Celebrating 2 years of intensive project execution in Aba
– By Eagle Okoro
Friday, October 2025 was a red-letter day – one of immense joy and loud celebration for Abia and Abians of honour and good conscience. And for Aba residents, in particular, the celebration was “something else”. It was earthshaking and exceptionally thrilling!!!
The jubilant residents said it was a day the Third Heaven officially reopened on Aba and the light of prosperity once again descended on the city and its people, after more than two decades of darkness and hopelessness.
It was a special day of harvest of beautifully reconstructed, well-paved roads with sufficiently built drains on either sides, plus pedestrian walkways and solar-powered streetlights in the Enyimba City, once neglected and abandoned to rot away.
Yes, Aba, once bubbling with industrial and commercial activities, was left to deteriorate in key areas of infrastructure and environmental hygiene.
In 2014, Aba and Umuahia, two major cities in God’s Own State, suddenly became notorious as the dirtiest, East of the Niger. And Aba, in particular, also ranked among the leading cities in the country, in terms of filth and hydra-headed security breaches under the watch of then Gov. Theodore Ahamefula Orji, fondly called Ochendo, of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
But just one day, Abia’s notoriety for all-year-round filthiness was escalated by a prominent Igbo politician and multi-billionnaire oil magnet, Chief Arthur Eze, when he visited Umuahia in September 2014.
Arthur Eze was Ochendo’s Guest of Honour at the celebration of the 23rd anniversary of the creation of Abia held at Okpara Auditorium, Umuahia.
And, please, let me bore you for a moment with the drama.
Picking the microphone to speak at the event, having driven into Umuahia that morning through the heaps of refuse littering both sides of the road from the boundary town between Abia and Imo to the former Ossah Road (now Aguiyi Ironsi Boulevard) into Okpara Square and Bank Road, he exclaimed: “Abia is stinking.
“Right from the Abia Tower on the expressway, you will see the mess. Abia State is now the dirtiest in the country. Garbage everywhere, along with bad roads.
“The people are really suffering, and you see it in their faces.
“Are there no elders in Abia again? If so, what are they doing? What are the Senators, the members of House of Representatives and other elected people doing? Nothing!”
And looking straight at Ochendo on the high table, apparently dazed and disoriented, he thundered, “Look, my friend, if you do not know what to do again, please write to President Goodluck Jonathan, let him come to your aid. Abia State needs help.”
Unfortunately, Arthur Eze’s frank admonition didn’t change anything. It certainly didn’t sink either. Rather, it fell on deaf ears because, instead of prompting the necessary positive change in the environment and infrastructure, the Abia environment constituted even more serious health hazard, while internal roads became more deplorable all through Ochendo’s tenure.
And Abia elders, though lived, lost their voices and lacked the conscience and courage to reproach an errant Gov. Orji.
His stooge, former Gov. Okezie Victor Ikpeazu, who was unilaterally appointed his successor by Chinedum, his first son, became worse in the history of democratic governance in Abia.
Ikpeazu, whose 2015 campaign slogan, “nw’Aba ga emezi Aba”, gained so much traction among his kith-and-kin in Aba, not only failed his people and himself, but also the gods of Aba Ngwa and Ngwaland in general. Hence, they (gods) vowed to stop his senatorial ambition in 2023, and so did!
Under Ikpeazu’s watch, virtually all the internal roads in Enyimba City, and those leading in and out, including the Port Harcourt Road, collapsed completely. Some were overgrown with thick bushes and scandalously closed to human and vehicular traffic.
They converted into blind alleys, and ceased to being thoroughfares – they had entry points but no exit – simply became cul-de-sac – out of sheer government neglect.
For instance, Port Harcourt Road, which starts from Asa Junction, became completely blocked with heaps of waste, amidst thick bushes, beginning from Uratta Junction to the end, where it empties into the Enugu-Port Harcourt Expressway at Asannetu Motor Spare Parts Market.
And not only was the road shut to traffic, the unimaginable degradation also brought to ruins the chain of multi-billion naira industrial and commercial enterprises that created employment and wealth – strong economic factors that combined to make Aba tick as a business destination in the West African subregion.
Regrettably, all the glory about Aba as the pride of Igboland faded away with bad governance under the 24-year reign of PDP, beginning from Orji Uzor Kalu, the current lawmaker, representing Abia North Senatorial District.
Of course, OUK, as he is popularly called, set the tone for the reign of administratively unfit and unprepared governors, who were brazenly imposed on Abia through manipulated electoral processes and outcomes in 2007 and 2015, respectively.
But thank God, Aba people, and Abians generally, are now singing Oyoyoo!
During the 2023 Governorship Election campaign, it was Dr Alex Otti’s common refrain that “fixing Aba’s infrastructure is not rocket science”.
Otti had strong conviction that transforming Aba was doable but blamed the problem on having the wrong people in power – those who became governors by default. He lampooned them for failing to use Abia’s money to work for Abia and Abians for the 24 long years they were in the saddle.
Gov. Otti’s love for Aba and its residents is awesome and unquantifiable. The city became part of him and he got attached to it during his days at the Ngwa High School. And he has continued to cherish the memory of a once burgeoning town, where commerce and industry positioned the city next to Lagos in the 1970s up until the 1980s, in terms of growth opportunities and wealth creation.
Unfortunately, like a bolt out from the blue, the bubble burst and the city’s huge potentials suddenly evaporated and Aba turned into a ghost of its old self.
Bluechip companies that contributed to making the city what it was relocated out of Aba. Such companies as Vongo Industries Limited, Basic Plastics Limited, Rich Industries Limited, Neimeth Pharmaceuticals Plc, Universal Oil Limited, Chieme Motors Limited, Veritas University, Crystal Park Hotel, Matrasco Industries Limited, C.O. Maduako Group, Dubic Breweries, Intersoft Bottling Company, and Nigerian Bottling Company Plc (Coca Cola), amongst others, gradually moved out either to Port Harcourt or Lagos.
All the multi-national companies, including Mandilas, J. Allen, Kingsway Stores, Leventis Motors, CFAO, SCOA Motors, Aba Textile Mills, International Equitable Association, John Holt, West African Drugs, Vitafoam, and CAPL, amongst others, were also forced by unfavourable business climate to leave the town.
It was no surprise, therefore, that immediately after his emergence as governor, Otti put his best foot forward and hit the ground running without waste of time in his avowed commitment to transform the city and restore its lost glory.
To demonstrate his desperation toward rebuilding Aba, he commissioned the world’s acclaimed construction giant, Julius Berger Plc, to commence rudimentary works on the Port Harcourt Road, even before his inauguration as governor – a gesture that triggered off wide jubilation amongst the residents, though frowned at by the real enemies of Abia – PDP.
This was the reason the joy and ecstasy amongst the Aba residents, including school children, traders, market men and women, associations and professional groups as well as the elite business community, knew no bounds during the inauguration of Port Harcourt Road and six others. They all emptied into the streets to be part of the massive celebration of two years of intensive, non-stop execution of transformative, landmark projects in the city.
They danced and made merry, chanting songs in praise of a governor that wholly identifies with their challenges and needs and showing an uncommon political will and commitment toward tackling them diligently and expeditiously.
The huge celebration was also in appreciation of Mr President, Sen. Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who has shown profound fatherly love and friendly disposition to their amiable, hardworking governor. Without mincing words, the President has proved to be Gov. Otti’s dependable ally, a pillar that has provided him with the enabling support toward achieving his lofty ambition of building the Abia of the founding fathers’ dream.
It is not in doubt that the longstanding friendship and trust that had grown between President Tinubu and Gov. Otti largely informs the express approval that the Presidency has continued to graciously grant his government to undertake the reconstruction of federal roads in the state. The President reposes implicit trust in Gov. Otti, who distinguished himself in the banking sector, with such intimidating and impeccable credentials that are deeply rooted in honesty, integrity and trust. And, of course, the governor has not disappointed and will not disappoint him.
Mr President, Abia has benefited fairly from the programmes of your administration through your well-articulated and nationally impactful Renewed Hope Agenda. The recent approvals to establish three tertiary institutions and construction of an Abia Airport are landmark projects for which our people are eternally grateful to you.
We also have the confidence that the robust partnership between Abia and the Federal Government in project conception and execution shall continue to flourish for the mutual benefit of the state and Nigeria at large.
It suffices to mention at this juncture, that the joy of the road inauguration was so palpable and overwhelming, hence the unexpected attempt by the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Chief Benjamin Kalu, to introduce partisanship in his speech at the Aba Township Stadium was roundly rebuffed by the crowd, which deemed his remark as a kill joy.
The politicisation of the projects in Abia in such a partisan manner was, to say the least, unwisely crafted for such an occasion. It was unnecessary and basically intended to spoil the day’s fun for apparently nonpartisan Aba residents.
What the people of Aba know is that their roads, which were once dilapidated and impassable, are now fixed by their outstanding, darling governor.
They are rejoicing that their businesses, which folded up for close to two decades due to the appalling condition of the roads, are beginning to resurrect.
They are celebrating because the town, which was described in the most derogatory term as the dirtiest city in Nigeria in 2014, can comfortably compete for the cleanest in 2024/2025.
They are also immensely grateful to God, Tinubu and their God-sent Governor that traders from other towns and cities as well as neighbouring West African countries, who fled the city for over two decades due to insecurity and deplorable roads, are now returning in their numbers. Those were their concerns and what actually matter to an average Aba man.
Above all, they are rejoicing because they now have a Governor that has the fear of God. And as the scripture says in Proverbs 29:2, “When the righteous is on the throne, the people rejoice.”
And with the successful inauguration of the Port Harcourt Road, Ohanku Road, Ndoki Road, Ajiwe Street, Umuatako Road, Chief Nkoro Street and spurs, as well as Gabriel Nwosu Street, the Enyimba City is set to rise and roar again.
Speaking while inaugurating the roads, the president, represented by the Minister of Works, Sen. Dave Umahi, also captured the minds of the people, when he said: “This road is a miracle.
“I was a young engineer that did Ndiegoro flood control. At that time, this place was impassable. In fact, we attempted to use a canoe one time to cross this place.
“At the time of God, He makes all things beautiful. And in all honesty, devoid of any political coloration, God has remembered Abia State. You cried out to God for good leadership, and today, we have good leadership.
“This is leadership, this is governance. This is God in action. We are very happy,” he said.
The President’s representative, who was overly impressed with the quality of governance provided by Gov. Otti, promised more goodies for Abia.
He promised to give immediate approval to the governor’s proposal to take over the reconstruction Umuahia–Ikot Ekpene Road. After all, as a popular axiom says, “the reward for hard work is more work”.
And for Gov. Otti, the completion of Port Harcourt Road “is a testimony, which will not be told now.”
As lawyers will say in Latin, “Res ipsa loquitur”, which in a famous Igbo adage means, “ihe agbanaka adighi eji enyo enyoya”. Abia is working. To God be the glory!
– Eagle Okoro is a Public Affairs commentator and writes from Umuahia