2020 LG Election: I’m not desperate - Abak Chairman

2020 LG Election: I’m not desperate - Abak Chairman

In this interview with our reporter,  ABASIFREKE OBOT, the Chairman of Abak Local Government Area, Barr Imoh Williams speaks on reasons he has embarked on the reconstruction of the Abak Main/Food Market few months to the end of his first term in office. The Council Boss further talks elaborately on the composition and nature of the world class project. He commends Gov. Udom, Moses Ekpo, and the Foreign Direct Investment for their role in the project. Read Excerpts:

Last week, the State Government, Abak Local Government Council and Commercial Properties Limited were signatories to an agreement. What was the agreement about?

Thank you very much!

Precisely on the 19th of May, 2020, which was on a Tuesday, the Akwa Ibom State Government and  Abak Local  Government Council under my leadership had pact signed with a Property Developer based in Lagos for the remodelling of the Abak main/food markets.  The two markets have been in shanty and moribund conditions before I assumed office. Incidentally, both are located at the heart of the town. It is, indeed, an eyesore. If you visit the area, you’ll basically discover that these are the markets where all our marketers from the 11 wards, over 120 villages and 127 political units come to market their agricultural produce and other items. 

The dire need for the market to wear a world class look informed my decision when I decided to take up the mantle of leadership as Chairman, to source for a credible investor because the magnitude of Ultra Modern Market to be built in Abak is such that the Local Government on hers cannot cover up for the finances. It is a N6.5 billion project with the state-of-the-art facilities, measuring up with international best practices. 

What are the facilities will constitute the remodelled markets?

We’ll have the internet facilities which will be provided by the Internet Service Providers. With the internet service, you’ll stay in Abak and access markets markets in China, Japan and other countries. You want to order for an item?

With your laptop you can access any market in the world. It is going to be linked up with all international markets so that whatever you need, you just tap your system and place an order. Once the project is completed, it is going to be located on the world map. The market will have a police station, a clinic, a bank, 6 warehouses, abbatoir, fire service office, terraces, perimeter fencing, architecturally befitting gate works, lockup shops, open stall, key clamps, loading and offloading bay, well paved walk ways, well paved good road network, market administrative officer, security area, central toilet, and parking lots, etc. 

What’s the time frame for the completion of this project?

The MoU has captured 18 months and the investor has assured us that he is going to work in tandem with the terms contained in the MoU, which is 18 months period. 

Why the execution of this world class project in few months to the end of your first term in office. We know the chairmanship election is at the corner?

First and foremost, the remodelling of the markets were part of my campaign promises. I can give you my momento. I incorporated it that I will source for investors, who will remodel the two moribund markets. The markets does not depict the state of a town in this modern age. Let me clearly state that we started this arrangement two years ago. This means that at the twilight of my advent into governance, I started the execution of the remodelling of the Abak foodstuff and main markets. No man will want to bring his money and throw away. N6.5 billion is not moi-moi money. So you cannot get an investor overnight. It goes through processes. It is not that I wished for the reconstruction work to begin now. I started working towards this project two years ago. 

When the document was signed on 19th May, one of the directors of the project confirmed that the project started two years ago. Government is very meticulous about asking someone to invest in a project. We are very meticulous about anybody that is coming to invest. You don’t just come here and fool us. Also, you don’t just bring your money and invest carelessly. 

We went through processes to profile a company. Profiling takes about 6 months. It is our duty to confirm that the company did a certain job, find out the time used in the construction of the work and amount of money sunk into the work. We went through all these processes and felt satisfied. In fact before 19th May, the agreement would had been signed early this year but, the Managing Director of the company travelled out and we had to postpone that to February. 

Unfortunately, on 27th February or there about, the airlines where all shut down and the MD couldn’t return for the agreement to be signed. I told FDI that we cannot wait any longer and we do not know when COVID-19 will be over, rather let’s go ahead to sign the MoU so that work can commence. It does not mean I am politically desperate and I need to do something for my people to return me for a second term. 

No, I’m not politically desperate. That’s not my ideology. I know if God wants me back into office for a second term, I’ll go back. No man holds the destiny of another man apart from God. If God says I shouldn’t return, he’ll give me a successor who will continue with that project.

Are we looking at a counterpart funding or is it the developer who will fund the entire work?

It is counterpart in the sense that the occupant will have to contribute or pay to own a shop. Automatically, it is not build and sell. As contained in the MoU, we will do what’s like an enumeration of current participants in the markets. First, we will acertain the number of people in the market, who own shades and shops. They are going to be given a particular shade/shop, valuing what they have already. For instance, If you have a shop now, it is assumed that you own that land and you also own a property on that land. So, the improvement that will be done on the property that you own, the value of your land is going to be discounted for you as your counterpart funding. You will only pay for the improvement which will be brought on the property. 

The occupant will pay for the additional value of the structure they now have. This is why enumeration is very important. We will ensure that credible people are recruited to carry out the enumeration. Let me quickly talk about the payment for improvement. There is a staggered six months period for payment. If you cannot pay up within this period, the investor will provide the occupant or trader with a morgage facility. The investor has a morgage facility from morgage bankers readily available. These traders will be asked to open an account so that if you cannot pay up, all you need to do is approach the bank. The bank will offset your payment. Yours is to retail your repayment to the bank. With this, chaos will be averted.

What are the provisions put in place to ensure the traders refund payments made by the morgage bank?

The collateral for the loan itself is your shop. So you have no reason to run from making the refund. If you don’t, someone else will take over the shop. Automatically, it means you were not ready from the onset to do business. A ready buyer will take over, refund your morgage payment and own the shop. Or in the course of time, you can negotiate if you can’t pay up. You’ll sell out your equity interest to the third party, who will now off-load your payment and then, take over the shop. So, repayment won’t be an issue. 

As the Chief Security Officer of Abak LG, how secured are the workers and investor on this project?

No man is God, who can give a person 100% security of life. Security is an individual responsibility. But as a government, which has stayed in power for over 2 years, we have witnessed relative peace compared to what it used to be, even in terms of crime rate. We assure the workers and investor of the best of security within our reach. We will involve God in the security architecture. We are hopeful that the indigenes of Abak will embrace and cherish this project, and assist us also in ensuring the best of security.  

What have you done to sensitize the people that this project is for their interest, hence the need for maximum cooperation from them?

Well, apart from involving the market community from the onset. We’ve partnered with them. We’ve negotiated with them. We’ve interacted overtime.  We’ve informed the market committee. They’ve also attended meetings with the investor, who displayed the prototype to them and they welcomed the development. In addition to that, the prototype was displayed at strategic points in the market. The people appreciated the development. However, don’t also forget that no matter what you do, there’ll still be critics. 

What’s your plan for the maintenance of this market?

Oh! Fine. We have signed a pact for a 20-year maintenance. It’s part of the MoU.  The investor himself will ensure the maintenance of the market after its completion for the next 20 years. 

How do you intend to manage waste?

What is obtainable now is to sublet waste management to a company. We’ll bring in a third party. The third party will have a pact with all the waste disposal outlets in the LG. They marketers will pay him, and he evacuates the waste. The third party will secure a dumpsite where he takes the refuse to, and he’ll make payment for the dumpsite too. We’ve designated some waste point in the master plan. 

LET’S LOOK FURTHER INTO OTHER OF YOUR ACHIEVEMENTS AS TOUCHING THE ECONOMIC GROWTH OF ABAK.

What has been your contributions, taking into consideration the role of these four economic growth determinants; capital formation, natural resources, level of agricultural outputs and security?

Nice one!

Permit me to say that the main economic determinant are the people itself. The people are the main determinant of the economic growth of either a country, state or local government. And when I talk about the people, my focus is on the mindset. That is why government ideas are being propagated constantly before people can assimilate it and be willing to work on it. In Abak, we have predominantly the youths dominating the political landscape and the few others are elders, who are either involved in civil service work or retired from civil service work and ventured into politics. When I came on board, I called them and told them that we are going to have a pact. I said to them,  “the pact is that my government is going to change your orientation so that you can grow.” I constituted a committee called ATTITUDINAL REORIENTATION COMMITTEE headed by Rev. Fr Christian Usungurua. 

The team went round schools and places organizing seminars. In one of the seminars, the DPO of the council then, had to also educate them. After that, we segmented them into revenue committees. What you produce, you pay a percentage to the LG and keep the remaining to yourself. The percentage for the LG has served purposes. Some of these youths, today, have gotten married, built houses, bought vehicles and others have ventured into other aspects of living. 

We’ve also created an enabling environment by ensuring the necessary security. We interact with the DPO and other security apparatus almost on daily basis. This has made them more conscious about their work. With this consciousness, they’ve helped promote a crime free society where indigenes go about their normal businesses without fear of being harrassed or robbed. More persons are going into businesses because of the peace and transquility here.  

Directly or indirectly, these businesses are yielding great dividiends for them and the LG. We’ve set up about 48 shopping malls. We would have commissioned but for the COVID-19 pandemic. It is already on ground and we’ve given them out for the people to run their businesses. This will as well yield enormous dividends for our economy directly or indirectly.

Your last shot:

Let me thank Governor Udom Emmanuel for fantastically fast tracking the process of the remodelling of the two moribund markets. The Deputy Governor, Mr Moses Ekpo, has also done excellently well. He was very useful in the course of the formalities, having had to link us faster with FDI. 

We also thank FDI for their support. In all, the government has given us a very serious assistance that has aided us to be where we are now as well as the Chairman of FDI. I won’t fail to thank my fellow constituents for always believing in my government.