Abia ThinkTank

ABIA PENSION DEBATE: LET US NOT TURN OTTI’S ATTEMPT TO SOLVE AN INHERITED CRISIS INTO THE ORIGIN OF THE CRISIS The latest intervention by the Abia Pensioners Forum deserves attention because pensioners are entitled to ask questions about money earned through years of public service. But the presentation of the controversy also requires historical balance. Anyone reading the headline that Governor Alex Otti is being asked to clear “over 60 months” of pension arrears could easily come away believing that these arrears accumulated under the present administration. They did not. Otti Inherited the Pension Crisis; He Did Not Create It…

NIGERIA AT THE DEVELOPMENTAL INFLECTION POINT: HISTORICAL LESSONS FROM THE UNITED STATES, BRITAIN AND GERMANY By AProf. Chukwuemeka Ifegwu Eke Introduction Nigeria's contemporary socio-economic and political condition raises one of the most important questions in comparative development: at what point in the historical evolution of today's developed economies did they experience circumstances broadly comparable to those confronting Nigeria today? The question is not merely academic. It speaks directly to the anxiety of a society confronted simultaneously by inflation, declining purchasing power, unemployment and underemployment, infrastructure deficits, insecurity, institutional distrust, political contestation and far-reaching economic reforms. For many Nigerians, the immediate…

ABIA 2027: THE MAN TO BEAT Before the Ballot, Examine the Men; After Three Years, Examine the Record A SPECIAL POLITICAL FEATURE The emerging 2027 governorship contest in Abia State presents an unusual opportunity for voters to conduct an examination that goes beyond political parties, campaign slogans and election-season promises. Governor Alex Otti is no longer merely a candidate telling Abians what he might do. He has now occupied Government House since May 29, 2023, and therefore carries something his principal challengers presently do not possess: an actual gubernatorial record that can be inspected. This fundamentally changes the nature of…