Critics have accused Abia state governor, Alex Otti, of betraying his promise to run a lean government following his recent appointment of over 50 aides, including forgotten music and entertainment stars.
Otti whose victory on the platform of the Labour Party remains a subject of legal dispute, had promised to tow a different path to previous administrations in the state by not “appointing special assistants who basically do not have an office but collect a salary every month.”
He vowed to cut down the cost of governance by keeping the size of government to the bearest minimum, prioritizing instead high-impact appointees with the competence and stamina to pursue government policies and offer value to the public.
However, since his emergence, Otti has embarked on an appointment spree, with at least 50 individuals recently announced as aides with no clear portfolios. Some of the recent appointees include bygone music celebrities with no previous record or experience in public service.
Critics are pointing out Otti’s betrayal of his promise on this score and many others, including regular payments of salaries. Despite offering assurances of “instant change and immediate payment” during the campaigns, governor Otti has now resorted to monthly long proses to explain his inability to meet the state’s monthly expenditure obligations, including finger-pointing at his predecessor for ‘emptying’ the treasury.
His followers, desperate to elicit excitement, have celebrated the construction of drainages with “thick” concrete pavings to online mockery and criticism.
It remains unclear how Governor Otti intends to fit his over 50 aides into his administration, as many of them are inevitably going to be without an office or duplicate roles. The action is at odds with his ‘lean government’ mantra and represents a minus for the Labour Party, the assumed third force expected to contrast the two traditional parties of PDP and APC as the harbinger of ‘New Nigeria’.