Economy

Abia and the Budget of Accelerated Development and New Possibilities By Ebere Uzoukwa, PhD The presentation of Abia’s 2026 Appropriation Bill on Tuesday, 25 November 2025, by Governor Alex Otti stands as one of the most defining policy statements of his administration. With a landmark sum of N1.016 trillion, the Budget of Acceleration and New Possibilities signals a bold and deliberate effort to reposition Abia on the path of rapid development, structural transformation and sustained prosperity. It is a budget crafted not for routine governance but for rebuilding, expansion and future shaping. A central feature of the budget is its…

Economic Development & Abia’s 2026 Budget: A Nafziger-Based Assessment of Growth, Governance, and New Possibilities Using E. Wayne Nafziger’s classic text, Economic Development, as an analytical lens, Abia State’s 2026 Appropriation Bill — titled “Budget of Acceleration and New Possibilities” — represents one of the most structurally coherent and development-aligned budget frameworks produced by a Nigerian sub-national government in contemporary times. Nafziger reminds us in Chapter 3 (Economic Growth: Concepts and Patterns) that long-term transformation depends on expanding productive capacity, raising human capital, and improving institutional quality. At its core, Abia’s 2026 budget mirrors this development philosophy. Capital Expenditure Orientation:…

Governor Otti Poised to Deepen Abia’s Transformation with 2026 Budget Estimate By Ebere Uzoukwa, PhD The highly anticipated presentation of the 2026 budget estimate by His Excellency, Governor Alex Chioma Otti OFR, before the 8th Abia State House of Assembly tomorrow, marks another defining moment in Abia’s evolving development story. Following two consecutive, results-oriented budget cycles, this exercise is expected to reinforce the administration's reputation for purposeful planning, transparent governance, and an unwavering commitment to rebuilding Abia into a modern, functional, and economically vibrant state. The effectiveness of previous budget implementations has been the cornerstone of the Governor's transformation agenda.…

A Daniel Has Come to Judgment: Schooling Obinna Oriaku on Public Finance, Transparency and Intellectual Honesty It is curious — almost tragicomic — that the same man who supervised Abia’s finances between 2015–2019 without publishing a single Quarterly Budget Implementation Report now seeks to interrogate Q2 and Q3 2025 documents with the zeal of a philosopher-king. But as Shakespeare warned in Measure for Measure, “Some rise by sin, and some by virtue fall.” In this debate, however, the irony is reversed: he who fell by opacity now pretends to rise by feigned transparency. Before we engage his questions, the stage…

Abia’s Q3 2025 Financial Report: Facts, Context and the Politics of Manufactured Doubt — A Response to Obinna Oriaku Public commentary on Abia State’s finances is healthy for democracy, but it becomes dangerous when it is anchored on selective interpretation, exaggerated arithmetic, and an unfortunate attempt to weaponize public misunderstanding. Obinna Oriaku’s critique of Abia’s Q3 2025 Financial Report is a vivid example of how numbers can be stretched to create suspicion where none exists, and how nostalgia for opacity can be disguised as patriotism. His concerns sound weighty until they are placed beside verifiable data, constitutional accounting rules and…