he has brought a lot of development that will make Ebonyi truly the salt of the nation. In 2015, when he came on board, we had no solid infrastructure, scarcity of human capital, and our state was never reckoned with in all its ramifications. But his emergence has triggered a lot of progress in development especially in infrastructure and human capital development.

In the area of infrastructure today, Ebonyi is having a network of roads whereby every local government area and community have a road network that cuts across and links with other communities. Each local government has no less than a 25kilometre road, built with concrete pavement, 20-kilometer street lights, that is switched on from 6 p.m to 6 a.m and one critical infrastructure. For instance, a local government has African’s biggest shopping mall, (that shopping mall is a microcosm of the Dubai Mall). The Chief Executive Officer of Silverbird Television, Senator Ben Murray Bruce, said the shopping mall is the biggest mall in Africa and so we are grateful.

Another local government is warehousing Africa’s biggest Ecumenical Centre, the Governor decided to build a befitting place of worship. It is a multi-functional edifice that hosts international and local conferences, social events and it is a money generating asset. We have what is known as the face of Ebonyi State, it is a place where, when you get there, you will wonder if you are actually in Nigeria, Dubai, or one of the Western countries, it is the light tunnel which is named after President Muhammadu Buhari (President Muhammadu Buhari light tunnel). It is a four-way light tunnel that links to the new government house.

The new government house is the most beautiful government house yet. For me, I describe it as the three-arm zone where we have the Governor’s office, Governor, and Presidential lodge. The Government House was started and completed within two years, and it is a beauty to behold. The light tunnel links to the international market which is on the trans-Saharan highway that links through Cross River State to Cameroun. Of course, when the bridge between Cross River State to Cameroun is built, then the African countries will be coming to the international market with ease. From this light tunnel, you will be able to connect to the International Airport that is ongoing. The approval of the international airport was secured under the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari, but I can assure you that it is getting to 70 percent completion because the necessary equipment and machines have been procured and you can be sure that in less than a year from now, the first airplane will land in Ebonyi State.

The governor is looking to make the place one of the three contending International airports in Nigeria. The airport when fully operational will trigger employment opportunities; we are looking at 10,000 jobs, including businesses. The governor is also looking at increasing the revenue base of Ebonyi state through all of these facilities that he created. Of course, there will be a lot of commercial activities within the state and investors will be attracted to these facilities.

The governor is looking at having trade which will create a situation where our people can go into business and travel from any part of the world straight into the state without having to land in any other airport. The governor is also addressing the issue of insecurity to ensure that these facilities are enjoyed by indigenes and non-indigenes alike without any hindrance. If you are at the metropolis, apart from Abuja and Lagos, one can say that it is the next emerging capital city in Nigeria in terms of beauty, neatness, and infrastructure including water fountains. Across the major junctions in the metropolis, you will see the wonderful fountain. In the metropolis, we have 12 water fountains, including the one that is known as Africa’s biggest water fountain underneath the light tunnel. That water fountain provides beauty and of course, it is a tourist center. Therefore all of these facilities have helped to satisfy the aspiration of the founding fathers.

Let me say here that before the state was created, it was drawn from Abia and Enugu State. Today, the governor has three satellite towns linking the two zones, (old Abakalika and Afikpo). Each of the satellite towns is blossoming in terms of economic activities. I can say that the greatest thing that this administration has done is to give a sense of self-worth. Today, we no longer wear the cloth of inferiority complex that plagued Ebonyi state in the past, today we can say that we are from Ebonyi state which is the greatest legacy of the administration of our dear governor.

How have you fared in terms of employment opportunities because we have seen how the society has fared on the issue of employment generation, and judging from the high crime rate in this country such as banditry, and kidnapping which emanates from the lack of employment opportunities? So how did the government manage these tendencies?

The governor upon assuming office saw that the engagement and employment of women and youths were an issue he must squarely address, and then he decided to introduce the second address scheme, which is aimed at giving our people empowerment. So the governor is looking at employment and empowerment as twin pillars that will bring about self-sufficiency and self-reliance on the side of our youths and women. He decided to map out a strategy of employing 5,000 youths and women between the ages of 18 and 35 into the civil service which means that 2,000 will be drawn from the local government system, and 3,000 from the civil service from the state level and a committee has been set up to rationalize the shortlisting to ensure that the various Local Government Areas are eventually given this opportunity on an equal basis.

But beyond all these, the governor is thinking that providing white-collar jobs which is an alternative to the Civil service is the ultimate thing. So he enrolled in empowerment programmes in different areas both in agriculture, vocational trade, entrepreneurship, and other aspects. This is why today, our widows have been empowered with N4b in N300,000 tranche under the widow empowerment scheme. This has also helped to raise the living standards of these families who have been taken care of, some of these families are people who never had the opportunity to spend N5, 000, in bulk, so today their means of livelihood has been increased. N750 million naira empowerment grants have been given to 3,000 youths and women have also increased the living standards of these youths and women.

There are other empowerment programmes such as the tricycle empowerment and diaspora where the state government shortlisted hawkers who are outside the state, they were trained and given empowerment. The case of Lagos was N130 million grants. While for Anambra N400,000 tricycles were given to Ebonyi indigenes living in Anambra including those within the state. This has increased the opportunity for our people to fend for themselves without having to rely on the government. I can say that Ebonyi state is a construction site and we are using the skilled, semi-skilled, and unskilled to carry out these efforts.

The construction workers are drawn from indigenes and non-indigenes, and this has reduced crime and social vices to the barest minimum. What the governor does is redistribute the facilities created to our youths and women. For instance, the shops in the shopping mall are being distributed to our youths and women, so that they can be permanent owners of shops, of course Certificate of Ownership (C/O) can be given to them and no future government can withdraw it from them. This is applicable to the international market and other facilities that the government created.

What is the state government’s view on the current Value Added Tax (VAT) controversy where some states are saying they contribute more than other states?

Being a matter before the court of competent jurisdiction, we will not speak about this. We are a law-abiding state, whatever is the judicial decision of the final court, we shall abide by. We shall also abide by the laws of the state and the laws of the federation. We need not speak on this until there is a final conclusion on the issue.

You talked mostly about the effects of the employment opportunities, what is the crime rate like in your state?

Apart from the EndSARS that plagued the state which caused most of our women and youths to engage in violent protest, and Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) which some people took advantage of mayhem, I think generally, security in Ebonyi state is very calm and apart from the community disturbance that recently reared its ugly head, which has also been put under control, we have got no issue of crimes such as kidnapping and armed robbery. If you go to the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) crime record, you will see that we are not one of the flashpoints of violent crimes.

I know it is because of the way and manner that our youths and women are gainfully employed. As I said, Ebonyi is a construction site, anywhere you go, you will get something doing, and we use our youths and women in all of our construction works and this keeps them empowered. This has really helped in reducing the spate of crimes and criminalities. But essentially the governor has fortified the security architecture and he is working in tandem with the conventional security agencies.

With the recent inauguration of the Ebube Agu which is a South-east security outfit, which is having its ground fully in the state we can be sure that not less 4,000 Ebube Agu officials, all of the security issues are being addressed and the governor is looking at providing intelligence through Ebube Agu, and sharing relevant information with the conventional security agencies that make them crack and track criminals.

We also have the Close Circuit Cameras Television (CCTV) that are installed in the major junctions in the state and we have a viewing center. Once you get to the viewing center, you will be able to monitor what is happening in all the major junctions of the metropolis and the satellite towns. The governor is looking at ensuring that this security system is also deployed down to the rural community when this is done, we will be at par with civilized society in the area of security architecture.

How impactful is this sit-at-home order that they declared across the South-east?

I must say that our people must understand that the sit-at-home order is not giving us any help, even in all the issues that we are raising that is not the way to go, because it is sabotage to economic, social life and it is also illegitimate in all its ramifications. In Ebonyi state, people go about their businesses, except that out of fear, some people will not open their business places. We have been on advocacies and sensitization to let them know that they have to come out to do their business without hindrance and security is up and doing in ensuring that they are not molested and victims of violent attacks.

We are taking the advocacy to our people especially those carrying out these violent attacks to let them know that we are undoing ourselves, and not Mr. President or the Governor, when we take arms to destroy ourselves and public and private property, and we are going to be ultimately affected. The people don’t obey government directive that they should come out and do their business, instead they comply with people that will kill them, so it is an act of fear from the people in a bid to run away from danger, not an act of compliance from the state government.

One of the key things you can reference to Ebonyi state is agriculture. I will like to know what are the major milestones recorded in Ebonyi within the first and second terms of this administration?

The state governor quickly discovered agriculture as an where we have a comparative advantage. So what the governor did differently is that he decided to remove impediments so that youths and women will be interested in going into agriculture. So he had to introduce what is known as mechanization and commercialization of agriculture. In mechanization of agriculture, he had to procure equipment and farm machinery and distributed to farmers, including 13 V7 Bulldozers which he distributed to the 13 local government areas on the basis of one per LGA free.

He also procured farm machinery including tillers, planters, and others. This he distributed to individual farmers through their cooperatives. He also had to partner with the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and FADAMA 111. In terms of the project, he is paying the government’s counterpart funds in order to invest in agriculture in the state. In the area of commercialization, the government introduced what is known as one man, one hectare. What the one man, one hectare means is that for every farmer, civil servant, and officer holder that must be assisted in agriculture, whether primary or secondary or tertiary, you need to have a value of one hectare, before it was N250,000 per hectare, so if you want to go into animal husbandry, rice production and yam cultivation, you need a hectare of land or a project or facility that is equivalent to the cost of one hectare of land. The government will now fund you and give the cost that is equivalent to one hectare of one land. That has really helped our youths and women who are office holders.

Today, it is compulsory that officeholders must have their farm even before they are appointed and that made the state government show leadership by example and this has really helped us. We are also taking advantage of empowerment programmes of the federal government both the social investment programme and Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Anchor Borrowers’ Programme, Commercial Agriculture Credit Scheme, and other programmes of the CBN.

What happened to the fertilizer blending plant because I understand that the federal government had some kind of partnership to provide a lot of fertilizers to the farming population in Ebonyi. How is it going?

I have to mention that processing is where we have a comparative advantage. When the governor came on board, he inherited a 40-metric tonne capacity per hour fertilizer blending plant. So what he did was to rehabilitate it and procure another 40-metric tonne capacity per hour fertilizer plant, thereby making a total of 80 metric tonne capacity per hour. This has made Ebonyi state, the state with the biggest blending plant in the South-east and South-south.

The idea that we need to meet the fertilizer needs of the South-south and North Central is why Mr. President captured the fertilizer blending plants and said it will partner the federal government rice production initiative and that has really helped us in revenue generation and assisting our farmers. We also have the rice milling plant which is the biggest in Africa. It has 32 metric tonnes capacity per hour. It is also meeting the rice need of this part of the country especially in the South-east and South-south. I can say that with that rice mill, we have, we are keying into the rice programme of Mr. President.

Recently the governor cancelled all the certificate of occupancy (C/O) in the state and asked people to come and revalidate the C/O. what was the reason for this?

We have had a lot of cases, fraudulent issues over the sale of land, issues of Certificate of Occupancy (CoO). What happened was that the officials of the Ministry of Land, who had left office continued to issue CoO to revalidate people’s land without having any government authority and that has brought conflicts between individuals. Sometimes there will be two persons laying claims to one particular land. Again, the issue of neglecting the developmental masterpiece of the state reared its ugly head. So government feels that by this new initiative of issuing or revalidating all CoOs, that it will take care of some these issues and it will generate revenues to the state, then it will give a clean CoO that nobody can fault. We had to automate the process such that once you are captured no other person can come and lay claim to that land. We believe that through this process, fraudsters will be detected, those who have been issuing CoO fraudulently and despite the methods that they are using to issue the CoO, I can assure you that nobody will game the system this time around. I think this is what gave rise to the government action on cancellation of the CoO.

What kind of legacy do you think the Governor should leave?

A legacy of economic sustainability and making Ebonyi state to be truly the Salt of the Nation. What it entails is that through all the facilities that he has created and established, we can be sure that the state will be self-reliant. When you talk about leadership, transformation within the shortest record of time, Ebonyi state will be a reference point. This is state that will be taken away from the third world map of Africa, the state will be taken away from such maps and that is what the governor has really attained and that goes to show that the governor is a gift given to us by God.

QUOTE

The state governor quickly discovered agriculture as an where we have a comparative advantage. So what the governor did differently is that he decided to remove impediments so that youths and women will be interested in going into agriculture. So he had to introduce what is known as mechanization and commercialization of agriculture

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