Governor Alex Otti is proposing to appoint billionaires as LG chairmen

A rights group, Coalition of Civil Society Groups in Abia State, CCSGA, has cautioned Governor Alex Otti, over the planned appointment of billionaires as the transition committee chairmen in the 17 local government areas of the state.

The group urged him to thoroughly screen such persons if he must make such appointments.

Otti had during an event at the Aba Sports Club, disclosed that he would appoint billionaires as Mayors of the 17 council areas.

Insisting that it is not against wealthy people to occupy political positions, the group stressed the need for thorough integrity tests on the credibility of some of the billionaires whose names are being mentioned to ensure that they fit into part of the Governor’s “new Abia”.

They urged the Governor to carefully select and appoint men of integrity who have no allegations of corruption and certificate forgery allegations hanging on their necks.

The group in a statement signed by its chairman, Comrade Johnson Uzor Emeh and Secretary, Veronica Ijeoma Nwogu, hinted of unconfirmed reports making the rounds in the state that a certain man who is under investigation for alleged certificate forgery in one of the tertiary institutions in the state and other former officials of the immediate past administration who were  accused of corruption, are among the people penciled down for the

appointment as transition chairman for one of the local government councils in Aba and other areas.

It disclosed that it had in 2022, petitioned the immediate past Abia state House of Assembly  who was investigating the allegation but did not conclude it the before the expiration of their tenure.

The group stated that it had also petitioned the current House of Assembly to investigate the matter.

“We ,as stakeholders are partners in the new Abia project. It is in this fact that we deemed it necessary to write you on this subject matter. Recently,there is a viral video where you emphasized that billionaires will be appointed as chairmen of local governments.

“Your Excellency, we brought this to your notice because we are aware of your hard earned integrity and mage going by your antecedents. We will not like anything that will bring your reputation and that new Abia under your watch to disrepute. We struggled hard to ensure that the old order in Abia was chased away.  The new Abia can’t thrive if we keep quiet when we notice some flash points of the old Abia.

“The rumours of appointment of these suspected persons are gaining ground. The rumours may be occasioned by your utterances eulogizing some of these billionaires who are under investigation of fake certificate and financial misappropriation in the last administration. We wish to reiterate that appointments as LGA chairmen should be based on integrity, notable antecedents, sound morals and good administrative acumen and a certain level of education and the fear of God to change the status quo. Most of these billionaires have looted public funds , forged certificates and are involved into many nefarious activities known to the society. So, just being wealthy without a critical look on their source of wealth will bring Abia back to the old days.

“We use this medium to demand that any appointee with allegations of corruption and fake certificate should be thoroughly investigated. It will not be good if such matters are not swept under the carpet.

“Recall that everyone is celebrating Prof. Nnenna Oti , the Vice Chancellor of the FUTO  because of her courage to do the right thing during your election. She displayed integrity and capacity which should be our guiding principle in the new Abia, not on wealth. We are also confident that you will see the merit of this letter and not on the wealth and financial status of the writers. Truth is constant and will always be. We will always call your attention to issues that may hinder your mission to realize the new Abia of our dream.”