Gov Otti, (right) and Deputy Gov,  Emetu


Even before the creation of Abia State, Aba, popularly called Enyimba City has established its reputation as one of Nigeria's bustling metropolis driven by private sector commerce and industry

And perhaps owing to the enormous demands on infrastructural facilities, For long,  residents of Aba have appealed to successive administrations to accord the bustling metropolis a special status to fast track its development. According to them, only such special status could realise the effective development of the city which is undeniably the commercial nerve center of the State and one of the commercial hubs in the entire South East geopolitical zone. 


For whatever reason, such calls previously met stiff resistance from past administrations, as residents of Aba had previously been made to live with very poor infrastructure not befitting the status of Aba. 


Enyimba City as Aba is fondly called has for so many years laid prostrate like an elephant with shattered hind legs, following massive infrastructure decay, which has become the lot of the city. 


The commercial city brimming with highly creative artisans became a metaphor for urban decay. Feeble efforts made by previous administrations to save the city from decay did not yield fruits, largely because they were not backed with political will. Buildings, shops and other structures that were erected on water channels through the connivance of fraudulent government officials were left untouched while the city wallowed in flood year after year. The dilapidated road network remained a sore spot for every administration. 


But such a situation may be non-existent in no distant time given the passion, enthusiasm and commitment of the present administration in the state to cleanse the mess left behind by the previous administrations. 


After the election of Governor Alex Otti and his dependable deputy, Engineer Ikechukwu Emetu, the duo have matched desires with expectations in their quest to breathe fresh air into not only Aba residents but Abians in general. 


Consequently, the process of rejuvenating Aba, the commercial nerve centre of Abia State, kicked off in earnest with the handing over of nine road construction to different contractors by the State government in a move residents who spoke to Daily Independent said was unprecedented in the history of the state. 


For instance, a resident living in Ukegbu Road, Elder Kalu Nnanna, in a chat with our correspondent, acknowledged the efforts of the present administration in Abia State. 


“To be honest I have lived in Aba for most of my fifty nine years and can say that there has been no administration that has hit the ground running like the Alex Otti government. 


“The way they (Otti and his deputy) are going, we’ll soon have the Aba of our dream,” he said. 


On what he made of the relationship between the governor and his deputy, Elder Nnanna noted that both have worked to make sure Abia is revived. 


“From what I have seen, Otti made a choice that can help him in his agenda because the young man (deputy governor) has been very vocal and present in virtually all the Programmes of the State government and that will attest to their oneness. 


“I pray they continue to work together for the interest of Abia because Abians have really suffered under past administration,” he said. 


The excitement and ambiance during the inauguration of the roads were a reflection of people who desired for a renaissance for a long time as they expressed their support for the state government. 


Otti told the ecstatic crowd: “We promised that we are going to rebuild the roads. The first thing is that we clear the drainages, because if we don’t do that, we won’t be able to build roads that would last. 


“As you can see on this Azikiwe Road, the main job here is to clear the drainages, desilt them and open up the flow of water to Aba River. 


“There are a few roads we want to rebuild completely and those are the roads that we have come to handover to the Contractors today. 


Meanwhile, some of the roads that were billed for immediate attention and are presently being attended to in order to significantly reduce the sufferings of motorists within Aba are University Road, Abayi; Green Avenue; Udeagbala Road; Shallom Road; Umuimo Road; Old Express Road; Abak Road with adjoining streets; Queens Street and Jubilee Road. 


The State government has also ensured that Abians and their visitors are co-existing harmoniously. Thus, the State government has shown demonstrable commitment to the safety and unity of indigenes and visitors alike. 


For instance, Engineer Ikechukwu Emetu, the deputy governor of the State who deservedly heads the Abia State Boundary Committee hasn’t relented in his efforts towards ensuring that Abia residents live peacefully with neighboring states. He has been in the forefront of ensuring that various communities and villages are at peace with one another. 


In various meetings he had superintended and interfaced with members of the committee since he assumed the committee leadership, Emetu pointed out that boundary disputes/conflicts create unpleasant consequences and has led to loss of farm lands and economic crops as well as displacement of people from their original homes, hence the need for the team to work in synergy and come up with a permanent solution to the lingering internal and external boundary issues. 


Emetu’s mediation in the hitherto frail relationship between Umuchieze Clan of Umunneochi Local Government Area of Abia State and Hausa Community in the same area has led to sustained peace in the area with the Hausa Community and Umuchieze Clan Development Union agreeing to embrace peace and work in synergy to flush out criminal elements in the area. 


This is also a sharp deviation from the past and even as recent as the last administration where all forms of criminal activities like kidnapping, armed robbery and raping of hapless women were commonplace in the area. 


In a display of coordination with Governor Otti, Emetu, after inauguration, actively engaged with the public in various markets and motor parks, ensuring strict adherence to the ban on transportation levies in the state. 


The deputy governor was then observed interacting freely with the residents in a manner that showed understanding and commitment to the visions of his principal. 


Perhaps the biggest achievements so far of the new administration in Abia State is the plucking of revenue leakages through the discovery of about 2,300 ghost workers in the State. 


The discovery showed how careless the past administration had been in managing Abia resources, where the state generated revenue with little or no development to show for it. 


With the saving of more than N200 million in a month following the discovery of ghost staff in the state, it was obvious that the Otti-led administration, backed by a visionary deputy like Emetu, has upped the ante in rescuing the State from imminent plunge into the abyss of mess orchestrated by the past administration. 


The discovery, according to Kazie Uko, the governor’s chief press secretary, who addressed the media, was as a result of the deployment of biometric verification of workers in the state. 


A statement quoted Deaconess Njum Onyemenam, as saying that the huge savings were made using a unified payment system. 


She said: “So far, we have been able to save N220 million from the ongoing verification of workers in the state, local governments and pensioners. 


“Not less than 2,300 ghost names have been weeded out of the payrolls, using the unified payment system and we hope to still identify more as we continue with the exercise,” the Accountant General said. 


“She confirmed that following Governor Otti’s directive, the government had last week paid the arrears of April salaries, left behind by the immediate past administration and also June pensions to retirees”, the statement added. 


Ohafia, a major local government area in Abia State, was not left out of the renaissance as the deputy governor has matched his campaign promise of restoring electricity to the council area with actions. 


Ohafia has been without light for almost four years with ripple effects of crippling economic activities. 


But on assumption of office, the youthful deputy governor swung into action in fulfillment of his promise of making sure that Ohafia was re-lighted at the shortest possible time. 


On July 7, 2023, he notified the Umuahia office of Enugu Electricity Distribution Company (EEDC) of his desire to restore electricity in Ohafia and environs, thus requested to work on the main line of Abam – Ohafia 33kv line. 


When considered from the fact that the immediate past deputy governor, Sir Ude Oko Chukwu, is from the same Ohafia Local Governor Area, although of Nkporo Clan, the efforts of Engineer Emetu will be appreciated so much. 


Speaking to Daily Independent, a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) from Abia State, resident in Lagos said the present administration in the state has started well, calling on Abians to give their maximum support to Governor Otti. 


The man who craved anonymity, said, “I’m an APC chieftain but that won’t stop me from being sincere here. 


“Abia was really drifting under PDP and much as I wanted my party to win the state in the last election, it won’t stop me from seeing the good work Otti and his deputy are doing.



credit: adapted from original in daily independent