•Governor Alex Otti of Abia State
Abia State Governor, Alex Otti, has denied rumours suggesting he is planning to defect from the Labour Party to either the All Progressives Congress or the proposed opposition coalition party ahead of the 2027 elections.
Speaking at a dinner in Umuahia yesterday to mark the start of the 2025 mid-year retreat for government appointees, Otti reaffirmed his commitment to the Labour Party, insisting he has not attended any coalition meeting and remains focused on delivering his mandate to Abians, reports The PUNCH.
He said, “I will just spend a few minutes talking about what some members of the Global Economic Council have been asking me. One of them is the report about five governors decamping to the APC. I’m still a member of the Labour Party and I’m not looking for where to decamp to.
“The second point is about coalition, and a lot of people have been asking me, are you a member of the coalition? And my response is, have you seen my name? Have you seen me attending the coalition meeting?
“We are just busy doing the work that Abia people have given us. So, we are not attending any coalition meeting, I have not attended any one, and nobody has invited me.
“I am happy where I am. Yes, we had issues. If you don’t have issues, you are dead So, you wake up and there is one problem or the other, you solve the problem. You don’t run away from a problem and pretend to have solved it.”
The governor added that while the party had faced internal challenges, those issues were resolved at the Supreme Court.
Otti also dismissed claims that his administration had been borrowing to run the state, saying Abia has not taken any new loans since he assumed office in May 2023.
Otti said, “There is nothing wrong with criticising the government, but you must criticise with facts. Opinions are free, but facts are sacred.
“Some people have come out to say that we are borrowing; they are lying. Did I borrow from them? I saw a report yesterday that says that 26 out of the 36 states have actually reduced loans in the last 12 months, and Abia came first, having reduced its debt profile by 57.20% in one year.
“So, when we say we have not borrowed, we know what we are talking about. But that we have not borrowed doesn’t mean we will not borrow. We will borrow when we need to borrow. We will borrow for regenerative investments. We will not borrow to eat. We will not borrow to consume. We will borrow for capital expenditure.”
The governor announced that providing potable water is the next major focus of his administration, with projects set to be flagged off in Aba and Umuahia in the coming weeks.
“We want to get to that level where you open your tap and you have public water running. In the next few weeks, we are going to flag off the water project in Aba around CKC. There is also another one in Umuahia and a lot of other places. We will get there,” the governor added.
He said a new Project Implementation Bureau has been established, headed by Onyinye Nwosu, a former General Electric employee in Canada who returned to contribute to Abia’s development.
The event also marked the first anniversary of the Abia Global Economic Advisory Council, a 20-member team of professionals guiding the state’s development strategy.
Earlier in her speech on behalf of the Council, the Co-Chair of the Abia Global Economic Advisory Council, Prof. Ms. Arunma Oteh, said that it was a pleasure to serve in the Economic Advisory Council.
The Secretary to the State Government, Prof. Kenneth Kalu, thanked the members of the Council for their sacrifices to help the administration succeed.
Some members of the Council present during the event were Prof. Ms Arunma Oteh – Co-Chair, Mrs Ifueko Okauru – Chair, M&E Committee, Mr Victor Onyenkpa – Chair, Financing/roadshow Committee, Mrs Ezinwa Okoroafor – Member, Mr Chidi Ajaegbu – Member, and Dr Olugbenda Adesida – Member, including members of the State Executive Council and political appointees.
