Facts Against Ouk’s Falacies, Abia Imbroglio: Blame T A Orji

By Eddie Onuzuruike
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Chief Orji Uzor Kalu, former governor of Abia State and serial contestant of multiple elections has been in the habit of attacking Senator T. A. Orji. It is easily observable that these attacks are nothing but mendacious allegations only aimed at defaming and demeaning. It is also an abuse of Newspaper space as these fallacious publications were made in the Sun stable which is100% owned by Chief Orji Uzor Kalu.

The latest of these attacks came on Saturday, July, 9, 2016 on page 55. Among many other concoctions and false claims, the most scathing as I quote below is, “I remember handing over a very functional and debt-free State to T. A. the records are there for all to see. By the time we handed over, Abia State has exited the Paris Club.” Damn lies! The truth is that OUK left a huge debt of 29 billion, 6 million out of these are personal debt owed the Sun Newspaper in personal advert of Orji Uzor Kalu. The Abia Treasury under the Accountant General’s office is a public office. These facts can be verified.

Conversely, Senator T. A. Orji managed Abia economy veritably well to which the 7th Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria attested to in a document titled ‘Resolution of The First And Second Sessions, June 2011 – June 2013.’

Page 50 and 51 in graphical terms reproduced below as borne in a motion, no. 23 by Senator Olubunmi A Adetumbi Ekiti North, titled, LOOMING DANGER of BANKRUPTCY IN STATES: THE NEED FOR FISCAL EVALUATION referring to the findings from a research, which revealed that 20 States face the prospect of unstable and unfavourable financial standing given the total percentage of their wage bills.

State
Population
(Million)
No. of
wrkrs
No. of wrkrs
to Population %
IGR (N Billion)
FAAC (N Billion)
Total Revenue (N Billion)
Personnel Cost (N Billion)
Personnel Cost to Total Revenue %
Rating
Kano
9.3
42,000
0.45%
12.2
39.5
51.7
65.4
126%
Distressed
Sokoto
3.8
NA
3.1
26.1
29.2
18
62%
Distressed
Niger
3.9
41,000
1.06%
3.1
29.2
32.3
18
56%
Distressed
Zamfara
3.3
6,000
0.18%
2.9
24.6
27.5
14.8
54%
Distressed
Kastina
6.0
NA
3.2
30
33.2
16.7
50%
Distressed
Osun
3.4
44,948
1.31%
5.4
23.2
28.6
14.3
50%
Distressed
Ekiti
2.5
65,000
2.65%
2.7
20.9
23.6
11.4
48%
Critical
Plateau
3.4
18,000
0.54%
3.6
24.5
28.1
12.3
44%
Critical
Benue
4.4
21,000
0.48%
8.3
27
35.3
14.9
42%
Critical
Edo
3.5
35,000
1.01%
12.4
28.5
4.09
17.1
42%
Critical
Borno
4.0
29,000
072%
2.1
29.8
31.9
13.1
41%
Critical
Adamawa
3.4
21,000
0.63%
4.2
25
29.2
11.7
40%
Critical
Cross River
3.1
20,481
0.67%
7.1
24.7
31.8
12.3
39%
Critical
Enugu
3.4
NA
4.1
23.6
27.7
10.7
39%
Critical
Taraba
2.4
19,000
0.79
3.3
24.7
31.8
10.6
38%
Critical
Ogun
3.7
44,500
1.20%
11.2
24.4
35.6
13.2
37%
Critical
Kogi
3.4
23,375
0.68%
3.3
25.1
28.4
9.2
321%
Critical
Yobe
2.2
26,000
1.16%
1.8
24.5
26.3
8.5
32%
Critical
Ebonyi
2.3
34,614
1.49%
2.1
20.7
22.8
7.1
31%
Critical
Ondo
3.6
58,000
1.62%
3.8
42.3
46.1
14.3
31%
Critical
Kaduna
6.3
21,564
0.34%
9.3
31.5
40.8
12.1
30%
Critical
Oyo
5.6
32,000
0.58%
11.9
29.2
41.1
11.2
27%
Unhealthy
Bauchi
4.6
30,000
0.66%
2.3
29.3
31.6
8.1
26%
Unhealthy
Bayelsa
1.8
54,330
3.04%
3.9
85.6
89.5
21.5
24%
Unhealthy
Nasarawa
1.9
19,982
1.04%
2.4
21.4
23.8
5.7
24%
Unhealthy
Gombe
2.4
13,827
0.58%
9.5
22.2
31.7
7.4
23%
Unhealthy
Rivers
5.1
62,000
1.22%
58.5
126
184.5
36.5
20%
Unhealthy
Imo
4.0
44,258
1.12%
5.2
30.5
35.7
6.8
19%
Tolerable
Kwara
2.5
45,000
1.82%
11.3
22.8
34.1
6.1
18%
Tolerable
Lagos
9.1
47,000
0.51%
147.1
35.7
182.8
32.7
18%
Tolerable
Kebbi
3.3
17,000
0.52%
3.8
25.1
28.9
4.5
16%
Tolerable
Delta
4.1
55,000
1.33%
15.6
108.5
124.1
19.1
15
Tolerable
Abia
3.1
NA
9.9
27.8
37.7
5.2
14%
Healthy
Akwa Ibom
3.9
32.633
0.85%
12.1
132.4
144.5
17.9
12%
Healthy
Anambra
4.5
12,034
0.27%
4.8
25.2
30
3.7
12%
Healthy
Jigawa
4.6
NA
2.4
27.6
30
1.7
6%
Healthy
In the table reproduced above, six groupings were used in categorising the financial standing, pointing out the states as: Distressed, Critical, Unhealthy, Tolerable and Healthy.

According to this report, only Abia, Akwa-Ibom, Anambra, Jigawa were found healthy.

So how did Abia end up in such debt burden as alleged by Orji Uzor Kalu? Can OUK show any document attesting to his financial management ability and stability as governor of Abia?

Contrary to his claims of doom, Abia was well managed by T. A. Orji as he was able to liquidate the debt left by his predecessor, paid arrears of pensions, gratuities of civil servants and paid counterpart funds that made multiple projects possible.

It could be recalled that in 2009, Local Government Chairmen encouraged by OUK as he elected them refused to pay salaries and claims of LG workers. In truth, the financial prudence of Sen. Orji came to the fore as he in collaboration with the heads of service of the LGAs liquidated the huge debts many ranging to 10 months of unpaid salaries when the tenure of these chairmen expired.

With such challenges and kidnapping surmounted, Chief T. A. Orji still carried out the legacy projects, youth empowerment, skill acquisition, free education and crafted a smooth handover leading the party to zone the governorship to Abia South, a place it has not visited since amalgamation of 1914.

‘Kalu is architect of his political woes.’ Affirmed by chief Emeka Okafor, a long time crony of OUK and the last PPA party chairman who in an interview with Authority Newspaper of June, 1, 2016, further said, Anybody accusing Orji of responsibility for Kalu’s abysmal outings is not being fair...he is his own problem.

The NPAN has a rule restraining all members from manipulating the editorial policies of its publications. The guardian- the flagship of Nigerian Newspapers adheres strictly maintaining its motto of ‘conscience nurtured by truth’. So are THISDAY, The Nation, Punch, Leadership and many others. But Kalu’s publications have become hounds, chasing down opponents, especially those who differ in opinions. Senator T. A. Orji is one such victim who has been negatively profiled almost on weekly bases. History has proven that many adversaries of such nature have expiry dates. Senator T. A. Orji has taken all these with equanimity, philosophically believing that these hideous publications cannot last for ever as Facts are sacred and opinion is free.

I am sure that this publication will be followed with 1000 caustic rejoinders but will they be nurtured by truth? Or in defence of truth?

Most importantly, let everybody know that Abia State did not patronise the bond market for the eight years of T. A. Orji. We advise OUK to think about himself and leave Senator Orji alone to concentrate on the important legislative assignment in the Senate of the Federal republic of Nigeria

Signed
Eddie Onuzuruike.