Abia State Governor, Dr. Alex Otti has charged the leadership of community development unions to institute and enforce good leadership in various communities in the State and Nigeria at large.
Governor Otti gave the charge on Wednesday, while receiving in audience, a delegation of the Abia State Association of Igbo Town Unions, led by its President General, Chief Sir George Mgbeorurukwe in his office.
He regretted that there are some communities where people of questionable character are still occupying development union leadership.
“We won’t come out and say that we are not interested. As the Chairman, you need to get interested. We don’t want thieves. We don’t want drug dealers, and we don’t want 419 people as leaders of town unions.
“Because, if your leader is a thief, he will teach people to steal. If he’s a drug addict, if you arrest somebody, he would want to bribe you to release him. So, the Bible says that righteousness exalts a nation,” Gov. Otti stated.
Governor Otti added that his government insists that the right people should be in leadership positions.
“So, we now have to, as government, insist that we need to know who the leadership of the town unions are. And, we will do it through you.
“So, you must put the right people in authority, just like you quoted Proverbs 29 verse 2. When the righteous is in authority, the people rejoice.
“I’m challenging you to go back and ensure that the communities have all their well-meaning people involved and produce the kind of leadership that you and I would be proud of.
“You can go and make your money, but you can’t come out to aspire to lead when we don’t know what you do. That’s who we are. That’s how our parents brought us up. So, we need to go back to those old days,” Gov. Otti stated.
He stressed the need for community union leaders to give intelligence and credible information to government and security agencies to enable them to curb crime and criminality in rural communities.
“Yes, so there are local governments and communities that today, virtually all the young people are operating under the influence of drugs. They will go and stab people, kill people, steal, kidnap, and all that.
“If the town unions are strong, they will eradicate that from their communities. And, if everybody does the same thing, this place will not be a safe haven for any of them.
The State Chief Executive granted the request of the union for a piece of land to locate its office and directed the Commissioner for Lands and Housing, Mr. Chaka Chukwumerije and his Arts, Culture and Creative Economy counterpart, Mr. Matthew Ekwuribe to work together to provide a parcel of land for the Abia Association of Town Unions.
He equally directed the Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Sir Uzor Nwachukwu and the Senior Special Assistant on Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Mrs. Magdalene Agupusi to get the town unions to be more effective and active by ensuring regular interface with them.
Earlier in his speech, the President General, Abia State Association of Igbo Town Unions, Chief Sir George Mgbeorurukwe thanked Governor Otti for his achievements in the State and for making Abia people proud again and assured of the support of the union for the reelection of the Governor.
Chief Mgbeorurukwe described Governor Otti’s emergence as an answered prayer and requested for a plot of land for the union’s secretariat
The Commissioner for Arts, Culture and Creative Economy, Mr. Matthew Ekwuribe and the Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Mrs. Magdalene Agupusi were present at the visit.
Ctz. UKOHA, NJOKU UKOHA
Chief Press Secretary to the Executive Governor of Abia State
