Odo
By Emmanuel Ike-Jonathan, JP.
Collin Powel, former United States of America Defense Secretary was apt when he reasoned that “a dream does not become reality through magic; but that it takes sweat, determination, and hard work for it to be actualized”. This quote no doubt strengthens the fact that determination and hard work are the most important key to success.
Hard work and determination has remained the secret to the successes being recorded by the incumbent Executive Chairman of Enugu State Internal Revenue Service (EIRS), Prince Emeka Odo and his counterpart at the Enugu State Universal Basic Education Board (ENSUBEB), Chief Ikeje Asogwa, in the last five years of their first tenure in office.
No wonder the Governor of Enugu State, Rt. Hon. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi in line with the philosophy of the reward for hard work which is more work, decided to reappoint Odo and Asogwa to continue with the headship of their different agencies for another period of five years in office.
While the governor forwarded the name of Odo to Enugu State House of Assembly for screening and ratification as required by the law of the state, the Governor expressly reappointed Asogwa to continue with headship of the ENSUBEB board.
FirstNews report that their reappointment have been described by many onlookers including staff in their respective offices as a welcome development and a reward for the excellence and dedicated service that brought a lot of transformation and innovation in their respective agencies in the past five years they held sway as the Chief Executive Officers.
FirstNews further report that another major factor that could have informed the reappointment of Prince Emeka Odo was the innovation he brought to bear in Enugu State Internal Revenue Service that led to the improvement of the state’s Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) which has greatly helped the state government in meeting up with the funding of state’s budget despite the poor allocation accruing to the state from the Federation Account.
It will be recalled that the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), in May, 2020, published its 2019 report on states’ ranking on Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) across the federation and recorded Enugu as one of the states with impressive performances.
What makes that record remarkable is that, shortly on assumption of office, Governor Ugwuanyi, experienced poor financial flow from the federation account as a result of the recession following the drastic drop in crude oil prices in the international market.
Odo who paid his dues while in the banking sector as a top management staff with vast experience in financial matters was then appointed by the Governor to deploy his wealth of experience in that sector to pull the state out of its financial quagmire, improve on the Internally Generated Revenue so as to cushion the effect of the poor financial flow from the federation account to the state.
However, the results of the innovation brought on the table by the appointment of Odo as the helmsman in the Enugu revenue house are; listing the state alongside Lagos and Rivers as the only three states out of the 36 states of the federation that have fulfilled obligations to their workers (BudgIT); The Economic Confidential magazine verdict also listed Enugu among the seven states that are solvent with impressive of over 30 per cent Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) to fund additional economic activities in the state. Enugu is also the fifth most competitive states in Nigeria, according to the National Competitiveness Council of Nigeria and the third most debt sustainable State in Nigeria; the first state in Nigeria to publish its Audited State Final Account for consecutive three years. It is also to the credit of Mr Odo that Enugu is the first in the South East geo-political zone and ninth in the country based on IGR as against Federal Allocation and one of the twelve states in Nigeria that can survive without federal allocations.
It is worthy to note that, despite the fact that Enugu is not an oil producing state, it was able to clinch the 9th position as one of the best performing states in terms of IGR coming ahead of most oil producing states with over N31 billion in the (2019 NBS) ranking report except few states of Rivers, Delta and Akwa Ibom. The development is due to well thought-out measures on revenue generation adopted by the Ugwuanyi administration without much pressure or burden on tax payers.
Meanwhile, encomiums have equally, continued to trial the reappointment of Chief Ikeje Asogwa as the Executive Chairman of ENSUBEB considering the new face he is introducing in the primary and junior secondary education sector of the state leading to many parents withdrawing the children/wards from private schools back to the state public schools.
No doubt, this development is also because it was under his watch as the Executive Chairman of ENSUBEB, in his first tenure that over 3000 primary school teachers were recruited to inject new blood into the system and close the gap of inadequate teaching staff in primary schools in the state.
He visionary leadership coupled with the support of the state government through constant payment of the state’s counterpart fund, led to the construction/ renovation and equipping of 897 classroom blocks and other school projects under Enugu State Universal Basic Education Board (ENSUBEB).
The Asogwa administration also, procured and distributed 22,150 lockers and 22,150 chairs for primary school children, 1,228 tables, 1,228 arm chairs and 2,456 armless chairs for the teachers, as well as 1130 marker boards for teaching and 1,960 ceiling fans, for conducive learning environment.
It is also on record that it was under his first tenure in office that he procured and distributed 12, 480 writing desks and chairs for primary school pupils in the state and 868 tables and chairs for teachers to improve the standard of teaching and learning in the state.
FirstNews recall that Asogwa did the same magic while he held sway at the Enugu State Housing Development Corporation via the development of many housing estates both for low, medium and high income earners in state and thus drastically reduced the problem of housing in the state minimally which increased the aesthetic of the state with well-coordinated housing estates making Enugu a choice destination.
To these fact, one could not but say that the reappointments of Mr. Odo and Chief Asogwa by our amiable and visionary governor, His Excellency Rt. Hon. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, is like putting the round pegs in round holes.
With the litany of achievements so far by these gurus in their different fields of endeavour, there is no doubt that in the next five year Enugu will experience more tremendous achievements in both revenue generation and academic excellence to the glory of God.
Therefore, the management of FirstNews congratulate and wish them successes as they brake new grounds in their services to the state during their second tenure.
Emmanuel Ike-Jonathan, JP, a public affairs analyst, writes from Alor-Agu in Igbo-Eze South LGA Enugu State.
