By PAMELA EBOH, Awka

Foundation for Environmental Rights, Advocacy and Development (FENRAD) Nigeria has appealed to the outgoing Governor of Abia State, Dr Okezie Ikpeazu, to do all he could to removed perceived impediments and ensure smooth transition of power in the state on May 29, 2023.

On May 29, the outgoing Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) which has been at the head of government in Abia since 1999, would be handing over power to the emergent Labour Party (LP) which dethroned PDP in the March 18, 2023 governorship election by producing the Governor-elect, Dr. Alex Chioma Otti.

In the countdown to Otti’s inauguration, FENRAD has expressed fears that many unresolved challenges may constitute great impediments to the smooth take-off of the incoming administration and called on the outgoing government to rally round and put things in shape for the good of the state and its people.

FENRAD, a pro-democracy and environmental rights advocacy group which focuses on governance issues in Abia State, in a statement on Wednesday, May 17, 2023, by its Executive Director, Comrade Nelson Nnanna Nwafor , listed factors that were causing apprehension in the state as the May 29 inauguration of the new Otti administration was fast approaching to include the current industrial action by workers as well as by the Judiciary Staff Union (JUSUN) which preceded the industrial action by civil servants; crisis in Abia State House of Assembly and the plan by the Ikpeazu administration to conduct local government election in the twilight of the government.

Other challenges, according to FENRAD, include freezing of government accounts by an Abuja Federal High Court, alleged ongoing looting of government facilities and withholding of handover notes from the Governor-elect within days to his inauguration.

The a non-partisan or non-affiliate of any political interest group noted that the JUSUN strike precipitated by demands by the judiciary workers for the inauguration of a substantive Chief Judge for the state (which was recently executed) and financial autonomy, among others, has grounded all court proceedings in the state.

It noted that the unresolved issue of salary arrears owed civil servants and local government staff triggered the current strike which the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) in Abia has vowed would not be called off unless the striking workers were paid to the last kobo, accusing the Ikpeazu-led government of reneging on agreements it reached with Labour in the past. The strike, now in its third week, has shut down government operations as it has left government offices closed despite efforts by the government to resolve it.

Apart from the subsisting injunctions barring the State Independent Electoral Commission (ABSIEC) from conducting the proposed local government election, the ongoing strike action by workers was the major factor that stalled the exercise originally scheduled for Friday, May 19, 2023.

FENRAD also decried the development in the Abia Legislature which saw impeachment and counter-impeachment moves which has now left the Assembly with two factions conducting parallel sittings and passing resolutions.

The Foundation said it was worried by allegations of looting of public properties in public institutions making the rounds within a few days for the current government to quit the scene.

“Allegations keep coming from all quarters, even the grapevine, that in state-owned institutions like: School of Health Technology, Aba; Abia Nursing School, Amachara; Abia State Government House and elsewhere, equipment and facilities, including vehicles, bought with taxpayers’ money, are allegedly being moved by workers and some other unnamed persons. This is a sad development that must not be allowed to stand. Any individual or group that loots assets acquired with state funds must be made to face the law; no two ways about that,” the group said.

On the reported tiff between the Government Transition Committee and representatives of the Governor-elect in the Committee, FENRAD describes it as sad. It said: “May 29 is two weeks away, and the team of the Governor-elect, Dr. Alex Otti, still cries out that the outgoing government has not availed it with any handover notes or briefs that will allow Governor-elect Dr. Alex Otti to hit the ground running when finally he assumes office.”

The group noted that “a pro-people government, in times like that, should be reflective, taking stock on the mandate it has held, including completing specific projects begun under its watch.” “This, sadly, is not what is playing out,” FENRAD lamented.

“This whole thing could be serious impediments to a smooth transition come May 29,” FENRAD observed and called on Governors Ikpeazu to find a way around these issues and remove all stumbling blocks by resolving the salary arrears issue, the Assembly impasse and jettison the conduct of local government election and maintain the status quo.

“FENRAD urges the outgoing Abia state governor to look into all the concerns being raised by both political opposition and others and see what can be done in ameliorating the situation where such concerns are proven as history, the immortal judge of all mankind, beckons,” the group said.

Nwafor was emphatic that with regard to May 29, “there must be a level playing ground for the incoming government, and the outgoing must ensure this.”