Abia ThinkTank

4561 Posts
Feb
15
2026
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By Abia ThinkTank
2027: ‘It’s Better To Be Inside Than Outside’ – Cubana Chief Priest Urges Igbos To Support Tinubu

2027: ‘It’s Better To Be Inside Than Outside’ – Cubana Chief Priest Urges Igbos To Support Tinubu

Politics, Columns/Opinions/Letters
2027: ‘It’s Better To Be Inside Than Outside’ — Cubana Chief Priest Urges Igbos To Support Tinubu As Nigerians gear up to launch into another season of politicking, and sides are being formed, the Imo State Director of City Boy Movement, Paschal Okechukwu, aka Cubana Chief Priest, has recanted on his stand regarding President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s chances at the polls come 2027. In November 2025, Cubana Chief Priest shared his thoughts on the sentencing of Biafran agitator Nnamdi Kanu to life imprisonment for terrorism. In a message to the president, Chief Priest said that as long as Mr Kanu…
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Feb
15
2026
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By Abia ThinkTank
Bandits Kill 32 Farmers, Abduct Many, Set Houses Ablaze In Niger State

Bandits Kill 32 Farmers, Abduct Many, Set Houses Ablaze In Niger State

Crime, News Flash, North Central
Bandits Kill 32 Farmers, Abduct Many, Set Houses Ablaze In Niger State Bandits have killed no fewer than 32 farmers in a series of attacks on Tugan-Makeri, Konsoko, and Pissa communities in Borgu Local Government Area of Niger State. Residents told our correspondent that the first attack occurred at Tunga-Makeri in Konkoso Ward around 3:00 a.m., during which six people were killed. They said the bandits later invaded Konsoko and Pissa at about 6:00 a.m. on Saturday, shooting sporadically. In the attacks, 26 people were reportedly killed and several buildings, including a police outpost, were set ablaze. Sources added that…
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Feb
15
2026
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By Abia ThinkTank
What “R&D” Really Means In Government Reporting – By Prof Chukwuemeka Ifegwu Eke

What “R&D” Really Means In Government Reporting – By Prof Chukwuemeka Ifegwu Eke

Abia State, Columns/Opinions/Letters, Good Governance
📌 WHAT “R&D” REALLY MEANS IN GOVERNMENT REPORTING Before we shout “₦54 billion on R&D!”, let us understand what R&D means in public finance.Research & Development (R&D) in government budgets is not laboratory experiments. It is a functional classification that includes: Policy research Reform program expenses Economic studies Geological mapping Investment positioning Data systems development Sector accreditation processesIn other words, R&D = system-building + planning + investment readiness. 📍 WHAT ABIA GOVERNMENT’S OWN REPORT SAYSAccording to Abia State’s official Q4 2025 Budget Implementation Report, the R&D line (₦5.82bn in that quarter) covered:✔ OGP / State Action on Business Enabling Reforms…
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Feb
14
2026
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By Abia ThinkTank
Diplomacy As Development: How International Partnerships Are Powering Abia’s Economic Reset – By Prof Chukwuemeka Ifegwu Eke

Diplomacy As Development: How International Partnerships Are Powering Abia’s Economic Reset – By Prof Chukwuemeka Ifegwu Eke

Abia State, Columns/Opinions/Letters, Economy, Good Governance
Diplomacy as Development: How International Partnerships Are Powering Abia’s Economic Reset By AProf. Chukwuemeka Ifegwu Eke In an era where subnational governments compete not only domestically but globally, international partnerships are no longer ceremonial—they are strategic economic instruments. Abia State’s recent diplomatic engagements under Governor Alex C. Otti reflect a deliberate shift from isolation to integration, aligning local economic transformation with global capital, technology, and governance networks.Across Africa, states that attract foreign partnerships typically demonstrate three features: fiscal discipline, institutional reform, and policy clarity. These are the pillars emphasized by multilateral institutions such as the World Bank and IMF in…
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Feb
14
2026
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By Abia ThinkTank
Otti: Breaking The Jinx, Winning The People – By Ebere Uzoukwa Ph.D (SSA To Governor Otti On Public Affairs)

Otti: Breaking The Jinx, Winning The People – By Ebere Uzoukwa Ph.D (SSA To Governor Otti On Public Affairs)

Abia State, Columns/Opinions/Letters, Good Governance, Politics
Otti: Breaking the Jinx, Winning the People By Ebere Uzoukwa, PhD “The siege has collapsed, the jinx is forever broken.” With this declaration, Governor Alex Chioma Otti captured not just a moment but the spirit of a remarkable turnaround in Abia State. At a grand reception at Abam High School, Ozu Abam, he commissioned two landmark projects, the new Omenuko Bridge and the 30 kilometre Ozu Abam Arochukwu Road, projects long deemed impossible by successive administrations. What was once a landscape of neglect and despair has now been transformed into a beacon of hope, progress, and tangible results. For more…
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Feb
14
2026
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By Abia ThinkTank
El-Rufai Accuses Ribadu Of Ordering His Arrest, Claims NSA’s Phone Tapped

El-Rufai Accuses Ribadu Of Ordering His Arrest, Claims NSA’s Phone Tapped

Crime, News Flash, Politics
El-Rufai Accuses Ribadu Of Ordering His Arrest, Claims NSA’s Phone Tapped The former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, has alleged that the National Security Adviser (NSA), Nuhu Ribadu, ordered his arrest and is behind the alleged attempt to arrest him at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, on Thursday. Speaking on Friday in an interview with Arise Television, the former governor claimed that Mr Ribadu personally ordered his arrest. AttNews earlier reported that Mr El-Rufai was involved in a heated verbal exchange with security operatives at the Abuja airport, shortly after his arrival in the country. According to eyewitness accounts,…
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Feb
14
2026
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By Abia ThinkTank
Sunday Igboho Hails Nnamdi Kanu For Ending Sit-At-Home

Sunday Igboho Hails Nnamdi Kanu For Ending Sit-At-Home

Economy, News Flash, Security
Sunday Igboho Hails Nnamdi Kanu For Ending Sit-at-home Yoruba nation activist, Sunday Adeyemo, widely known as Sunday Igboho, has commended the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, for cancelling the long-standing Monday sit-at-home across the South-East states. In a statement issued on Friday through his legal counsel, Pelumi Olanjengbesi, Igboho described the development as both thoughtful and timely, noting that it would significantly reinvigorate socio-economic activities in the region. He added that the decision would help create an enabling environment for small and medium-sized enterprises, as well as entrepreneurs, to thrive. Kanu, who is currently serving…
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Feb
14
2026
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By Abia ThinkTank
Power Recognizes Reform: A 48 Laws Of Power Reading Of Tinubu-Otti Alignment- And Why Blackmail Politics Fails – By Prof Chukwuemeka Ifegwu Eke

Power Recognizes Reform: A 48 Laws Of Power Reading Of Tinubu-Otti Alignment- And Why Blackmail Politics Fails – By Prof Chukwuemeka Ifegwu Eke

Abia State, Columns/Opinions/Letters, Good Governance, Politics
Power Recognizes Reform: A 48 Laws of Power Reading of Tinubu–Otti Alignment — And Why Blackmail Politics Fails In Robert Greene’s The 48 Laws of Power, one recurring principle appears across multiple laws: real power aligns with utility, performance, and reform capacity — not noise. Political history repeatedly shows that central leaders tend to work more smoothly with subnational actors who reinforce structural reform, fiscal discipline, and institutional modernization. Seen through that lens, the visible policy alignment between President Bola Tinubu’s federal reform agenda and Governor Alex Otti’s state-level reform posture is neither accidental nor sentimental — it is structurally…
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Feb
13
2026
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By Abia ThinkTank
Valentine’s Day: CBN Lists Money Bouquets As Offence

Valentine’s Day: CBN Lists Money Bouquets As Offence

CBN/Commercial Banking, Economy, News Flash
Valentine’s Day: CBN Lists Money Bouquets As Offence As Valentine’s Day draws near, the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) 2023 warning against money bouquets is making the rounds again. The apex bank had classified money bouquets, a popular gift among lovers, as a form of naira abuse. In a flier shared on its official Twitter handle in 2023, the CBN listed money bouquets alongside other prohibited practices, including spraying, selling, squeezing, and defacing naira notes. Citizens were urged to report incidents of naira abuse, with the CBN emphasising: “It is your civic duty to protect the naira. Report naira abuse…
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Feb
13
2026
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By Abia ThinkTank
From Tax Reform To Power Stability: Why Otti’s Fiscal And Energy Agenda Signals A Structural Shift In Abia’s Governance Model – By Prof Chukwuemeka Ifegwu Eke

From Tax Reform To Power Stability: Why Otti’s Fiscal And Energy Agenda Signals A Structural Shift In Abia’s Governance Model – By Prof Chukwuemeka Ifegwu Eke

Abia State, Columns/Opinions/Letters, Good Governance
From Tax Reform to Power Stability: Why Otti’s Fiscal and Energy Agenda Signals a Structural Shift in Abia’s Governance Model By Prof. Chukwuemeka Ifegwu Eke In public sector reform history, the most consequential transformations rarely begin with ribbon cuttings. They begin with systems — how revenue is raised, how power is supplied, and how predictability is restored to economic life. That is the deeper significance of Governor Alex Otti’s visible alignment with national tax reforms and his administration’s push toward energy independence for Abia State. Taken together, these are not isolated policy positions. They represent a structural governance direction: stabilize…
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