20 electrical buses, ₦36.5bn street, and damning details on previous mismanagement. Governor Otti pulls no punches. What actually occurred? Click on to learn full story.
Abia State Governor, Dr. Alex Otti, has intensified his administration’s infrastructure overhaul with the announcement of 20 new electrical buses for public transportation—whereas concurrently pulling again the curtain on what he described because the shameful misuse of public funds by his predecessors within the failed Port Harcourt Highway undertaking.
Talking on the ‘Promise Stored Carnival’ in Aba, an occasion organized in his honour for efficiently reconstructing the long-abandoned Port Harcourt Highway, Governor Otti revealed that his authorities has not solely constructed useful street infrastructure with much less international change equivalence than the previous administration however can be setting the tone for a contemporary, eco-friendly transportation system.
In response to the Governor, the primary section of Abia’s rebranded transport community contains the deployment of 20 electrical buses inside the subsequent two months, together with the completion of world-class bus terminals already underneath development.
“We’ve got paid for the 20 electrical buses. They’re on their method. These buses is not going to run on petrol, diesel, or gasoline. They’re absolutely electrical—identical to those you see in developed nations. That’s the type of transport system we’re bringing to Abia,” Otti acknowledged to an excited crowd at Umuagbai Secondary School.
Nevertheless, the Governor’s disclosures went past new tasks. In a blistering comparability, Otti confronted critics and opposition figures who had questioned the ₦36.5 billion price of reconstructing Port Harcourt Highway. He responded with a direct {financial} evaluation, contrasting his administration’s expenditure with that of the earlier authorities, which reportedly spent ₦9.8 billion on the identical street undertaking in 2017 with out delivering outcomes.
“In 2017, they awarded the Port Harcourt Highway contract for ₦9.8 billion and paid it in full. Nothing was executed. Quick ahead to 2025, we accomplished the street at ₦36.5 billion. They shouted about the associated fee, however right here’s the reality: ₦9.8 billion in 2017 was equal to $29 million. At immediately’s change fee of ₦1,600 to a greenback, ₦36.5 billion is about $22.8 million,” he defined.
Otti emphasised that whereas his administration delivered a high-quality street with a decrease greenback worth, the previous administration failed regardless of spending extra in actual phrases.
“So let’s do the mathematics. $29 million spent in 2017 produced no street. $22.8 million in 2025 produced a regular street. That’s the truth. And that’s the distinction between management and failure,” the Governor added.
He reiterated that his administration would proceed to answer political distractions and criticism with concrete achievements somewhat than rhetoric. “We ignore them. We reply with efficiency,” he acknowledged.
The occasion additionally turned a chance to showcase the human face of governance. Governor Otti awarded ₦1.4 million to a business tricycle driver in Aba who returned ₦2.4 million forgotten by a passenger—applauding him for instance of the ethical character and honesty Abians are identified for.
The carnival, stuffed with vibrant performances from Aba-born artists, was graced by dignitaries throughout political and enterprise sectors. Key figures who delivered goodwill messages included Senator Darlington Nwokocha and Speaker of the Abia State Home of Meeting, Rt. Hon. Emmanuel Emeruwa, each of whom lauded the Governor’s achievements in lower than two years in workplace.
The Aba enterprise neighborhood and Landlords’ Affiliation, represented by Chief David Ogba Onuoha, Chief Leo Nnodi Okoye, Chief Alphonsus Odigbo, and Ide John Udeagba, described the Governor’s intervention on Port Harcourt Highway as a turning level for the town. In response to them, the profitable supply of the street stands above all different infrastructural tasks and is a visual testomony to a management fashion rooted in transparency, imaginative and prescient, and outcomes.
“Governor Otti has already accomplished his re-election marketing campaign with this one street. We put this carnival collectively to indicate appreciation and to go a vote of confidence,” stated Chief Onyeka Ernest Udeajah, convener of the occasion.
Mr. Chukwuma Azodo, State Chairman of the Cooperative Motor Union, described the Port Harcourt Highway as a “legendary feat,” noting that the Governor’s tasks have made mobility and commerce in Aba considerably simpler.
The Governor’s disclosures haven’t solely reignited the talk round public fund mismanagement in previous administrations but in addition strengthened his picture as a performance-driven chief with a transparent imaginative and prescient for a sustainable and trendy Abia State.
