FACTS, HISTORY AND THE POLITICS OF FALSEHOOD: A Response to the Alleged Demolition Narrative
The shock is not that people are discussing the Abia Hotels situation; the real shock is the eagerness with which some attempt to drive a wedge between Governor Alex Otti and President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, as though there is some political profit in manufacturing hostility where none exists. The story published by The News Gazette Online on November 30, 2025 — “Abia State Government Demolishes Hotel Over Hosting of Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda Event” — is already being circulated with the intention of framing the governor as vindictive, intolerant of opposition, and hostile to the Federal Government. But a careful reading of the facts, the law, and the historical context tells a completely different story.
The article itself, available at https://newsgazetteonline.ng (Politics, November 30, 2025), relies solely on one-sided narration by Barr. Randie Ukanwoko, the investor, speaking “from his hospital bed in the United States.” No government official was quoted, no official statement was referenced, and no counter-documentation was included. Journalism demands balance; the report offered none. That alone signals that the intention is political—not factual.
To properly situate this matter, we must begin with the historical truth: Abia Hotels Ltd. has been at the center of multiple lease disputes dating back to 2007, long before Otti became governor. In 2014, the Theodore Orji administration revoked the same Development Lease Agreement over allegations of non-compliance with development benchmarks (See: Vanguard Nigeria, September 2014). In 2018, the Ikpeazu government initiated another round of reviews and sealed the facility over tax and contractual disputes (See: The Nation, July 2018). These documented precedents demonstrate that this hotel has had long-running structural and contractual issues with successive governments.
Therefore, the attempt to isolate Otti as the first governor to act on this property is not just misleading; it is historically false.
Even the article acknowledges that the government had commenced a legal review weeks before any event hosted by Rt. Hon. Benjamin Kalu. The investor himself stated:
He was invited for review of the lease agreement before the political event (News Gazette, para. 4–6).
He submitted documents, attended meetings, and admitted that the review was ongoing (para. 5–7).
Negotiations had begun, including valuation assessments, long before the Renewed Hope program (para. 9–12).
This already defeats the central falsehood that the government “retaliated” because a hall was used for a Tinubu-related event.
Furthermore, the investor admitted under his own handwriting that the government offered him ₦450 million based on their valuation. His complaint was not that he was deprived of due process; his complaint was that he wanted ₦708 million. This is a commercial dispute—not a political war.
There is also the legal angle: under Nigerian property law and most Development Lease Agreements (DLAs), a host government retains the power of re-entry where contractual breaches, safety concerns, or regulatory violations exist. The Umuahia Capital Development Authority Act empowers UCDA to revoke, seal, or order development revision on public assets. Ikpeazu used it. Orji used it. Every governor has used it. Creating a special scandal because Otti used it suggests selective outrage.
Nowhere in the material presented did the article show:
A demolition order signed by the governor.
A public statement linking the action to the Renewed Hope event.
Any government memo referencing Benjamin Kalu or Tinubu.
Any evidence that Otti ever gave such an instruction.
Not one document. Not one link. Not one proof.
Instead, the investor relies heavily on vague claims like “three of my kinsmen in Otti’s government told me” and “I was told the governor was unhappy.” Hearsay masquerading as evidence is the oldest political weapon in Nigerian history.
This is especially important because The News Gazette itself has a pattern of reporting against the Otti government, as seen in earlier pieces such as “Governor Otti’s Government Continues Its Mission to Clamp Down on Opposition Voices” (November 26, 2025: https://newsgazetteonline.ng/politics/). There is a clear editorial pattern of opposition, meaning this demolition report must be analyzed with that lens.
Finally, the attempt to engineer conflict between Otti and Tinubu collapses on the foundation of reality.
Otti and Tinubu have maintained open institutional channels.
Federal projects in Abia are moving unhindered, including customs modernization, federal roads, and FG–state electricity harmonization.
President Tinubu has repeatedly stated that subnational politics should not hinder governance.
Otti himself granted access to opposition figures during his years in opposition — proof that he does not operate with political paranoia.
The article’s entire narrative rests on unverified assumptions and the emotional frustration of a businessman who wanted a higher payout, not on documented government reprisals.
Here is the truth:
- The hotel lease has been disputed for nearly two decades.
- Multiple administrations have issued similar actions over compliance.
- Negotiations were ongoing long before any political event.
- No credible evidence links demolition to Tinubu or Benjamin Kalu.
- The report contains no balanced fieldwork or state input.
- There is no historical pattern of Otti targeting federal allies.
This matter must be understood for what it is — a commercial dispute polluted with political propaganda, not an act of executive hostility against the President. In a season where political actors profit from manufacturing friction between Abuja and Umuahia, truth must steady our minds.
Governor Otti may be imperfect, as all leaders are, but he has neither the temperament nor the history of vindictive political demolition. Abians should therefore examine evidence—not rumours—before drawing conclusions.
History is stubborn. It remembers. And right now, it remembers that this hotel dispute predates the Otti era.
AProf Chukwuemeka Ifegwu Eke
