Stephen Ukandu, Umuahia
The Nigerian Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI), has saluted Governor Alex Otti’s leadership style, saying that his policies align with the values NEITI represents.
The Alternate Chairman of the NEITI Board, Ambassador Sunday Adoli, said this when he led a delegation of the Boad and Management of the agency on a courtesy visit to Governor Otti ahead of its national retreat holding in Abia State.
Ambassador Adoli, who doubles as the representative of the North-Central region on the Board, said that NEITI was pleased with Otti’s commitment to fiscal openness and reforms that prioritise fiscal discipline.
He said: “Abia State, under your (Gov. Otti) leadership, is fast becoming a reference point. We have followed with keen interest and the transformational reforms you have introduced.
“Reforms that prioritise fiscal discipline, infrastructure renewal, access to quality health care, education, urban regeneration and corporate governance. These are not political statements.
“As an agency that promotes transparency and accountability in the extractive industries, NEITI is particularly pleased to note your commitment to fiscal openness and your emphasis on the social contract between government and citizens.
“This aligns perfectly with the values that NEITI represents, values anchored on proven results, youth, public trust and sustainable development.
“They are developmental realities that reflect a new culture of responsible leadership and purposeful governance,” Adoli noted.
Ambassador Adoli who described Dr. Otti as dynamic and performing Governor with high record of transparency, disclosed that the NEITI Board and the Secretariat are in Abia for their statutory meeting and strategic retreat and said that the decision to hold the retreat in Abia State was not accidental.
“Our decision to hold this important national engagement in Abia State was not accidental. It was a conscious and deliberate choice.
“We are here to shine a spotlight on positive governance at the subnational level. We are here to identify and support states that are deploying public resources to uplift citizens, deepen accountability, and lay strong foundations for inclusive development.”
He commended NEITI’s Executive Secretary and CEO, Dr Orji Ogbonnaya Orji, a prominent son of Abia State, for bringing “national and international recognitions to NEITI.”
Responding, Gov. Otti said that his government was anchored on transparency and informed the delegation that the moderate successes the administration has achieved in the last 23 months was as a result of prudence in the management of resources
“I want to say that NEITI stands for transparency. It stands for Integrity. These are the key words in our administration. Our administration has zero tolerance for corruption.
“At the heart of everything we are doing is transparency. Sometimes, people struggle to understand how we are doing all the things we are doing in such a short time with limited resources and without borrowing.
“It all goes back to prudence. So, in terms of management of resources, we try to be very good at it, we try to get the best deal. It’s either we are doing something or we are not doing it.
“You can see that I’m still operating from my room. It’s not the most comfortable thing to do, but by the time we came here, we found that there are too many things left undone that deserve immediate attention.
“As a student of economics, we had to set up a scale of preference, what is most important,” Gov. Otti stated.
He thanked NEITI for the choice of Abia for its annual retreat.
