Columns/Opinions/Letters

WHEN DOCUMENTATION BECOMES PUBLIC SERVICE At a time when public discussion is often dominated by propaganda, insults and selective storytelling, Tochukwu Ogbuagu Kepukepu deserves commendation for using his platform to document the realities within our communities. His presentation of the Port Harcourt Road axis around Coca-Cola Junction performs an important civic duty. It shows the reconstructed road, modern streetlights and improved traffic movement, while also drawing attention to the environmental and sanitation challenges that still require urgent intervention. That balance is valuable. Genuine advocacy should acknowledge progress without pretending that every problem has disappeared. The images reveal visible transformation: a…

FACTS OVER FALSEHOOD. PROGRESS OVER PROPAGANDA. The Honourable Minister of Education’s visit to Abia State was not staged. It was an inspection of visible development, public infrastructure and purposeful governance. The anti-Abia argument asks whether the Minister was travelling to Abuja before visiting the Prof. Nnenna Oti Bus Terminal. That is a false condition. A Minister does not need to board a bus before inspecting a major transport facility. The same critics demanded that he should be taken to schools. Yet the Minister also commissioned the Smart School at Ogbo Ubakala. Immediately one achievement is presented, the goalpost is shifted…

ABIA’S RISING CURVE: THE NUMBERS BEHIND THE RENEWAL, 2023–2026 The charts present a clear picture of Abia State’s changing development trajectory between 2023 and 2026. The approved budget rose sharply from ₦160.52 billion in 2023 to about ₦1.016 trillion in 2026, with 79.9% of the 2026 budget devoted to capital expenditure. Internally generated revenue also increased from ₦23.73 billion in 2023 to ₦40.01 billion in 2024, representing approximately 68.6% growth. Public-school enrolment reportedly expanded from 117,000 to over 300,000 learners, while 5,394 teachers were recruited. In infrastructure, the government reported 414 completed road projects covering 864.12 kilometres, with another 82…

FACT-CHECK: DO NOT ATTRIBUTE TO GOVERNOR OTTI A ROAD HE NEVER CLAIMED TO HAVE FIXED Public criticism must begin with one elementary question: Did Governor Alex Otti or the Abia State Government ever claim that the specific Umuola-Egbelu community road had been reconstructed and completed? The available public records provide no evidence of such a claim. What appears in published project records is Umuola Road, Aba. There is also a separate Egbelu-Mbutu/Owerrinta Road in Isiala Ngwa South. These are not automatically the same as every road located within Umuola-Egbelu community. Governor Otti’s published project statement lists them as separate roads.…

GOVERNOR OTTI ALSO RESCUED ABIA PENSIONERS—THE EVIDENCE IS PUBLIC Governor Caleb Mutfwang deserves commendation for addressing Plateau State’s long-standing pension liabilities. However, Governor Alex C. Otti, OFR, has also undertaken a major pension rescue in Abia State. In March 2024, the Otti administration paid over ₦9 billion to settle inherited pension arrears owed to about 12,500 Abia retirees. The arrears had reportedly accumulated for approximately nine years, dating back to 2014. The Abia State Chairman of the Nigeria Union of Pensioners confirmed that payments were received and publicly commended the Governor. This was not merely a government media claim. The…