Guardian

FOR the first time since he became governor six years ago, Governor Sullivan Iheanacho Chime came before his people, stakeholders in Enugu State, those who voted him into power and gave an account of his stewardship. He chose May 29, aka Democracy Day to let the people assess him.

There was no standing room in the conference hall of the Nike Lake Hotel. As Chime faced the gathered presidents of various town unions, traditional rulers, community leaders, religious leaders, trade unionists, the media, private citizens, he said:

“I have come to give account, address some concerns, issues you may wish to raise. This is midterm into our second term. I am not here to tell you what we have done but to answer questions. Don’t remind us of what we have done; we want to hear what we have not done and where we have failed. This government is not to build Enugu, we are here to set the foundation on which those who will come after us will build upon.”

According to him, the activities of the government had been based on a 4-point agenda he propounded during the elections six years ago. On assuming power, that agenda was widened, “after a tour of the state. We compiled a compendium of the needs of the people and our activities have been based on the two documents. The assessment in the end will be for you.”

With him were members of the state executive state council and members of the House of Assembly and government appointees at different levels.

It was a harvest; every question was welcome, no one was barred. For nearly two hours, about 58 questions were thrown at the governor. The issues raised ranged from the sublime to the ludicrous. Some were couched as pleas, observations, remarks, accusations or straight criticisms.

Someone wanted to know why there were so many lunatics and destitute people on the roads, “you will think they threw open the doors of the Neuropsychiatric Hospital.” A journalist inquired about, “the internal revenue generated by the state in the last six years; how much has been spent and what is the government’s debt profile?”

A trader accused the government of failing to create a forum for traders and requested: “We want a SA (Senior Adviser or Assistant) for Market Matters to give us a sense of belonging.”

The governor was told that there was a lack of access to information in the government and “this is the reason people write anti-government stories. Why are you far from the media; people say that you are not press friendly.”

A member of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in Ezeagu in Ezeagu Council who didn’t know his ward leader, wanted the governor to help him.

What was he doing about the aging civil service, employment, reviving ailing industries, the Daily Star, Hotel Presidential? When will Enugu become an oil producing state?

A traditional ruler wondered why after the government presented them with cars recently “nothing followed.” He and his colleagues wanted some money along with the gift to enable them pay off the N2.5 million loan on the car. Another traditional ruler wanted the government to reconstitute the Traditional Rulers Council, which was disbanded a long time ago.

Has the governor heard that Kogi State has annexed Ette in Igboeze North?  A concerned citizen wanted the mechanic village cited in his area to be relocated because of the menace of kidnappers who have turned the vacant space into an arena for their nefarious acts. A father wanted to know when the government will resume the payment of bursary, “which some states are using to alleviate the suffering of indigent students.”

Why are cars being clamped when “the parking spaces we were promised and paid for have not been provided,” meanwhile the roads are good but dirty? What is the state waste management authority, (ESWAMA) doing? When the government complete the construction or rehabilitation of some roads, which are now abandoned.

But why is there “no befitting international conference centre in Enugu. Why won’t the government rehabilitate the present one? A good conference centre could earn the government some revenue.” Security has not been too good, “despite the clean bill of health by the IGP. There is need to strengthen the neighbourhood organisations. A good security could boost investment opportunities.”

A Bishop of the Methodist Church wanted to know why the government is not allowing Christians to use school premises as places of worship, “especially with the influx of people displaced by insecurity in some parts of the North.”

And of course the obvious question about water; the state has perennial problems supplying pipe borne water to every home in Enugu. Someone complained that there is no water in Agbani area.  The point was made of the inadequate distribution of water in the particular areas of the state capital. Why is there a problem in retaining health workers posted to the rural areas to man the Primary Health Centres and why are the facilities in these centres not adequate?

How does Nsukka get the Adada State that it has been agitating for decades? Can the state help on this?

It was a forum that raised every question, except for a few sensitive security issues like the dressing code of SARS operatives who “dress shabbily in mufti” and the arming of Vigilance Neighbourhood organisations.

From 5.53 pm till 7.50 pm Chime, in a chronological order answered the questions. Some of his commissioners were called upon when they were needed. Although the governor did not gloss over any question, there were obvious pointers to the fact that some of the questions caught the government team unawares. For instance, those who expected “facts and figures” about the state’s finances were obviously disappointed when the governor stated, in answer to a question, that it was unfair to have expected that the commissioner for finance to come to the town hall meeting with all the minute details.

“I am sure you didn’t expect him (the commissioner) to come to the gathering with his books. We publish our records every year,” Chime quipped. He was quick, however, to add: “When it comes to money, you don’t just mention figures, you must be saying the correct thing.”

Not all the questions suffered the same fate. Chime called on his Senior Special Assistant (SSA) on Water who is also the General Manager of the state Water Corporation, O’Brien Offordu to explain why there was no supply of water in Agbani in particular. The SSA assured that his corporation was on course to provide water to some places. For residents of Agbani specifically, he said, “give me two weeks and hold me responsible if I fail.” The wave of murmur that swept through the hall showed that a few people took him serious.

And when the Commissioner for Works, Godwin Madueke took the cue from Offordu and asked for three weeks before an “abandoned” road was rehabilitated, a similar murmur swept the crowd forcing the governor to ask, “I hope this is not a joke?”

The beggars on the streets of Enugu have nothing to do with anyone throwing open the doors of the Neuropsychiatric Hospital, but rather “with the influx of people into Enugu.” The governor pointed out that “street begging is a crime and a sin. The security (agents) are watching them as some of them have been used to commit crimes in the past. We will make sure that they are off the road.”

Explaining why Christians have been denied the use of schools, Chime said: “It was because of the experience of the past. When they come in, other things happen. When they come in they begin to lay claim to the place. So the best thing is to keep them off.”

It will be awhile before the state gets an international conference centre. The government has no interest in completing the centre started by a previous government. Chime said the cost of completing it is huge and “no responsible government will spend that kind of money completing it.” He is hoping investors could be attracted to the venture.

Lack of access to information in Enugu is an issue. From incidents in the recent past, a few people were surprised when, the governor sternly said: “I don’t know the information you want from them (media aides). If you are asking questions about the personal lives or business of anybody, then we have no regret to tell you that they don’t have any right to tell you anything.

“If it is in allusion to what happened in my absence then we don’t have any regret; the section of the Press that is involved in that scam is still active. For me, it bothers on irresponsibility, mischief. If you want information, you know where to go and get it. I am not interested in what you publish.”

Nevertheless, his stern mood softened as he said that although the forum was not the right place for anyone to be asking about his ward leader, he observed happily that the question came “because this is a PDP state and we are all PDP.”

What could be seen as the high point of the Town Hall Meeting was when the governor pointed out that the state could not do anything about the agitation of the Nsukka area in the Enugu North senatorial zone for Adada State.

Said the governor: “There is nothing we can do about Adada State because it is not in our powers to create states, but we will work to make sure it is actualised. If it does not happen, we will work towards them having the governorship (in 2015). The question of who becomes governor is in the hands of the people. In the PDP, it is our understanding that our candidate will come from that zone. This is a PDP arrangement. We are working that who emerges as the PDP candidate becomes the governor.”

While emphasising the political sameness of Enugu he noted: “We still have two years, plenty of time. We won’t waste our time doing politics in Enugu. Everybody is in the PDP and this will save us campaign time.

“The major task is having you select people who will go into the election for us. Rather than go round campaigning and disturbing you, we will have you select your future leaders and then vote for them. It has been working. It is my style. We will work till May 28, 2015.”

And at 7.50, the governor got a standing ovation from the audience as he concluded: “If for any reason I have slipped any question, it was not deliberate. If it is very serious, then you can ask me again. Thank you for this very interactive session. In the next two years, we will continue to do the things we were elected to do.

Government is a continuum; no one government can provide everything for our people, but certainly within our means, we will try as much as possible to make provisions for our people.”

Although the hall was filled to capacity, it was easy to notice those who did not attend Chime’s inaugural Town Hall meeting. For example, there was no serving member of the National Assembly from the state. As significant as the event was, were the stakeholders who should have been with the governor not invited or were they not interested? Where were the members of the other parties? Or was the governor’s town hall meeting only for PDP people and government officials.