Stephen Ukandu, Umuahia
Governor Alex Otti of Abia State, has tasked members of the State Executive Council and all his appointees on efficient service delivery.
Otti who spoke while declaring open the “Abia State Quarter 2 Strategy Retreat,” organised for his appointees at the International Conference Centre, Umuahia, reminded them of the enormous tasks ahead of them in the second half of his first term in office.
He said that the focus in 2023 was moving from the drawing board to the field of execution and noted that the last 21 months since the first Executive Council retreat, “have served a very useful lesson in public service, managing stakeholders expectations, and striking a fair balance between meeting the urgent needs of the day and repositioning for the opportunities of tomorrow.”
“These regular retreat sessions have been institutionalised to enable us to periodically assess ourselves, measure our progress vis-à-viz, the relevant milestones that form the nucleus of our agenda, identify where we may have fallen short, and ultimately determine how to speed up things, subject to the availability of resources.
“The general consensus, even from our friends on the other side of the political divide, is that we have done well in the last two years, raised the bar on governance, and shown a single-minded commitment to the new Abia dream.
“It is important to remind us that we are now operating in a different terrain, where the expectations are dynamic and requires a genuine sense of empathy and broad understanding of our place in the grand scheme of things.”
Governor Otti, who warned against laxity and underperformance, urged the participants to leverage the retreat to interact, share knowledge and improve on their performances, emphasising that his government has zero tolerance for mediocrity.
“I would therefore encourage us to take advantage of this retreat to interact, ask questions at the group discussions, and book one-on-one sessions with any team member who can support you to become better.
“Because again, we also have zero tolerance for mediocrity. And, I would like to emphasise at this point that the one-on-one mentorship sessions should actually happen with the members of the Global Economic Advisory Council.”
He noted that the current retreat is different from the previous ones as he invited the leadership and members of the Abia Global Economic Advisory Council to be part of it.
He used the opportunity to thank the Council members led by the Co-Chair, Professor Ms Arunma Oteh, who he said, had since the beginning of the week, been interacting with government officials prior to the commencement of the retreat.
Speaking earlier in his opening remarks, the Secretary to the State Government, Professor Kenneth Kalu, said that the theme of the retreat, “Sustaining the Momentum: Leadership and Execution,” is apt, as the credibility of any government does not depend merely on promises but the capacity to deliver.
He said that the challenges before government are not a simple one, adding that, it was the essence of the plan to sustain the momentum that has been achieved already.
Prof. Kalu stressed on the need for effective collaboration among government officials and reminded them that while ideas and visions are celebrated, they only achieve meaning through disciplined and collaborative implementation.
