Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the Director-General of the World Trade Organisation, has expressed concern over the state of governance in Nigeria, particularly among those from the South-East.
In a speech delivered virtually at the inauguration of the 2023 Abia Transition Council, Okonjo-Iweala said that many Nigerians from the South-East region have lost hope in governance and no longer believe that the government can provide for them.
She noted that people from the region are now providing for themselves basic necessities such as boreholes and electricity, which is entrepreneurial but not how a government should run a place
She therefore charged the Abia State governor-elect, Dr Alex Otti, to run a clean and transparent government.
Okonjo-Iweala said the incoming government should focus on “disruptive strategies rather than traditional operational systems”.
She said: “I told the governor-elect that everything we will do would depend on this governance. Nigerians, especially from that side of the South-East, have lost faith in governance.
Okonjo-Iweala
“They no longer believe the government can provide anything for them. They provide for themselves boreholes, electricity and every other thing for themselves. Although that is entrepreneurial, on the other hand, that is not how to run the place.”
Okonjo-Iweala also urged Abia citizens abroad, who have the capacity to assist in recovering the state and upgrade development, to return and help out.
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She expressed the hope that through Otti, “there is a unique chance to set Abia on the right side of development and modernisation through disruptive digital technology”.
Otti inaugurated the transition committee to midwife the take-off of his administration on May 29, 2023.
He tasked the committee, headed by Victor Onyenkpa, to produce a policy document that would forge a direction and developmental agenda for Abia State, in line with his vision for the state and campaign promises
