Some civil servants in Abia must resist the urge to misuse the monthly media chat with Alex Otti by turning it into a platform for routine administrative complaints.
The Governor’s media chat is meant for serious governance discussions ;policy direction, development priorities, reforms, and matters affecting the entire state. It should not be reduced to handling internal civil service issues, especially when proper administrative channels already exist.
A few days ago, I received information from some staff of the Abia State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission (ASOPADEC) alleging that the General Manager, Joshua Onyike, refused to sign their leave allowance documents, thereby delaying payment approved by the Governor.
The story sounded convincing at first. However, instead of rushing to the media, I investigated.
When I contacted the General Manager, he expressed surprise at the allegation. He explained that the same day the claim surfaced was the day the Director of Finance presented the leave allowance documents to him for signing for the first time. However, about 19 staff names were omitted from the list. Rather than sign an incomplete document, he asked that the errors be corrected to ensure no staff member was excluded. The delay, therefore, was due to documentation issues , not refusal to approve payment.
This afternoon, one of the staff members messaged me, asking that I raise the issue with the Governor in today’s media chat. I chose to remain calm because the facts were already clear.
The delay in payment of the leave allowance was not caused by the General Manager but by internal administrative lapses within the finance unit. Similar delays in the past have also been linked to procedural bottlenecks, including actions from the Head of Service’s office.
It is important to emphasize that the Governor has advised that such operational matters be channeled through his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Ferdinand Ekeoma, or through appropriate administrative structures.
High-level media engagements with the Governor should not be trivialized with issues that can and should be resolved internally. There are far more critical matters of governance that deserve that platform.
— Promise Uzoma Okoro (PUO)
