Otti has proved by his actions in office that he appreciates what political scientists call the four “Ps of Governance” – Purpose, People, Process, and Performance. He has proved beyond doubt that he has both moral clarity and effective, honest execution in leadership, thus underscoring Narendra Modi, India Prime Minister’s quip that, “Good governance with good intentions is the hallmark of our government. Implementation with integrity is our core passion.” He does not only have good intentions for Abians as clearly manifested in the projects he is executing, but in implementing his policies and programmes, he has done so with a level of integrity that is uncommon in these shores. Through inclusivity, he has taken governance to the people. He has demystified governance without breaking a sweat and Abians are ululating, yearning for more.
By IKECHUKWU AMAECHI
When it comes to issues of public policy, administration and governance, 95-year-old Dr. Uma Eleazu – economist, policy scientist, administrator and teacher – is peerless. So, when he averred in June 2025 that “Since Dr. Alex Otti became governor of Abia State, I have started having hope that things can change,” Nigerians paid attention.
Affirming that the former bank chief is “someone who recognises that public funds should be used for public purposes,” Elder Eleazu further gave reason for his high regards for him: “Whatever he gets from the federation account, he husbands well and uses it in ensuring that the people enjoy the benefit of having a government. That is what we call bringing government closer to the people.”
In a country where leaders have perfected the odious act of bringing corruption, not government, closer to the people, Otti, no doubt, is a refreshing breath of fresh air. This fundamental shift in leadership worldview, which is what taking governance to the people entails, guarantees more participatory, collaborative, and inclusive approaches that actively involve citizens in decision-making with the ultimate goal of increasing transparency, rebuilding trust in institutions, and ensuring that policies are more responsive to community needs.
Over the years, governments in Nigeria at all levels have abandoned the little things that serve public purposes like regular payment of workers’ salaries, payment of pensions and gratuities to retirees, providing the infrastructure and human capital that will guarantee qualitative education, providing quality healthcare services for the wellbeing of the masses and creating the enabling environment that will unleash people’s entrepreneurial energy.
What we have are governments boasting of multi-billion Naira projects that end up as corruption conduits. Thus, we have a so-called professor of engineering who, when he was governor, built and commissioned a multi-billion Naira airport which terminal is now being used for “special quarterly prayer session for the airport’s success.” We have seen governors who built flyovers and roads that lead to nowhere at outrageous costs.
Otti could have chosen to play the same gave. After all, who cares and what can the people do even if they care? But he chose a different route, providing services that are useful to the people. In the 29 months of his stewardship, he has prioritized economic growth by attracting investments, stimulating entrepreneurial activity, and creating employment opportunities; reconstructed and remodeled schools; improved teachers’ welfare in order to attract and retain qualified staff; and restored accreditation for the Abia State University Teaching Hospital. He has also cleared health workers’ salaries, implemented programmes to reduce maternal and child mortality and ensured the consistent payment of workers’ salaries and pensions.
Appreciating the fact that his people are entrepreneurs, who rather than handouts from the government, only need the enabling environment for real and sustainable economic blowout, Otti addressed the daunting problems in the electricity sector, leading to improved power supply. Also, knowing that no real development can take place in an environment wracked by insecurity, he established “Operation Crush,” a multi-agency security outfit and a Security Advisory Council, with a dire warning to malcontents that: “No inch of Abia territory shall be safe for those who traffic in violence and destruction.” Today, Abia is the safest State in the Southeast.
But why won’t it be? The glory of Aba, arguably Nigeria’s foremost industrial hub, has been restored. And what did he do? Simple things. He recreated the Enyimba City in his own cosmopolitan image, first by providing the sorely lacking but needed infrastructure and declaring a state of emergency on waste disposal, resulting in cleaner streets. The dramatic result is that gone are the days of the Osisikankwus when Enyimba City was a ghost town. Real estate business is thriving once more and people are investing rather than divesting.
What is interesting in all this is the fact that in orchestrating what some people refer to as ‘miracle’ in Abia State, Governor Otti is neither receiving more money from the Federation Account than his peers nor has the State’s internally generated revenue gone up considerably because of his philosophy that taxing poverty is counterproductive. He only elevated transparency to an art of governance as it is in other progressive climes by not only making government spending, contracts, and appointments open to public scrutiny but also conducting a payroll audit that identified and eliminated ghost workers, leading to significant savings. Worthy of note is the fact that he is doing all this on the platform of an opposition political party, having refused to plug his state’s political charger to the Abuja power socket.
But, let’s be clear: Dr. Alex Otti is also delivering handsomely on tangible projects. By May 2024, barely one year in office, he was already commissioning some road projects, including the Ossah six-lane road (now Aguiyi Ironsi Boulevard) in Umuahia, as well as University, College roads, and Green Avenue in Osisioma.
But provision of infrastructure took an unprecedented leap in 2025. Starting from June, the administration commissioned many critical road projects and fully equipped, functional primary healthcare centres in phases. The first phase which took place between June 10 and June 11 saw the commissioning of 14 roads and four primary healthcare centres spread across various local governments in Abia South and Central senatorial zones, including Umuode, Bakassi, Asa Triangle roads, Isu Ihiteukwa Street, etc., all in Aba; reconstruction of the 8.3km Isi Eketa-Obikabia Road that traverses Isiala Ngwa South and Isiala Ngwa North and the 1.5km IBB Road that stretches from Duzie Way to Ahiaeke.
In announcing the commissioning, Abia State Commissioner for Information, Prince Okey Kanu, said, “These projects are a clear demonstration of the Governor’s unwavering commitment to fulfilling the promises made to the people of Abia under the “New Abia” vision anchored on transparent governance, infrastructure renewal, improved healthcare delivery, and socioeconomic revitalization.”
Alex Otti:
That is true and hardly surprising. But there is much more. This is what happens when a leader owes his office to the will of the electorate expressed through the ballot. Governor Alex Otti is one of the very few public office holders in the country today that were truly elected by the people.
When that happens, the social contract between the government and the governed is engraved on the marble of posterity because as Frank Herbert, the American author once noted, “Good governance never depends upon laws, but upon the personal qualities of those who govern. The machinery of government is always subordinate to the will of those who administer that machinery. The most important element of government, therefore, is the method of choosing leaders.”
Still on the harvest of infrastructure, in October, even the Federal Government was awed by the quality of governance Otti is delivering in Abia State when President Bola Tinubu, represented by the Minister of Works, Dave Umahi, commissioned eight road projects including the long abandoned 6.7km Port Harcourt Road which has been turned into a magnificent dual carriageway of three lanes, Ohanku, Ndoki, Umuatako, Pepples roads as well as Ajiwe, Chief Nkoro and Gabriel Nwosu streets in Aba.
Just like God, who after creation as recorded in Genesis 1:31, “saw all that he had made, and it was very good,” an ostensibly pleased Governor Otti declared that with the massive infrastructural development in Aba, the Enyimba city was bouncing back to greatness. What he has achieved in less than three years by far surpasses what the three previous administrations before his did in 24 years. Lesser mortals would thump their chests at this point and go to sleep. Not him! He is telling his people in the popular American lingo, “You ain’t seen nothing yet.”
Even as the people, happy to finally have a governor in whom they are well pleased, are still asking the same question that is concentrating the lips of all Nigerians, which is, where is this magician getting all the money to do the incredible job, the 35km Umuahia-Ikot Ekpene Road, 11.1km Obehemodoria Oaza Road, Umuahia-Uzuakoli-Ohafia, Arochukwu-Ndi Okereke-Ozuabam and Nunya Isuikwuato roads are all in the works. Each of these projects is undertaken for a well-envisioned purpose. For instance, the Obehemodoria Oaza Road will serve as the gateway to the Abia Industrial Innovation Park, while the other roads are planned as a ring road to connect five local government areas.
Yet, there is the 13.1km Ariam–Usaka Ring Road in Ikwuano, which was officially flagged off on October 24; 9.35km Ihechiowa–Arochukwu Ring Road; 4.9km Isieketa–Mba Itungwa–Mgbedeala Road in Isiala Ngwa South and the 3.72km Ogidi–Umuala Eziama Ntigha Road in Isiala Ngwa North, all of which, according to Kanu, form part of the state’s ambitious rural connectivity plan aimed at boosting rural access, promoting trade, and opening up local economies for investment.
All these projects are deliberate and strategic, a fact which Governor Otti aptly stated in his speech marking the 34th anniversary of the State’s creation on August 27. “Our benchmark now is not just the kilometers of roads built but the economic and social impact they deliver,” he intoned in the manner of a sure-footed leader in harmony with his people.
Otti has proved by his actions in office that he appreciates what political scientists call the four “Ps of Governance” – Purpose, People, Process, and Performance. He has proved beyond doubt that he has both moral clarity and effective, honest execution in leadership, thus underscoring Narendra Modi, India Prime Minister’s quip that, “Good governance with good intentions is the hallmark of our government. Implementation with integrity is our core passion.”
He does not only have good intentions for Abians as clearly manifested in the projects he is executing, but in implementing his policies and programmes, he has done so with a level of integrity that is uncommon in these shores. Through inclusivity, he has taken governance to the people. He has demystified governance without breaking a sweat and Abians are ululating, yearning for more. This is unlike what happens when someone who fights for political power, grabs it, snatches it and runs with it becomes president, he grants amnesty to convicted drug lords, murderers, kidnappers and all manner of scoundrels, a poignant lesson for the electorate in 2027.
