Stop pitching Gov. Otti against President Tinubu, group warns Deputy Speaker Kalu

By Ogbonnaya Ikokwu On Oct 17, 2025

A non-partisan group, Abians for Sustenance of Good Governance, (ASGG) has warned the Deputy Speaker of the Federal House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Benjamin Kalu not to pitch Governor Otti against Mr President and Abians.

The leader of the group, Hon. Dannie Ubani, who addressed news men at a press conference in Umuahia, on Thursday, in company of other members of the the group, recalled the recent statements credited to Benjamin Kalu on the finances of the state.

“There has been temperamental and unstatesmanly outburst from some quarters especially, by the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, which portend to portray the state government as prodigal and profligate in the management of Abia resources.

“These, irrespective of who is accusing or who is being accused, are heinous allegations that demand the interrogation of all well informed and patriotic Abians.

“Inciting a non-existent war of attrition between the governor of the state and our very dear President with the vain aim of leveraging on it to further selfish political ambitions is very unpatriotic, and would be stoutly resisted by Ndi Abia”.

He noted further that, “trumpeting imaginary figures as a way of setting up the Governor against the Abia people is very cowardly and capable of igniting avoidable conflagration.

“A situation where supposed statesmen would delibrerately fan the ambers of conflicts between the state government and the presidency in furtherance of their selfish political ambitions at the expense of the peace and stability, should be condemned, and is hereby condemmed”.

The group called for all the political combatants to shield their swords for the moment in other not to derail the government, adding that, if they must politick now, let it not be at the expense of the peace and stability that define the Abia state of today.

Hon. Dannie Ubani extolled Governor Otti for outstanding performance in the state and noted that being mindful of the fact that no man is infallible, and that Governor Otti, by the virtue of his position as chief servant of the state,
“is not and cannot be beyond public scrutiny, and has subjected the allegations of financial impropriety to a crucible test of objectivity.

“We have been able to interrogate the assertion that Abia appropriates an average of 38 billion naira every other 28 days. From the statistical data available by FAAC, the total accruals to Abia State in the last FAAC update is 98 billion, 120 million naira only, which is a monthly average of 14 billion naira as an against the monthly 38 billion naira being touted by people who by virtue of their positions should know.

“For a government which inherited backlogs of unpaid salaries, the polarization of civil service along the lines of core and non-core civil servants, litany of pension arrears, infrastructural decay, obsolete and virtually non existent medical health facilities, politicised and demoralised work force, total erosion of public confidence in the institution of government and act of governance”,

Hon. Ubani said that, a Governor who has won back public confidence through the implementation of programmes and policies that have catalysed to socio-economic growth can not be justifiably said to be liable to financial malfeasance as alleged.

“Today, contrary to the rottenness and hopelessness of the past, all facets of Abia public life bears visible and undeniable multifaceted and unprecedented progress and the annihilation of Abia state debt burden from a humongous sum of 138 billion naira as at 29th May 2023 to a manageable sum of 72 billion naira as at today, that is a significant reduction of 66 billion naira;

“the ongoing caterpillar revolution which has climaxed in the reconstruction of not only state roads, but federal roads like portharcourt road, Ohanku road, Ohafia/Uzoakoli/Arochukwu road and Omuma road including the historic Omenuko bridge just to mention but a few” Hon. Ubani maintained.