Otu, a true representation of leadership with capacity – Akiba

Ekpenyong Akiba, a legal practitioner by profession, is the Special Adviser on General Duties to the Governor of Cross River State, Senator (Prince) Bassey Edet Otu. Akiba, a young politician, has been a long-time aide of the governor right from when he was in the House of Representatives between 2003 and 2011 and in the Senate from 2011 to 2015. He was Otu’s media assistant until he became the Governor of Cross River and appointed him special adviser on general duties. Akiba is one of the active officials of government in Cross River State, seen to have been making valuable input and contributing to the success of Otu’s People-First administration.

In this interview published by Pillar Today, the astute and outspoken lawyer, said the governor has demonstrated purposeful and pragmatic leadership that has greatly impacted on the lives of the people. He maintained that the governor has proved his mettle and Cross Riverians are pleased and happy with him, the reason why they rolled out the drums to celebrate his one year in office.    

Excerpts:

The Governor has been saddled with the responsibility of governing Cross River State for a period of one year now. What is your assessment of his performance so far?

My assessment so far of one year of His Excellency, the ‘People First’ Governor, Most Distinguished Senator Prince Bassey Otu, in one word, is satisfactory. And I wish to start by saying that Senator Bassey Otu is the master strategist. He is also a true definition of a purposeful leadership. He represents leaders that know the true meaning and the importance of leadership by distinction. He is a true representation of leadership with capacity, leadership with capabilities, leadership that has to do with the result. Leadership that rebuilds or rekindles hope, rebuild confidence. His type of leadership reawakens trust.

Since our governor came on board, you will agree with me that all sectors of the economy have been tempered with. Many have seen him as a magician going by the fact that despite our low financial standing as a State, his strides are massive. If you want to count the number of achievements of this administration within one year comparatively nationwide, he stands above all others especially when you put them side by side with our income.

When he came on board and declared ‘operation no potholes in Cross River State capital to begin with, people thought he was joking, but we can all attest to the fact that there are no potholes in the State capital again. He also declared war on environmental degradation and dirt, today Calabar is not just clean and is also green. There are no more refuse staring at us. There has been a lot of commendation. One of us recently said that there is no more opposition in Cross River because of how hardworking our governor is.

We now have traffic lights, something that was forgotten about; our street lights are on, and major dilapidated or abandoned structures have been brought to life, for instance, the cenotaph; when you walk into the millennium park, you could see the ambiance is different. The aesthetic look of the state is highly commendable. When you talk about tourism, there has been a lot of boost. The Marina Resort today houses a cinema, we now also have the fun city. The governor has done relatively well. For me, he has performed beyond expectations.

Yes, we had expected that the governor would deliver all his campaign promises, even though we know him to be a man of his word, we never expected him to do all these in one year. I think he has lived beyond expectations. That is because, this is just one year and he has covered all the fields. By sincere assessment, with all seriousness, Our governor has touched education, our children’s tuition fees are paid by the government, WAEC fees has been taken over by this government.

There are lots of financial grants to aid education, we had renovations ongoing in schools. Issue of water has been handled. Water that was difficult to flow in our taps is now flowing in Cross River, irrespective of a few challenges here and there occasioned by vandalization which we expected will happen due to long, non-usage of those water pipelines.

We have also witnessed a lot of impact in sports. Recently, we had a Sweet Prince Marathon. We have also seen our stadium given a face lift. Many people are coming to host competitions in. U. J. Esuene Stadium because of the standardization effort of the government. Due to this development, various sports and games are coming up. The Governor is also doing a lot in terms of our indigenous team, Rovers Football club. And there are also a lot of investors who are willing to invest in the State, including in the sports sector, and that is because the Governor has been able to reposition Cross River for partnership, for collaboration, for investment, and for commitment.

There has been massive intervention in the health sector of the state. The aged are being attended to, the motherless homes are now constantly visited, even the prisoners are not forgotten, the street children are also having their own share of the cake. His Excellency is very passionate about those on the streets. Government is trying to locate and re-integrate them back with their families. Some of them would be given skills to help them earn a living while some of them would venture into sports, because different children in the streets would have different interests. The Governor has also been able to impact our people in terms of youth empowerment.

Senator Prince Bassey Edet Otu is the only governor in Nigeria that has given young people opportunities to prove themselves through political appointment. Through the Ministry of Youth Development, his Excellency has introduced skills acquisition vision. We have a partnership with SKYRUN, a Chinese company, which is training young people in various electrical skills. His Excellency has also done a lot on agriculture.

So far, the Governor has been wonderful. If you talk about security, in Cross River there is calm. There has been a lot of intervention in the area of security. If you talk about partnership with the foreign bodies and countries for a better economy for the State.

And you will also understand what the governor meant when he said he was coming to sustain the democratic gains right from the past regime. Today, the Obudu Ranch is being given special attention, and the Calabar International Conference Center (CICC) can now hold conferences.

Contract for the State Library has been awarded, work is ongoing. Today also our drainages are in order, our walkways in order. For me the governor has discharged himself in line with ‘People-First-Mantra’. We are very proud of the Governor. We are very happy that in one year, all sectors have been positively impacted. Our Carnival calendar has already been released as we speak. We are happy to be identified with His Excellency as his partners, as his aides even as he steers the ship of the leadership of Cross River.

Our Judges today are smiling within the judiciary sector, because he came on board and said our Judges can’t be there without their official cars. And he has to issue them with their official cars. Recently, hoteliers were given well over N10 million to beef up their hotels. His Excellency has paid a lot of hospital bills quietly, because he believes that the people have to remain alive to enjoy the season of sweetness. There is also a lot of intervention even in our civil service.

If you could remember during the Labour Day, the NLC Chairman disclosed that for a very long time, Easter bonuses were not paid to civil servants but the Governor came in and this year paid Easter bonuses. The Governor has also stated that senior citizens who have invested a lot in our state civil service cannot fail to be given their due. And that is why the governor is not leaving any stone unturned in that direction.

For us, we are soliciting for continuous prayers and enough support for His Excellency, because it is clear that the Governor means well for Cross River and is poised to reposition the state. Under his watch, a more prosperous Cross River is guaranteed, and as citizens, we would continually be proud that we are in the People’s Paradise.

As I said earlier, no sector, I repeat no sector, has been neglected. Today we have bus stops. The Commissioner for Transport recently came up with a new policy to ensure buses in the streets are branded.

There is going to be more in terms of the new policy of government and plans. You could see the level of work done in our seat of power, the governor’s office. Everything is standardized in that office now, and the Governor is not limiting the work there to his office alone. The work is going across other offices and establishments.

You just said something about the governor declaring operation zero portholes on our roads but we were told paucity of funds was the culprits to why our roads were left unattended to. Where did your government have the funds to undertake the massive works that are ongoing?

Well, I think it is about prioritizing our priorities and prudent management of our resources. The Governor decided to give to Crossriverians what rightly belongs to them. I want to believe that the available funds, the working funds, are what the Governor is using to execute all that we are seeing.

Even the investors are willing to invest in Cross River because governance is a continuous process, and we inherited assets and liabilities from the past government. For me, the Governor is not working this hard because he is receiving more funds, he is working hard because he has the will-power to deliver on his campaign promises.

What we are seeing is just the beginning of great things that will be happening in our dear State, and by the time we celebrate our second year in office, I want to say that there will be a lot of good news because one year is certainly not enough to define what he has in store for our people.

We are also proud to be Crossriverians, because today the story of Cross River has changed, today the face of Cross River is brighter, today the beauty of Cross River is back, today the cleanliness of the state is back. So is a thing of joy and pride.

There is this hue and cry from some quarters about the demolition of the monoliths in Zone 6 roundabouts. Sir, what would you tell Crossriverians as to the reason for their removal?

Well, I want to say that we are witnessing massive rehabilitation, massive renovation, massive reconstruction, and reformation. When you go to that area, you’ll witness a new road being constructed by zone 6 to the tank farm where tankers lift fuel to other parts of the country.

It was as a result of professional/ experts’ advice. Relevant stakeholders were consulted including the Road Safety. If you remember, there used to be many road mishaps along that axis because the Monoliths were obstructing motorists’ focus and view. Tanker drivers from the tank farms complained of obstruction and in order to eliminate and reduce road accidents, they were reduced.

We know that the Monoliths represent our history and our Identity. In terms of culture, in terms of art, in terms of even craft and creativity, which the governor and the government holds very dearly but the decision to remove them was for the good of Cross River State people.

We are already in discussion with the MD Tourism Bureau, who has already identified two locations within the city where the monolith could be replicated. People should appreciate changes and new renovations. Most of what we have today in our capital city, for instance, were not there about 30 years ago. As the world develops, we also have to adapt to the present-day reality.