By IHECHINYERE CHIGEMERI-UWOM

Gov. Alex Otti has vowed that anybody implicated in the mismanagement or theft of pension funds in the state will face prosecution.

Otti made the remark during the November edition of the monthly chat with the media at the Government House, Umuahia on Thursday night.

He said that recent investigations revealed that some civil servants were involved in pension fraud.

He said that the government would work diligently to investigate and hold accountable anyone involved in pension fraud as part of the efforts to sanitise the civil service.

?I am sure you would have heard some reports about some civil servants who were involved in pension fraud.

?We have zero tolerance for corruption, once we got convincing information we had to arrest the people involved.

?Coincidentally, the opposition went on air to castigate the government.

?My question is somebody stole and I arrested him and you went to press to say that I shouldn?t arrest a thief, that means you are a thief yourself.

?I think we have responded to them and we are continuing with their prosecution,? Otti said.

He said that he received a report of the investigation from the security agency handling the matter and authorised that the perpetrators should be arraigned in the next few days.

On health, he said that the government would soon commence the rehabilitation of the Primary Healthcare Centers (PHC) in the state to improve access to quality healthcare services.

?I have just signed off the reconstruction of about 200 primary healthcare centers in the three senatorial districts and 17 Local Government Areas.

?If you look around you will see that work would start in the PHCs.

?When we are done with the approved 200, we would move to the next 200, until we have touched every primary healthcare center,? the governor said.

He further said that the government had commenced the rehabilitation of 22 secondary healthcare centers across the state.

According to him, government was making serious efforts to attract the right personnel to work in the state-owned health facilities and pay competitive compensation package to all of them.

Otti also spoke on road construction, saying that contract had been awarded for the reconstruction of some roads to further drive socioeconomic development in the state.

He listed the roads to include the 5.5-km Onuimo-Abia Tower Road, 29-km Onuinyang-Okporoenyi-Oboro-Ikwuano Road, 11.5-km Ntigha-Mbawsi-Umuala Road and 11.1-km Obehie-Umudobia-Owaza Road.

Other roads are the 11.7-km Mbala-Umuaku-Ngodo Road, Umuogo-Nsukwe Ring Road, 13-km Ohanze-Ntighauzo-Obete-Umuoha-Obende-Akirikaobo Road and 6.92-km Umuopara Ring Road.

On agriculture, he said that he had approved the disbursement of funds to the 300 Abia youths sponsored by the government for training on improved agricultural practices.

?I have just given instructions that the funds we approved for them be released to them so that they can hit the ground running,? Otti said.

He affirmed his administration?s commitment to infrastructure development and capacity building in order to enhance growth in the various sectors of the state?s economy.

On economy, Otti said that the government had made significant improvements in enhancing the ease of doing business in the state.

?The National Bureau of Statistics published a report that showed that our state came from number 27 in terms of attraction of foreign investment to number three out of 37, immediately following Lagos and Abuja.

?We think between June 2023 and June 2024, our state attracted almost $150.9 million to place 3rd.

?We have always said that foreign investment as a matter of fact is not emotional but rational, so investment and investors don?t listen to platitudes they look at action,? he said.

Otti expressed his determination to continually work toward creating an enabling environment that will make Abia to remain a choice destination for investors. (NAN)

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