At 80, I dream Peter Obi as Nigerian President-Agba
-Creation of more ministries in Imo political, done in bad faith
Human rights activist and former President, Association of Retired Permanent Secretaries, Comrade Fabian Agba has described the Presidential candidate of Labour Party, Peter Obi as the most qualified, credible and result oriented person among all those contesting for the exalted office, in view of his track record, financial prudence and administrative acumen, adding that his wish at 80 is to have Peter Obi become Nigerian president.
Comrade Agba who stated this in Owerri while addressing the press on the occasion of his 80th birthday ceremony posited that the Peoples Democratic Party PDP initiated the destruction of bureaucracy while the All Progressive Congress,APC presided over the dearth of all institutions of governance. Hence, the two political parties, should under normal circumstances not have anything to do with governance any more. ‘’What will they tell the people and with what will they campaign?
He expressed optimism that, considering Peter Obi’s score card as Governor of Anambra State, he will definitely change the narrative if he becomes the President of Nigeria, come 2023.
If you tell a man who has not paddled a canoe before to take care of a canoe mid-stream, he will capsize. Peter Obi is seasoned administrator. He ran a government with opposition in the majority, yet he came out unblemished.
“Though he contended with the courts, yet he entrenched institution driven governance. He is brilliant and does not join issues with his opponents. While they are busy criticizing him, he keeps addressing issues. That is the stuff leaders are made of’’.
Commenting on the creation of more ministries an the appointment of liason officers for each of the 305 electoral wards in the State, Chief Agba said, ‘’the creation of more ministries is synonymous with creating administrative confusion. He also faulted the several meetings the governors often has with party officers, commissioners, Sole Administrators and other government appointees pointing out that executive meetings are supposed to be secret to avoid the leakage of official secrets.
‘’When there is a crowd, the principle of secrecy is eroded. It creates administrative confusion, which impedes good governance.
On the issue of the 305 liason officers, Comarde Agba said, ‘’what should be uppermost in the mind of a leader is performance which will in turn enhance his re-election bid Crowd does not win election. As a bureaucrat whose loyalty is to the State and not to an individual, I see the appointment of liason officers as a way of manipulating the system. One does not need such crowd to win election in a free, fair and transparent manner’’.
On the non payment of pensions and gratuities to retirees, Agba said, ‘’it is laughable that the current administration has continued to call for unnecessary verification exercise that seldom yields result, while agents of the government keep deceiving their principal with false hood instead of telling him the realities on ground’’.
He condemned a situation where those who criticize the government constructively are seen as enemies,pointing out that the real enemies of every administration are those who because of their selfish interests fail to guide and advise the government properly.
‘’The leaders of opposition are always there to keep the government on its toes through constructive criticisms. But unfortunately the government instead of making use of the insight they provide see them as enemies.
He noted ‘’that Governor Uzodinma is doing well in some areas and nobody is criticizing him on those issues”.
He advised the state government to create an office where those who have complaints about non payment of salaries and pensions can go and lodge them stressing that the absence of such an office is the cause of the confusion and lamentation everywhere.
He also berated some of the labour unions for not doing enough to protect the interests of their members. ‘’Can you imagine that instead of demanding the payment of the statutory entitlements of their members the Nigeria Union of Pensioners (NUP) is busy negotiating with government, it is very unfortunate’.
