I’ll not negotiate with criminals – Gov. Otti, vows to restore the dignity of Abians as Rev. Umah Ukpai commends his achievements in office.
Abia State Governor, Dr. Alex Otti, has declared that he will not negotiate with those who destroyed the State in the past, having failed in their attempts to lobby their way to become part of his administration but have resorted to blackmail and spreading of falsehoods against his administration to see if he will invite them for negotiations.
Governor Otti stated this in two separate Church services on Sunday, 23rd February, at The Master’s Vessel Church, 73 Azikiwe Road, Umuahia North and Power World Ministry Int’l, Km 1 Isi-Court off Aba Road, Umuahia South LGA.
Quoting the portion of the Bible that says, “righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach,” the Governor said that he does not claim to be righteous but that his administration will not deliberately do the wrong thing. “We will not deliberately do the wrong thing. You may hear some people making noise left, right, and center; it is because they are used to things being done in the wrong way, and we have come to say NO.
“So, if you bring something that is wrong to us, we are not afraid to say no. Some of them have resorted to attacks in the media. They started by applying – you need us to run a government, we politely declined to say darkness and daylight have no meeting points.
“And the next thing they do is to start attacking you thinking you would call them for negotiations. We are not doing anything wrong. Ours is a government that has integrity; we will never negotiate with criminals”, Governor Otti stated amidst applause from the worshipers.
Speaking further, the Governor told the cheering congratulations that he wants to restore the dignity of Abians.
“After the restoration of our infrastructure, the next thing is to restoring the dignity of Abians… Growing up here in Abia or whatever name it was called, Imo or East Central State, one of the things our people were known for is that we don’t beg.
“We are hard-working people; all we require is the enabling environment. Give us roads, give us good drainages, clean the environment, give us power, give us good education, provide good healthcare system, etc”, the Governor explained.
The Governor said that if you provide those basic amenities, people will not disturb the Government but will work and fend for themselves. He disclosed that his administration is working hard to bring back that culture of hard work and contentment among the people by creating the enabling environment for them to pursue decent livelihoods and be proud of their work, business, and who they are.
Governor Otti disclosed that the free and compulsory education that he declared at the basic and secondary school levels led to the massive enrollment of pupils and students in public schools, which had brought enormous pressure to the poor and inadequate educational facilities in the State. He announced that he had declared an emergency in the Educational sector and has awarded contracts for the upgrading of 221 public schools across the 184 wards of the State to contain the massive increase in enrollment.
“And that is why from the beginning of this year, we have abolished school fees. If your child is in any school in Abia, primary or secondary, you will pay zero Naira.
“In the next few months, we will complete the fixing and upgrading of 221 schools. Some of them and very few of them just require little maintenance, but the majority of them are in a terrible state of disrepair,” the Governor stated amidst shouts of Joy from the worshipers.
Governor Otti granted the request of Master’s Vessel Church to be reallocated a place to build their parsonage after being shortchanged by the previous administration, who allocated the same land they allocated to them to another person who took them to court and opted for an out-of-court settlement.
The Governor thanked the church for their prayers and continued support saying that the prayer of the church does a greater part of the job because when God is with you, it’s difficult to do the wrong thing. He reassured the church that greater things are coming as what they had seen in the last 21 months of his administration are mere “dress rehearsals.”
Rev. Dr. Umah Okpai commended Governor Otti for the good works that he is doing in the State saying that he is doing “amazingly well.” He revealed that he prays for the Governor every day, expressing optimism that the Governor would do even better.
Both churches prayed fervently for the Governor and the State Government for God’s continued wisdom, guidance and provision, etc.
Governor Otti was joined in the Church service by the Deputy Speaker of Abia State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Austin Okezie Mmeregini, the representative of Umuahia South State Constituency in the State House of Assembly, Hon. Emeka Obioma, the Secretary to the State Government, Prof. Kenneth Kalu, the Commissioner for Transport, Dr. Chimezie Ukaegbu among other top Government functionaries.
