I AM READY, EQUIPPED TO SERVE PEOPLE OF ABIA STATE. Chief Okey Ahiwe.

BREAKING NEWS!
By National Ambassador on February 10, 2023.

Published by Ngwafactsnews Media Reports.

CHIEF OKEY AHIWE GOVERNORSHIP CANDIDATE, PEOPLES DEMOCRATIC PARTY, ABIA STATE GIVE US A BIT OF YOUR BACKGROUND AND CHILDHOOD

I was born at Umuire Eziama Ntigha on the 26th of December 1966. I started primary school at my village in 1973. Later, I joined my Elder brother in Umuahia. Schooled briefly at Urban School 3 in Umuahia then returned to the village again where I completed my Primary school. From there, I went to Ntigha Secondary Grammar School in 1979, spent 3 years there, took entrance examination to Technical Colleges and proceeded to Ahiara Technical College, Mbaise, Imo State. In those days, after your Junior Secondary School, you took an entrance examination to proceed to a Technical College to learn skills for 3 years. I gained admission into the Ahiara Technical College and spent 3 years there. I graduated from there and began climbing through life.

WHY THE CHOICE OF AHIARA TECHNICAL COLEGE?
In the then Imo State, there were 4 of those Technical Colleges, Boys Technical College Aba, Ahiara Technical College, Government Technical College Owerri and another one for girls – Girls Technical College Aba which was later transformed to Abia State Polytechnic, Aba. There were 4 of them in those days where you spent 3 years and came out with a skill. In the event that you do not wish to proceed to the University, you had an artisanal skill and you can earn a living from there.

SO WHAT SKILL DID YOU ACQUIRE AT THE AHIARA TECHNICAL COLLEGE?
I mastered Building and it has helped me in the course of my life endeavours. I can interpret drawings and I approach situations from a technical and analytical standpoint so I am glad I acquired that training. As a matter of fact, when I become Governor, I will insist that we go back to that system because that helped with checking youth restiveness. Every youth had a skill and could always fall back on that skill whenever white collar jobs were not forthcoming.

WHY THE GAP BETWEEN WHEN YOU FINISHED SECONDARY SCHOOL AND YOUR UNIVERSITY EDUCATION?
When I came out of Ahiara Tech, I wanted to go to the University but I discovered that the certificate I came out of the Technical College with could not get me admission into a University so I had to get busy while waiting to write GCE External to get the subjects I required to gain admission into the University. Notwithstanding, I still recommend those Technical Colleges highly. Most of our graduates from our Universities are frankly unhelpful to themselves and the society with their degrees without any commensurate skill. Because of the advantage the Technical College gave me, I will insist that we embark on the equipping of existing ones and building of more Technical Colleges in Abia State while equipping them properly to serve technical and Vocational Education needs of Abians. With that, we can tame unemployment. It is the quickest way to up-skill our youths and have them useful to themselves and the society.

HOW DID YOU GET TO LAGOS?
Lagos was fortuitous. While waiting for the opportunity to write GCE and apply to the University, I joined my Elder brother who was trading shoes at Ariaria International Market, Aba to assist him in his shop. Business was good and I was going to Lagos to do supplies. That was when I got attracted to Lagos. From there, I got a job to work in a Marine and Clearing and Forwarding Company owned by Chief Adeyemi. It was while working with him that the imperative to further my education became pressing so I wrote GCE and gained admission into the University of Lagos.

SO HOW DID YOU START YOUR OWN COMPANIES?
I spent some time with Chief Adeyemi and when I felt that I had sufficiently learnt the ropes, I registered my own company Powertrim and started importing Electronics and Electrical Appliances. Note that with Chief Adeyemi, we were helping importers clear their containers so invariably, I became friendly with some of the importers and was able to enquire the nature of the business and what was required. That was how I was able to raise funds and get into the business.
Again, I had links with Marine Companies and ultimately, I established a company in Port Harcourt called Ambrokah Investments which alongside the already existing Powertrim, I used to handle Oil Servicing Contracts for Oil Companies.

WHAT WAS THE ACTUAL NATURE OF THE BUSINESSES AND WHICH COMPANIES DID YOU SERVICE?
Powertrim is into Corrosion Control, Coating, Sand-blasting. We have been working with Mobil now for over 20 years. We are still there up till now.
Ambrokah is into Marine Services for Shell. We supply Tug-boats, Badges, Vessels, Marine Transportation for Shell operations.

WHAT IS THE STAFF STRENGTH OF THESE COMPANIES?
Oil Servicing companies mostly outsource their staffing on demand basis. Even Shell and Mobil. Majority of the Staff are contract Staff depending on the project at hand. That is the structure of the industry. That said, we have over 20 Staff on our permanent payroll to handle operations and coordination but we employ 10 times that number on a revolving basis according to the project we are executing per time. For instance, I have had to supply vessels to Shell and engage the crew required for each operation so they are not necessarily my staff but they work for my company.

WHAT ADVANTAGE DO YOUR BUSINESSES CONFER ON YOU IN YOUR CURRENT PURSUIT?
Structure and Order. The Oil industry is a highly technical and precision-driven industry. Most of the players are multinationals and they have high performance metrics so there is minimal room for error. Before they give you a contract, you must be thoroughly profiled, you must prove your bonafides and expertise. You do not do trial by error on an Oil Servicing project so for my companies to be working for these multinationals all these years means I have acquired a natural preference for precision and order. Things are organised around me and I am a very organised person. I work with data, charts and variables and it helps with accurate decision-making so this will be highly advantageous in my Governorship as we will not be doing trial by error. There is no short cut to excellence. We will work with professionals across board. We will analyze available data and apply professional solutions to them as I have done most of my adult life.
My private-sector experience has also thought me wealth-creation without depending on Government so I will be supporting the private sector in Abia state to grow their businesses.

WHAT WAS YOUR EXPERIENCE LIKE AS CHIEF OF STAFF TO THE GOVERNOR?
In the past 7 years, I’ve worked closely with the Governor directly. I’ve been with him to most of the places that he goes to, working closely with him even without an official designation. So when the time came, appointing me Chief of Staff was like conferring a title on me for what I was already doing informally for over 6 years. It however helped deepen my knowledge and experience about the running of Government. So from the beginning, I know what we met on the ground and what we have been able to do and even what we have not been able to do. I know the pitfalls and the booby traps and I know where we are heading to.

WHAT IS YOUR REACTION TO THE NOTION THAT YOU WERE IMPOSED ON ABIANS BY GOVERNOR OKEZIE VICTOR IKPEAZU?
Anybody who witnessed the processes that led to my emergence will agree that I was not imposed on anyone. It was a natural choice of the majority. Apart from several Caucus meetings, there was a keenly-contested primary of the party where my co-contestants stepped down for me. Because of the level of acceptance of my person by the leaders across the state, my emergence was procedural. Of course I owe gratitude to Governor Okezie Ikpeazu as the Leader of the Party for midwifing a smooth process but it will be uncharitable to the free will of these Leaders who supported me to assert that Governor Ikpeazu imposed me.

A RECURRING SORE POINT FOR PDP IN ABIA STATE IS THE HANDLING OF SALARIES AND OTHER EMOLUMENTS. WHAT WILL YOU BE DOING DIFFERENTLY?
In Abia State, we have about 28,000 workers. Of this number, 26,500 are regular Ministry Staff while the balance 1,500 are staff of Parastatals, Agencies and Non-Ministerial entities. It is not in dispute that Staff of Ministries are up to date with their salaries. The issue is with the non-ministerial entities who are unable to manage their affairs. But I understand that they are all Government Staff so we will no pass the buck. As Governor, the buck will stop at my table. I will take responsibility for all Staff of Government. Any Agency that is unable to manage its affairs will be reviewed. Agencies receiving subvention will have to manage their affairs within the bounds of what they are receiving. Those that are meant to be revenue-generating will either generate those revenues or their Heads will have to go. It is unconscionable that our institutions are carrying a wage bill that far outweigh their income. That is unacceptable and untenable. So we will deploy biometrics and automation to determine actual staff strength. We will conduct audits and reviews to ascertain staff who are actually fit for purpose and we will embark on rationalization where necessary. Moreover, we will create several other opportunities that will make it easier to absorb these redundant staff into productivity. Like I said earlier on, I know the pitfalls and I am ready to correct these anomalies.
PENSIONS?
This is already on the verge of being solved. Abia State has signed up to the Contributory Pension Scheme so Government will have no hand in managing Staff Pensions again so what this means is that Pension Fund Administrators will administer the Pensions and the process will be seamless.

ABIA RECENTLY LAUNCHED A LONG-TERM DEVELOPMENT PLAN. DO YOU INTEND TO WORK WITH THAT DOCUMENT?
I was an integral part of the formulation of that Document. I worked with the Executive Secretary of the Planning Commission and her Team and we presented the document. I believe completely in it and like I mentioned earlier on, I am a data-driven person. The data we have in that document will help us with our plans going forward.

YOU ENJOY TREMENDOUS GOODWILL AND SUPPORT IN THE SOCIETY. HOW WERE YOU ABLE TO ACHIEVE IT?
It is simply a reflection of my life philosophy and personality. I relate well with people. I am at peace with all men. Even with the access I had as a friend of the Governor and later, as Chief of Staff, the way and manner I carried myself endeared me to a lot of people. I will never be engaged in discussing negativity about someone. I will never join you to plot against someone. I am the one who is always interceding for those who run foul of the system, I have led Ngwa Patriots for 10 years and people saw first-hand, my leadership philosophy so with every sense of modesty, I am a man of the people and it becomes easy to enjoy goodwill with that outlook.

YOUR EMERGENCE WAS BECAUSE OF THE SAD DEMISE OF PROF. IKONNE. WILL YOU CONTINUE WITH HIS PLAN OR YOU WILL BRING YOUR OWN?
Prof. Ikonne’s plan is the party’s plan. It’s the PDP’s plan so we are largely continuing with it but applying peculiar skills and expertise that are available to me so there is really not much to change. Note also that we were all part of that plan. I was involved in the Ikonne Campaign from the beginning so I am familiar with the process.

HOW DO YOU WANT TO SHORE UP THE IGR OF ABIA STATE?
I believe that there are a lot of loopholes in the system and I have identified those loopholes. I mentioned earlier that I will introduce automation in all our dealings. We will work on a lot of data-gathering to drive our decisions and this exercise will also help our revenue projection and plans.

WHAT ARE YOUR PLANS FOR UMUAHIA?
I’ve mentioned that I schooled briefly here in my primary school days and moreover, I am from Ntigha and it is very close to Umuahia. I am therefore familiar with Umuahia and its challenges. Chief of the challenges Umuahia is facing is urbanization and ventilation. We shall embark on massive opening up of Umuahia. New Cities, Estates, PPP Projects and urban infrastructure. We definitely have big plans for Umuahia.

DO YOU PLAN TO CONTINUE WITH GOVERNOR IKPEAZU’S MADE IN ABA CAMPAIGN?
As I mentioned earlier on, after Technical School, while I was trying to get admission into the University, my elder brother was in Aba selling shoes and materials at Samek in Ariaria International Market and I had to join him to raise money to fund my education. I am made In Aba. I was at Ariaria for a while and owned a shop there. So I am an Ariaria Trader which means I will look after that constituency and SME Development as a whole. I give credit to Governor Ikpeazu for his strides with SME Development and I will definitely take it to the next level.

HOW DO YOU INTEND TO SUSTAIN THE PEACE IN ABIA STATE?
I will tell you the secret behind the peace in Abia State. It is because Governor Okezie Ikpeazu has no political enemies so we do not have political crisis here. PDP does not have factions and nobody is grandstanding to upstage the other leading to tensions and crisis. You saw him host former Governors Orji Uzor Kalu and T.A. Orji at his house in Umuobiakwa the other day. That is his outlook. The people who should be creating crisis for him, he is at peace with them so where will the crisis come from? I am also naturally a peaceful person. I do not have strength for enmity and strife so you can be guaranteed that Abia will continue to be peaceful.

LAST WORD
As we proceed, Abians will get to know more about me. I am ready and equipped to serve the people of Abia State and I am ready to lead my party to victory.

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