There is, in truth, no fundamental difference between the so-called “Old Abia” and the “New Abia,” except that those who parade themselves as the new Abia are far more sophisticated in packaging, optics, and sustaining propaganda. Beneath the glossy narratives lies the same familiar rot.
If anything, the current administration is performing worse, only that it has mastered the art of concealment, especially in the optics of governance. I recall vividly in 2022 when APC stakeholders convened all governorship aspirants at Senator Adieje’s residence in Asokoro for presentations aimed at screening and streamlining the field. The aspirants present at that meeting were Alex Otti, Uche Ogah, Paul Ikonne, Emeka Atuma, and myself.
At that gathering, I shared with fellow aspirants an extract from Abia State’s budget performance report, which revealed that the Ikpeazu administration spent approximately ₦1.2 billion on private jets, ticketing and travels Many of us were genuinely disappointed. We believed that reliance on commercial flights would have saved Abians millions, funds that could have been channelled into real development.
Fast-forward to today, the Abia State Government has reportedly spent over ₦18 billion on private jet services and travels. The only difference now is an internal rule barring officials from taking pictures that expose their movements by private jet. In the past, officials proudly posed with pilots to showcase their luxury travels. As one of our revered leaders, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, once said, the more things change, the more they remain the same.
Ironically, credit must be given where it is due. Thanks to the institutional reforms of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Abia’s combined state and local government revenue has risen astronomically, from about ₦8 billion to a staggering ₦60 billion monthly, as reflected in the Q4 2025 Abia State Budget Performance Report (October to December).
It therefore follows logically that if Alex Otti had assumed office in 2015, when total revenue stood at a paltry ₦3.6 billion, his administration, judging by current financial recklessness, would have performed far worse than previous governments.
This raises a fundamental question. Despite receiving about ₦60 billion monthly, why has the Otti government refused to fully implement the ₦70,000 new minimum wage? If not for sheer wickedness, why would a government fully aware of the economic hardship caused by ongoing reforms deliberately deny workers their lawful wages?
A Government elected on the Labour Party platform, one that ought to champion workers’ welfare, has shockingly turned around to shortchange its own workforce.
While APC and Mr. President bears the brunt of public anger arising from these tough reforms. Governors conveniently take credit for the gains, particularly in Abia. As far back as August 2025, I raised alarm over the injustice at Abia State University Teaching Hospital (ABSUTH), where junior staff earned as little as ₦29,000 monthly, while newly recruited nurses were paid ₦80,000. Meanwhile, their counterparts in Imo State earn up to ₦300,000 despite facing equal or greater occupational hazards.
The public exposure of this scandal embarrassed the Abia State Government into action. A memo for upward review was hurriedly raised, and within days the institution’s management worked round the clock to implement the ₦70,000 minimum wage, still far below what other states now pay, ₦90,000, ₦104,000, and above.
More recently, I discovered that road sweepers engaged by the Abia State Government (Abia state environmental protection agency)earn a miserable ₦23,000 monthly, while their supervisors earn ₦47,000. Staff of the Abia State Advertising Agency reportedly earn ₦55,000. To be clear, environmental sanitation is one area where this government has performed comparatively well. However, it borders on cruelty that road sweepers, mostly widows, widowers, and orphans, are subjected to such degrading wages, often unpaid promptly, despite the health risks involved. Their counterparts in Enugu State earn ₦80,000, while supervisors earn ₦120,000.
How does the Otti government expect Abia sweepers to survive on ₦23,000 in today’s Nigeria? Are they not employees of the state or its agents? How can a government claim to be fighting poverty while institutionalizing starvation wages?
During a particular National Economic council (NEC)meeting last year 2025, though chaired by the Vice President, the President , Sen Ahmed Tinubu, attended in person simply to tell the Governors to water the grassroots. This means cascade these huge funds at their disposal to the poorest of the poor in their various States.
It is estimated that the total monthly wage bill of Abia State and its local governments does not exceed ₦10 billion. What, then, is being done with the remaining ₦50 billion monthly revenue?
I still cannot comprehend why this Government finds it so difficult to improve the welfare of workers and pensioners. Their constant excuse is inherited arrears, yet they boast of paying salaries on the 28th of every month, as though prompt payment of inadequate wages is a favour. This is happening even as federal allocations have increased significantly.
The painful truth remains. Had this administration governed Abia in 2015 with only ₦3.6 billion monthly revenue, the outcome would have been catastrophic.
The “Egyptians” may well be laughing at us. Nothing substantial has changed, except the reported ₦560 million monthly spent on skit makers to manufacture an imaginary Abia adorned with painted roads. Workers and pensioners denied gratuities may even remember their days in “Egypt” with nostalgia. They were owed, yes, but once paid, the money still meant something.
To date, arrears remain unpaid at Abia Polytechnic, Ogbonnaya Onu Polytechnic. ABSU lecturers were paid only fractions of their outstanding salaries, labelled as full and final settlement. Today, a professor at Abia State University earns about ₦520,000 monthly, while counterparts in sister state universities earn up to ₦1.2 million. Many professors in Abia State University are effectively paid on senior lecturers’ scales elsewhere, not even reader level.
This reality explains the pervasive hunger in Abia, even among workers. The Government shut down informal survival channels under the TSA regime, which previously helped families cope even when owed for months.
The administration campaigned on prompt salary payments and improved welfare to increase the velocity of money in Abia State. Yet that velocity remains elusive when 99 percent of contractors in Abia are non-Abians with no offices in the state. The money leaves Abia almost as soon as it arrives, fueling hunger despite ₦60 billion monthly revenue.
And on the The Poor Quality of Work on the Umuikaa–Owerrinta 4km Road; Last week, I visited my village and observed the slow and substandard pace of work on the Umuikaa–Owerrinta Truck A federal road being undertaken by Abia State Government. Meanwhile, Arab Contractors, handling the Imo bridge to Imo Airport junction, is delivering far superior quality.
The rush to commence this 4km stretch appears linked to the ₦15 billion claimed as compensation in Abia State’s 2024 financial report. My late father’s house was demolished, and I had no objection, believing it served development. However, I was shocked to receive just ₦1 million as compensation from the ₦15 billion claimed.
We conducted independent inquiries among affected homeowners from Umuikaa to Owerrinta bridge. Our findings showed that only about ₦230 million was paid to actual beneficiaries of those house owners along that corridor out of the ₦15 billion claimed as compensation in 2024.
I still wonder why a government that swiftly paid ₦15 billion in compensation in 2024 and ₦14.5 billion for land and housing in 2025, though many land owners complained about non receipts of payments till date cannot adequately fund a major road project. Dangote cement trailers were seen manually discharging chippings, with young boys using shovels to spread them, an appalling sight for a Trunk A road. ( pictures attached)
Why engage a local contractor for such a critical road or even use direct labour while contract sums remain shrouded in secrecy? It would have been far better to allow Arab Contractors to handle the project. Even the drainage near the bridge was manually excavated.
The real difference between Egypt and this supposed Canaan is that, before, funds were allegedly used to maintain key stakeholders beyond being used to run the Government. Today, one individual allegedly pockets everything while telling supporters, “we dont share money ” Who is deceiving who.
As Phyno sang, you cannot counsel a rigid leader. But Ekwedike will continue to hold this government accountable. The days ahead promise to be very revealing.
On a lighter note, I watched Abia State Executive Council members excitedly take photos of Enugu State’s 360-room Marriott Hotel project during the South East Development Commission stakeholders’ meeting last week. I laughed in Swahili. Back home, Enyimba Hotel remains a 3D drawing after four announced take-off dates.
The penchant for the media aides of the Governor to use exchange rate as an excuse why they are yet to have any legacy project in Abia after three years is laughable. Gov Hope Uzodinma just commissioned 15MVA Orashi Power on record time using the same Nigerian Naira without noise and kit makers.
It was refreshing to see them step out of Umuahia and witness governance in another state beyond audio promises and endless MOUs.
I am sure many of us are shocked with 60b stated in my earlier mail ..I work with facts…Check the total revenue. N149b for the three months of October to December 2025.Extrapolate by 3 months…N49b. Add montly local government allocat of an average of 9b ==N60b….let me hear pimm!
