OPPOSITION IN ABIA AND THE LIMITS OF PROPAGANDA
By David Chukwu.
Governor Alex Otti’s superlative performance in office has become a big nightmare to the political opposition in Abia State. It is a huge albatross standing between them and their futile ambition to unseat Otti in 2027. They are confused as to how to go about convincing the good and discernible people of Abia to accept their campaign of calumny against Otti.
They have formulated and circulated many false stories aimed at demarketing Otti and underplaying his achievements. But the stories and fabrications have refused to fly, talk less of resonating with the people. What matters to the people is the unprecedented transformation that is going on in different spheres of life in Abia under the keen watch of Governor Otti.
The transformation is real. It can be seen. It can be felt. It can be perceived. Otti, within two and half years, has done what no former governor could do in terms of infrastructural development. He has changed the narratives. Otti has taken the State from the backwaters to stardom within a short stay in office, thereby shaming the former governors like Orji Uzo Kalu, Theodore Orji and Okezie Ikpeazu, whose combined 24 years in office, represented the dark era in Abia State. Those renegades were the worst thing that happened to the State. They presided over the ruins of the past, which Otti has been doing quite a great deal to clean up since he assumed office in 2023.
The lack-lustre opposition led by transactional politicians like Orji Kalu and their lackeys have been trying unsuccessfully to whittle down the incomparable accomplishments of Otti. But the more they try, the more they fail. Out of frustration, Orji Kalu recently alleged that the several roads that were being credited to Otti were built by himself (Kalu) and that Otti was merely repainting them. The false claim was expectedly greeted with public contempt and ridicule because the people know the truth.
The people are very much aware that the foundation of the decay which Abia represented in the preceding 24 years, was laid by Kalu’s misgovernance and prebendal approach to politics, coupled with his inclination towards diabolical and occultist practices. His tenure was the era of Okija, where political appointees were taken to Okija shrine to swear to oath of loyalty and allegiance to Kalu and his mother. It was a better-forgotten era that is not worth recalling. Abia people have left Egypt and can not return to the path of infamy anymore.
The people of Abia, especially those in Abia North, have a duty to stop Kalu from returning to the Senate, where he has been serving basically the interest of his immediate family. All available federal positions coming to the State have been hijacked by Kalu and given to his blood relations. He recently cornered the only ambassadorial slot for Abia to his daughter, Neya. Earlier, he had used his position to hijack the Abia slot at the National Assembly Service Commission for his brother, Nnanna Uzor Kalu. Similarly, he also cornered the Abia slot at the Public Complaints Commission for his cousin, Dr. Madukwe. Such a self-centred politician! It is now incumbent on the people of Abia North to ensure that this selfish leader is permanently retired to his Igbere village.
In spite of the propaganda they are dishing out in the media, Otti has continued to earn the support and accolades of Abia people as a result of his outstanding performance in office. Umuahia, the State Capital, and Aba, the commercial hub of the South East, have been completely transformed with good roads and modern infrastructure. Other parts of the State are not being left out.
Some of the key projects so far executed by Otti include Abam-Ndi Okereke-Amuvi Road, Nunya-Eluama Road, Ohafia-Arochukwu Road, Umuahia-Uzuakoli-Abiriba-Ohafia Road, Umuahia-Ikot Ekpene Road, Omenuko Bridge, and Abia Tower-Ossah-Okpara Square. There is the ongoing dualization of Onuimo-Umuopara-Abia Tower Road and Umuopara Ring Road. There is also the iconic Port Harcourt Road, Aba, which has been completed and commissioned.
The Abia Airport is gradually coming up. The Umuahia Central Bus Terminal has been completed and awaiting commissioning. The abandoned Enyimba Hotel in Aba is currently being rehabilitated and expanded to accommodate a convention centre. A new Government House Complex is also springing up within the precints of the existing Governor’s Office, Umuahia. A new and befitting office complex for the Secretary to the State Government (SSG) has been completed and put to use. The existing Dr. Michael Okpara Auditorium has been remodelled and transformed into a world-class conference centre. Last December, Otti launched and put to use 20 units of electric buses, which are currently on test run on different routes in the State. The buses which are fully air-conditioned are bound to revolutionize urban transportation in Abia State.
Otti has done so much within a very short period. The achievements have put the opposition in disarray. Hence, their resort to the futile campaign of blackmail and calumny. What the people of Abia should embark upon now is “Operation Throwout the Opposition.” As we approach 2027, Orji Kalu and his gangsters must be thrown out of their current positions. Let us sanitize our State.
Chukwu, a Public Affairs Analyst, writes from Aba.