The General Manager Owerri Capital development Authority (OCDA), TPL lheanyi Abaekwume says the ongoing restructuring exercise at ‘the agency must be carried out to its logical conclusion stressing that no amount of intimidation or cheap blackmail will deter him.
TPL Abaekwume who disclosed this in a chat with newsmen, said that the move was to reposition the authority for higher productivity in line with the rescue mission plan insisting that the issue is unnegotiable, contending that the redundant and unproductive staff will be shown the way out no matter whose odd.
He decried a situation where applications for building plans approval sent to the authority since 2005 could not he approved until 2013, and expressed shock when recovered most of them in the offices of some of the authority’s staff who bent in sabotaging the efforts of the organization as most of them converted their homes to OCDA offices where they treat files of their choice, regretting that such actions discourages developers, thereby making them loss confidence in the organization and wondered why someone’s building plan should stay up to 8 years without getting approval an exercise ordinarily is not, suppose to stay more than a year.
TPL Abaekwume revealed that since the restructuring started, he had approved over 50 building plans and will not relent in putting in his best in serving the people better as the Okorocha-led government in the state is ever determined to giving Imolites the best in governance.
He affirmed that restructuring has to be total so that OCDA will be repositioned to attain its goals of performing its functions and duties.
He lamented over a situation where an architectural department of the agency is headed by someone who is not an architect. According to him, is against the Rescue Mission Agenda that propagates productivity, sensitivity, continuity, and punctuality.
The General Manager further revealed that in the determination of the authority to meet its mandate, there is no more careless spending at OCDA is every kobo spent was with the approval of the management adding: “And to ensure continuity.
In this regard, a probe panel has been constituted to audit the activities of the Account Department for 5 years as those found guilty will be disciplined to serve as deterrent to others now and even in the future”.
On the ongoing accelerated city beautification programme of the agency, TPL Abekwume said that the management approved a sum of N2() million monthly for the programme pointing out that it is a projected sum which will enable everyone to be hardworking, because according to him, there is a big challenge ahead which has been costing the agency the sum of N180, 000 remove one illegal structure, adding that the programme involves the removal of illegal structures, shanties, obstruction properties on planned road network, clean and green of the city, provision of alternative places for the urban poor through informal-sector and provision of accelerated city corridors which has commenced on Aba road, New Owerri and Akwakuma road, among others.
The OCDA boss described the recent media attacks in his personality y as uncalled for, frivolous and untrue and called on the media men to always endevour to cross check their facts before publishing
