Our lot as a state, people, political and economic entity is finally about to change for
the better. Reason being that the fast-approaching governorship election in Abia State of
Nigeria which promises to usher in a well articulated government devoid of the past
charades characterized by actions akin to mere insanity which our people have continued to
endure to no end until now is about to end.
The candidature of Dr. Alex Chioma Otti of the Labour Party of Nigeria for the
Governorship of Abia State come the 11 th March Governorship polls calls for urgent
considerations and factual analysis when one takes a sober reflection of our ordeal in the
past twenty four years which began in May 29, 1999.
For example for this long period of time, the people of Abia State have suffered
severe pangs of political brigandage characterized by official ineptitude, so much so that the
Abia Elders Forum in an official press conference in Abuja and Umuahia respectively warned
the State Government and its officials to desist from further vandalism of state resources and
dilapidated infrastructure, insisting that the administration will be held responsible and
accountable for the acts of financial recklessness capable of worsening the state’s already
huge debt profile.
However, despite the massive borrowing by the state government, civil servants
suffered a record high degree of poor working conditions, irregular and finally unpaid salaries
as huge funds meant for the development of the state were diverted into private use. The
decay continued unabated until all state infrastructures were eroded away, bringing an
important sector as education to a total collapse. The only state owned University and Abia
State Polytechnic in Aba all lost their most vital accreditations reducing the students to mere
academic bastards while the state government and its officials watched with glee and
confusion, yet showing no agitated concern.
It is also important to remember that within this period, not a single primary school or
secondary school was constructed or reconstructed. No vocational school, polytechnic,
monotechinc, university or any other professional institution came on board or even
contemplated.
State roads in the cities and Local Governments Areas has remained in deplorable
conditions, hospitals and medicare have been virtually non-existent. Potable water and
electricity have simply remained a tall dream.
Also recall that the masses have suffered from a bee-hive of illegal levies collected by
government thugs using matchets and all sorts of weapons named as infrastructural levies,
sanitation levies, business premises levies, sign post levies, certificate of occupancy levies,
oxygen levies, carbon monoxide pollution levies and a whole lot others.
Dr. Alex Otti has watched this ugly trend and development with so much pain in his
heart over the years and finally made up his mind to intervene in order correct an era of vast
evil deeds, but have been vigorously attacked and blackmailed by those who were
responsible for this notorious underdevelopment. However, he has remained unrelenting in
the fight to free Abia, Gods Own State from the clutches of man’s inhumanities to fellow men
and women.
As though this is not enough, there has been widespread cases of murder and
assassinations, politically motivated extra-judicial killings, total collapse of businesses in all
formerly vibrant sectors of the state’s economy, man-made illiteracy, poverty and disease
and consequent death of innocent people making all economic studies and surveys carried
out by Local and foreign agencies around the South Eastern Parts of Nigeria ranking Abia
State on the poorest indexes in terms of human development indices and indicators.
Dr. Alex Otti has observed with greater sadness how since year 2000, Abia State Local
Councils have provided a fertile ground to try out various misfits and half-wits as chairmen
and councilors. It is common knowledge that the ruling families have always hand-picked
Local Government Chairman and councilors without recourse to due process as the Abia
State independent Electoral Commission always readily made itself a willing ally in
legitimizing the charades they organize as elections in the Local Governments in the state.
A development that saw the billions of naira accruing to the coffers of the Local
Governments move into private pockets. Crony Companies appointed for revenue collection
are known to exclusively collect the internally generated revenue and multiple levies charged
the toiling citizenry without proper accounting methods and further re-inforcing the decay of
public infrastructure.
These are just a few of the disheartening reasons why Dr. Alex Otti has once more
decided to intervene yet again to stop this show of shame going on in our dear State, Abia
where the culprits continue to brand their irrational profligacy as governments and
administrations. An intervention that comes with it a multi-dimensional agenda that seeks to
address education, commerce and industry, health, agriculture, environment, roads, water,
security, rural development, local and foreign investment, housing and urban development,
wealth creation and human development and the highly diversified economic opportunities
that abounds to open up for the teeming youths and larger citizenry. Finally the time has
come to prove negative forces in the state wrong on the records once and for all.
That is the reason we must jealously guard our P.V.C.s for the governorship election
of March 11, 2023 where we will elect Dr. Alex Otti who is currently the candidate of the
Labour Party on the ballot column recognizable by the picture of a father, mother and child
otherwise known as Papa, Mama and Pikin. This is because Dr. Alex Otti is the real popular
choice of the people true and true.
God bless you and your family as you do this.