Columns/Opinions/Letters

EKE O. AKO, QUESTIONS ARE GOOD — BUT FACTS MUST ANSWER THEM Eke O. Ako asked: 🤨 How many jobs were created?🤨 How many industries were built?😔 How many young Abians were lifted from hopelessness into productivity? Good questions. But good questions must be answered with good facts — not emotion, not propaganda, not political bitterness. So let us answer Eke O. Ako directly. HOW MANY JOBS WERE CREATED? Under Governor Dr Alex Chioma Otti, OFR, Abia has not been running a government of mere slogans. The administration has been building a structured employment and productivity pipeline. First, Abia recruited…

ABIA HAS LEFT THE GROUP CHAT OF EXCUSES There is a new kind of noise coming out of Abia State. It is not the old noise of abandoned roads.It is not the old noise of unpaid workers.It is not the old noise of pensioners crying.It is not the old noise of refuse mountains swallowing Aba and Umuahia.It is not the old noise of government blaming Abuja, blaming the past, blaming the weather, blaming opposition, blaming revenue, blaming everything except itself. This one is different. The new noise is the sound of a state slowly walking out of the group chat…

AGING LAGOS AND THE HOPES FOR ABIA: A 50-YEAR STRATEGIC MEDITATION ON DECAY, RENEWAL AND DESTINY From the air, Lagos tells a story before the aircraft touches the ground.It begins as a vast sheet of human struggle spread beneath the wings: endless roofs, brown roofs, rusted roofs, tired roofs; corrugated iron sheets burnt by sun, beaten by rain, darkened by age and smoke. From above, the city appears not merely crowded, but exhausted. The rooftops run into one another like an old wound that never fully healed. Between them are narrow arteries of roads, many overused, many overstretched, many carrying…

APC SHOULD STOP WRESTLING WITH DAYBREAK: THE FACTS ARE NO LONGER ON THEIR SIDE The Abia APC must calm down and face reality. Opposition is not noise. Opposition is not anger. Opposition is not the reckless throwing of allegations into the public space and then crying victim when asked to prove them.A serious opposition should come with documents, superior policy, alternative programmes, stronger figures and a clearer development roadmap. But when a party has no convincing counter-performance, it begins to fight shadows. That is exactly where the APC in Abia appears to be today.The facts are now heavily stacked against…

THE HYPOCRISY OF MOCKING ABIA’S PORT VISIONTheme: Facts, History, Geography, Strategy and Aba’s Manufacturing Future THE HYPOCRISY OF MOCKING ABIA’S PORT VISION The argument credited to Mr Jerry Ademola is not just weak; it is hypocritical, historically shallow and strategically empty. He admits that Calabar Port and Onne Port were once active, but that the Federal Government neglected the eastern maritime corridor and moved serious port advantage to Lagos. Then, in the same breath, he turns around to advise Abia to remain dependent on the same neglected system. That is not analysis. That is surrender decorated as advice. If the…

CLIMATE-SMARTURBANIZATIONANDENVIRONMENTALGOVERNANCE: THE ABIA DEVELOPMENT MODEL FOR BUILDINGRESILIENT AND SUSTAINABLE CITIES IN AFRICA A lecture delivered by Ebere Uzoukwa, PhD, Senior SpecialAssistant to the Governor of Abia State on Public Affairs at the2026 World Environment Day Celebration held on Friday June 5,2026, at Imo State University, Owerri on the theme:“Urbanization and Climate Change: Building Resilient Cities for aSustainable Future.” PROTOCOLS We are gathered here today at a defining moment in human history.Across the globe, humanity is simultaneously confronted by two powerfulrealities: the rapid expansion of cities and the escalating threat of climatechange. These twin forces are reshaping economies, governance systems,public health,…

BEFORE YOU ASK ABIA TO CHANGE DIRECTION, FIRST ANSWER THE HARD QUESTIONS Dr. Kelechi Anosike and his supporters are fully entitled to criticise Governor Alex Otti. Opposition is an essential pillar of democracy, and the question concerning the permanent seat of government deserves a clear response from the administration. However, a Government House controversy cannot become a convenient hiding place for politicians who have no convincing answers to the deeper questions confronting Abia State. A Government House is an administrative facility. It is not the government itself. Government is measured by what reaches the people: functioning roads, improved hospitals, better…

OTTI: WHEN GOOD GOVERNANCE MAKES A LEADER A “CULT FIGURE” By Casmir Echebiri I have been to Aba two times this 2026. On both occasions I was told something that tickled me and also made me think. I visited the city to print some T-shirts on those occasions for one of my friends aspiring for a political office from the ruling APC. After the printer had finished printing on the first day, I donned one of shirts, trying to see if he did a good job. After wearing it and was critiquing it, with my brother who resides in Aba…

THE CAREER POLITICIAN’S DILEMMA: WHEN SUPPORT FOR OTTI BECOMES DEVELOPMENT CAPITAL There is a quiet but very important conversation going on in Abia politics today. It is not always said openly, but it is whispered in political circles, community meetings, private phone calls, party gatherings and village discussions. Some career politicians are asking: “We supported this government. What have we benefited?” On the surface, the question sounds familiar. In Nigerian politics, it is almost a standard expectation. A politician supports a candidate, spends money, mobilizes voters, attends meetings, prints banners, fuels vehicles, feeds supporters, protects polling units, and after victory,…