HE WHO ACCUSES HAS THE BURDEN TO PROVE OTHERWISE
If what we’ve provided hasn’t met your inquiry, then come down and contest it.
ABIA LGAs: ₦410 BILLION FAAC ALLOCATION — WHERE ARE THE PROJECTS?
A Public Response to Criticism From Abroad
In recent weeks, a narrative has circulated—amplified from abroad—that Abia State has received massive revenues under Governor Alex C. Otti, yet allegedly delivered no major development projects. The core claim is that Local Government Areas (LGAs) have earned over ₦410 billion in FAAC allocations, and when combined with Internally Generated Revenue (IGR), capital receipts, and loans, the total approaches ₦500 billion—and supposedly no major projects exist to justify this.
This letter responds to that claim with publicly verifiable evidence from reputable media and oversight reports.
1) STATEWIDE INFRASTRUCTURE PROGRESS IS DOCUMENTED
POWER RESTORATION IN UKWA WEST
After nearly a decade of electrical darkness in parts of Ukwa West LGA, power was restored to 33 communities under the supervision of the state Oil Producing Areas Development Commission. This achievement was widely reported:
👉 Punch Newspaper: “Abia gov restores power to 33 communities after nine-year blackout”
https://punchng.com/abia-gov-restores-power-to-33-communities-after-nine-year-blackout/
👉 Independent Newspaper: “After nine years in darkness, Abia communities reconnected with electricity”
https://independent.ng/after-nine-years-in-darkness-abia-communities-reconnected-with-electricity/
This counters the claim that no major projects exist. Here is a major infrastructure outcome documented independently.
2) HEALTHCARE DELIVERY IS BEING REFORMED AND EXPANDED
The House of Representatives Committee on Healthcare Services conducted an oversight visit to Abia and publicly commended the government’s strides in primary healthcare reform—including staffing and facility upgrades:
👉 Punch Newspaper: “Reps committee lauds Abia gov’s strides in healthcare delivery”
https://punchng.com/reps-committee-lauds-abia-govs-strides-in-healthcare-delivery/
3) EMPLOYMENT AND SERVICE DELIVERY FACTS
The Abia State Government approved the recruitment of 649 medical workers, including doctors and nurses, to fill gaps in the primary healthcare system. This is a concrete, measurable personnel expansion:
👉 Eastern Updates: “Abia governor greenlights hiring of 649 health workers”
https://theeasternupdates.com/2026/01/26/abia-governor-greenlights-hiring-of-649-health-workers/
👉 Federal Ministry of Information: “Abia government to recruit more medical personnel…”
https://fmino.gov.ng/abia-government-to-recruit-more-medical-personnel-as-state-moves-to-strengthen-health-sector/
These recruitments are not “audio” or speculative; they appear in official announcements.
4) POWER INFRASTRUCTURE HAS BEEN EXPANDED
Abia has made strategic investments in electricity supply infrastructure, including transformer procurement and embedded generation:
👉 Broadstreet Radio: Abia declares insulation from national grid collapse via renewable and embedded solutions
https://www.facebook.com/BroadstreetRadioNg/photos/just-in-abia-now-free-from-national-grid-collapse-gov-otti-declaresthe-governor-/1314274864057731/
👉 Progressive Nigeria: Approval of purchase of over 1,000 transformers to boost distribution across communities
https://www.facebook.com/progressivenigeria/posts/breakingg0v-alex-otti-approves-purchase-of-over-1000-transformers-to-boost-elect/1472775574245042/
5) RURAL ELECTRIFICATION POLICY FRAMEWORK
Abia adopted mini-grid regulation, making it one of the first states to create a legal framework to expand off-grid and renewable energy access across villages and towns. This is structural reform, not decoration:
👉 Technology Times: “Abia adopts mini-grid regulation”
https://technologytimes.ng/abia-adopts-mini-grid-regulation/
6) GOVERNANCE IS MORE THAN POINT-PHOTOGRAPHS
The critic’s demand to “post photos of projects fully paid for since 2023” misunderstands how modern governance works. Projects take shape as:
Policy frameworks
Personnel deployment
Institutional reform
Regulated service delivery
Embedded infrastructure
Not all impact fits neatly into a snapshot, but all impact can be documented.
CONCLUSION: THE BURDEN OF PROOF REMAINS SHARED
If the claim is that Abia has received massive revenue but has no projects to show, history and reporting show otherwise. From electrification to healthcare, from regulatory innovation to transformer deployment, there is a verifiable record of action.
Abia may not be perfect, and accountability demands persistent questioning—but it is neither accurate nor responsible to reduce governance to caricature.
He who accuses has the burden to prove otherwise.
The evidence above provides a starting point for meaningful, fact-based discussion—not rhetoric.
A constructive dialogue requires grounded data, not megaphone narratives.
AProf Chukwuemeka Ifegwu Eke
