Columns/Opinions/Letters

ABIA THROUGH INDEPENDENT LENSES: WHAT THE DATA, RANKINGS AND RECOGNISED INSTITUTIONS ACTUALLY SAY The strongest way to assess the direction of Abia State is not through political slogans, government self-praise or opposition commentary. It is through independent measurement. When Abia is examined through the lenses of BudgIT, the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council, the United Nations Development Programme, the World Bank and Nigeria’s Debt Management Office, a clearer picture begins to emerge. It is not a picture of perfection. But it is increasingly a picture of measurable fiscal improvement, stronger transparency, increased capital investment and an improving business-reform environment. BUDGIT:…

GOVERNOR OTTI’S GOVERNMENT SPENDS WISELY, NOT RECKLESSLY The latest attempt to manufacture a scandal around Governor Alex Otti from the ₦1.003 billion entry in the 2025 Accountant-General’s Report deserves a response grounded in common sense, accounting discipline and the government’s actual spending record. The allegation is sensational: “Otti spent ₦1.003 billion on just two Hilux vehicles.” Divide the figure by two, scream ₦501 million per vehicle, design a frightening poster, tag everybody from Sowore to the World Bank and Basketmouth, and suddenly an accounting entry has become proof of corruption. Not so fast. The most compelling evidence in Governor Otti’s…

OTTI LISTENS: WHY WHISTLEBLOWERS, CRITICAL VOICES AND SURGICAL ANALYSIS MATTER IN GOVERNANCE There is an important democratic lesson emerging from the recent developments surrounding Abia State University, Uturu. It goes beyond the strike. It goes beyond salaries, allowances, promotions and administrative bottlenecks. It is about the usefulness of dissent, the value of whistleblowers and, ultimately, the character of a government that is prepared to listen when uncomfortable issues are placed before it. Governor Alex Otti’s public apology to the Academic Staff Union of Universities, Abia State University branch, deserves attention for precisely this reason. At the Abia@35 celebration, the Governor…

ABOMINABLE ARITHMETIC: How a 30-Kilometre Road Project Became a “₦28 Billion Bridge” There is a new school of accounting in Abia politics, and I must confess that it deserves its own department in one of our universities. 😂😂😂 Its methodology is very simple. First, find a bridge. Second, find a large figure somewhere inside a budget or expenditure report. Third, ignore the road attached to the bridge. Fourth, ignore the communities connected by the road. Fifth, ignore drainage, earthworks, culverts, approaches and associated engineering works. Finally, carry the entire figure, dump it on top of the bridge and shout: “₦28…

Moses Ayodele Orji’s latest intervention is written with admirable confidence. Unfortunately, confidence is not a substitute for arithmetic. The portion devoted to Dr Ebere Uzoukwa is particularly revealing. Ebere is accused of doing a “perfunctory job” merely because he described Governor Alex Otti’s approach to the gratuity problem as compassionate and responsible. One would have expected the author, having invoked corruption, integrity, public finance and pension administration in one breath, to confront Ebere’s actual figures. Instead, we are treated to “Whaaat!” Wonderful argument. But public finance is not WhatsApp theatre. It has numbers. The first inconvenient fact is that Ebere…

Moses Ayodele Orji’s latest intervention is written with admirable confidence. Unfortunately, confidence is not a substitute for arithmetic. The portion devoted to Dr Ebere Uzoukwa is particularly revealing. Ebere is accused of doing a “perfunctory job” merely because he described Governor Alex Otti’s approach to the gratuity problem as compassionate and responsible. One would have expected the author, having invoked corruption, integrity, public finance and pension administration in one breath, to confront Ebere’s actual figures. Instead, we are treated to “Whaaat!” Wonderful argument. But public finance is not WhatsApp theatre. It has numbers. The first inconvenient fact is that Ebere…

₦7.2 BILLION GRATUITY PAYMENT AND THE SECURITY-VOTE DEBATE: LET US COMPARE LIKE WITH LIKE A recent graphic seeks to create controversy by placing the reported ₦7.2 billion gratuity payment beside alleged security-related expenditure of about ₦23.49 billion between 2023 and 2025. The comparison may make an attractive political poster, but it does not by itself amount to serious public-finance analysis. Gratuity and security expenditure are fundamentally different obligations. Gratuity is a statutory retirement benefit owed to qualifying former public servants. Its payment is rightly of immense public interest because pensioners deserve dignity after years of service. The Abia State Government…