Abia Onyike is one of the activists that played critical roles in the creation of Ebonyi State. The labour leader and former Commissioner of Information in the state, who dumped the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) before the last elections for the All Progressives Congress (APC), told Associate Editor, Sam Egburonu, in this interview, that PDP is on the verge of losing the state except Governor Dave Umahi changes his style of governance. Excerpts
ALTHOUGH you were once a PDP chieftain in the state, a former commissioner in a PDP state government, you have today become a major critic of the PDP-led Ebonyi State Government. Why are you so angry against the state government now?
The issue is that the problems we have in Ebonyi State have degenerated from bad to the worst because of the totalitarian and dictatorial attitude of Governor Dave Umahi. Recently, many people who have had cause to disagree with him have themselves to blame. When he came up with the policy of relocating traders from the Abakaliki Main Market to the New International Market, some traders objected to some of the unusual measures he introduced. When some of the traders went to court to challenge the decision, he sealed their residential houses in Abakaliki and their shops in the market.
There was also the case of Chibueze Agbo, a former commissioner in the state who disagreed with him. He instituted over 17 court cases against him. Then in my case, because we have had causes to disagree on a number of issues and because I have always made my position very clear, regarding my negative attitude towards his style of governance, he also recently started harassing me. He got one of his commissioners to write a petition against me at the Police. When I got there, I was charged with economic sabotage and tax evasion and many other things. They also placed many other charges against me in so many places. The situation has not been very palatable. I think therefore that there is the need for people to know what is happening in Ebonyi State because here, people are dying in silence.
First, Governor Umahi ruled Ebonyi State in his first four years without Permanent Secretaries. The first thing he did when he assumed office as the governor was to remove all the Permanent Secretaries he inherited from his predecessor, Chief Martin Elechi. He ruled the state for four years without permanent secretaries. He only yielded to pressure in his second term when he finally appointed the first set of Permanent Secretaries in his government. Some of us see this as deliberate waging of war against order and lawful governance in the state, a style that can ease pillage of the resources of the state without proper accountability. All the people who retired from Ebonyi State civil service from 2014 till date have not been paid gratuities. Elechi’s government stopped paying in August 2014. So, Umahi’s government was supposed to start paying from then but as we speak, nobody has been paid gratuity since then. This is a deliberate way of destroying Ebonyi State Civil Service and the salary schedule that Umahi’s government adopted is just as if the state civil servants are receiving half salaries when compared to what obtains outside.
He has also levied war against organised labour in the state. One of the first things he did when he assumed office was to clamp down on labour unions. He created divisions and emasculated opposition, so that there would be no rules and regulations that will act as checks on government officials. This made it difficult for anybody to effectively challenge alleged pillage of the state resources.
Soon after Engr. Umahi became the governor of Ebonyi State, he has built for himself not less than 25 mansions on over 50 hectares of farmland he acquired in his rural community in Uburu, Ohozara Local Government Area. As we speak, that 50 hectares had since been asphalted and equipped state-of-the-arts facilities like stadium, hotel annex, VIP stands with glasses, cinema facilities and helicopter landing facility. There is no difference between government and personal facility.
What was your relationship with Engr. Umahi when he first contested for the office of governor in the state, before things fell apart, so to say?
When he was contesting to become the governor, I supported him. Then, there was a primary struggle to ensure that someone from the old Afikpo Division (Ebonyi South Senatorial District), where we all came from, emerged as the governor of the state. At that time, people from the other zone wanted to lord it over us; even though Akanu Ibiam was one of the major people that made the creation of the state possible. For that reason, we all supported Umahi because he is from that zone. Of course, he won. So, I can say that I had a very positive relationship with him when he came on board but as soon as he became governor; his style of governance; which disregards due process became a barrier.
But the general impression today is that Ebonyi State under Umahi is one of the best in the Southeast region in terms of dividends of democracy. This is because of the reported infrastructural leap in the area; there are good roads, fly-over bridges, etc.
Well, that is a false impression because this government thrives on falsehood and false propaganda. Development is measured in concrete terms and human development is central, especially for a backward state like Ebonyi. In a backward state like Ebonyi, education should be seen as fundamental but the Umahi-led state government does not believe that the people of the state need educational enhancement. Since he came into office, he has down-graded the educational sector. Policies that promoted scholarship have been decimated and the free education that was founded by former governors Sam Egwu and Martin Elechi had been eradicated. The secondary and primary schools are not being taken care of and he has introduced all forms of obnoxious levies and school fees which compel students who should be writing WAEC. This has strong repercussion for the state and some of us are worried. I am worried because I am one of the people that fought for the creation of Ebonyi State. I am one of the people who submitted the memo for the inclusion of local government, Afikpo South in Ebonyi State. You can therefore understand why I am worried when the quality of governance in my beloved state is being designed to destroy the developmental strides started by former leaders of the state.
If you are talking about infrastructure, I don’t know the claims being made but what I know is that Umahi’s government has been putting on light at roundabouts and water at the major roundabouts as if there is public pipe-born water in Ebonyi. Let me tell you that there is no single public water in Ebonyi State though over N50billion has been expended on that project in the past. Ebonyians still rely on pure water for use. What Umahi does is to build fly-over bridges even when there is no traffic. He has built a Mall, allegedly valued at N5billion and a religious centre worth N7billion. Given the economic realities of an average Ebonyian, are these projects the very facilities they need today. Some of us feel that Umahi is building these things just because he is an engineer and therefore wants to build big projects. You can add this to the allegation that most of the so-called projects were actually executed by the governor’s relations and cronies. It is likely to be a way of making money off Ebonyi State people. Someone who does not believe in paying retiring workers their gratuity, leaving their children to drop from schools cannot call himself a progressive.
But were these mega projects not appropriated by the State House of Assembly before execution?
Let’s not even talk about Ebonyi State House of Assembly here. Everybody in Nigeria knows the kind of state assemblies we have today. Before his emergence as Ebonyi State governor, Umahi took it upon himself to build a coterie of loyalists who he put in office as state lawmakers. So, there is nothing he sends to the House that will not be approved.
Why is the organised labour also unable to ensure that due process is followed in Ebonyi?
I have already told you that when Governor Umahi assumed office, he quickly declared war on the organised labour, on the civil service. He emasculated everything that will likely offer opposition. As a result, governance in the state has since been shattered as one man has emerged an emperor. He has refused to pay gratuities, leaving many to suffer yet he has not been talking may be to explain why he cannot pay retiring workers their gratuities. He cannot claim that there is no money when we all see the kind of opulence he exhibits. There is a contradiction.
To what extent would you blame the ruling party, the PDP, since you claimed that it has degenerated to a one man dictatorship?
We all know that PDP only talks about individual interest of its leaders not the interest of the majority poor otherwise I do not see why they will tolerate what is happening in Ebonyi. Let me tell you that he imposed his younger brother (the same parents) as the National Vice Chairman of PDP for the Southeast and went ahead to impose another of his younger brothers, Maxwell Umahi, as the Deputy State Chairman of PDP. Is this how governance should be; should someone change the state to a personal estate?
It seems you have a personal axe to grind with the governor?
Well, I retired as the Director of Information in the state and he has refused to pay my gratuities. So, I cannot deny here that I am not happy about this. Do you expect me and all the other retired civil servants that have been denied their benefits to be happy? I was also a labour leader here so you cannot expect me to be happy with what is going on here. Also, when I left their party, the PDP, I supported the APC governorship candidate in the last elections.
As an APC member now, do you see APC winning the 2023 governorship election in Ebonyi? In the last elections, some people expected APC to do better in Ebonyi State?
Even in the last election, Umahi lost the governorship election. People came out in mass to boot him out. He came begging and they manipulated the process and claimed that he won.
So, I am certain that if Umahi continues the way he is governing the state, there is no way APC will not take over the State House in 2023. I can tell you that even within PDP, he is not well trusted.
The way you sound, are you planning to contest for an office in 2023 in Ebonyi?
If I have the opportunity, I will contest but 2023 is still far away.
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