EBERE UZOUKWA, PhD
In every era of genuine reform, resistance is inevitable. When entrenched interests lose their grip on power and privilege, they often resort to noise, distortion and revisionism in a desperate bid to reclaim relevance. This pattern is neither new nor surprising. What distinguishes true reform moments is not the volume of opposition they provoke, but the weight of evidence that ultimately renders propaganda ineffective.
The sustained social media campaign orchestrated by Mr Obinna Oriaku and his associates fits squarely within this tradition. Presented under the guise of opposition, it is in reality a carefully assembled mix of political resentment and recycled falsehoods aimed at undermining an administration that has dismantled a long-standing culture of impunity, bad governance and under-development in Abia State. Propaganda, however, has never been a substitute for performance. In Abia today, the tangible outcomes of reform speak far louder than the rhetoric of those invested in the failures of the past.
Mr Oriaku’s recent commentary is merely another rehearsed social media attack on Governor Alex Otti and his administration. Cloaked in emotive language and deliberate distortions, the narrative seeks to manufacture public outrage against a government that has prioritised institutional rebuilding over political theatrics. It is a familiar tactic from individuals who benefited from a system that collapsed public institutions, impoverished workers and pensioners, looted public funds and reduced Abia State to national ridicule.
Governor Alex Chioma Otti’s administration has remained resolutely focused on rebuilding the deep infrastructure collapse inherited from years of fiscal recklessness and administrative decay. That focus is now reflected in visible and measurable progress across critical sectors of the state’s economy.
In education, the introduction of transparent, merit-based recruitment for teachers has restored confidence in the system and initiated a gradual reversal of years of neglect. Public schools that once symbolised decay are witnessing improvements in infrastructure, staffing, oversight and learning environments, while policy emphasis has shifted decisively toward quality, accountability and sustainability. Rising enrolment in Abia public schools today stands as clear testimony to purposeful leadership under Governor Otti.
In the health sector, the administration has prioritised the rehabilitation of primary healthcare centres, improved medical staffing and a renewed emphasis on preventive care. Recently, Abia State was recognised as the most prepared state in the South East on Primary Health Care. Secondary hospitals that had been reduced to shadows of their former selves are being reconstructed and repositioned to serve more effectively, supported by improved funding discipline and clearer management structures. The result is a health system that is gradually regaining public trust after years of abandonment.
Road infrastructure has emerged as one of the most visible symbols of the Otti administration’s reform agenda. Across Aba, Umuahia and several local government areas, long-abandoned roads are being reconstructed, rehabilitated or reopened to restore mobility, boost commerce and reconnect communities. These interventions go far beyond cosmetic fixes. They are part of a deliberate strategy to revive economic activity, reduce transport costs and end the isolation that poor road networks imposed on businesses and residents alike.
Urban renewal efforts have also begun to redefine the outlook of major cities across the state, particularly Aba, the commercial hub, and Umuahia, the capital. From improved street lighting and environmental sanitation to structured beautification initiatives and traffic management, Abia’s urban centres are gradually reflecting order, safety and planning. While critics accustomed to chaos may trivialise these changes, residents recognise them as signs of a government reclaiming public space and restoring civic pride.
Attempts to elevate the withdrawal of an award by a pressure group into a decisive verdict on governance are therefore misleading and unserious. Awards do not govern states, nor do they replace accountability. Performance does. Claims that Abia has become hostile to opposition are unfounded and unsupported by facts. Those who once thrived under a culture of impunity are understandably unsettled by an administration that insists on due process, transparency and institutional discipline.
The cynicism directed at the introduction of electric buses reflects discomfort with reform rather than objective analysis. The deployment of clean-energy public transportation is part of a deliberate policy direction aimed at sustainability, cost efficiency and modern urban mobility. More importantly, it symbolises the restoration of credibility, which has lifted Abia from years of isolation caused by poor governance and placed the state on a progressive development path.
Attempts to trivialise prompt salary payments also ignore Abia’s recent history. Under the administration in which Mr Oriaku served, months of unpaid salaries and years of accumulated pension arrears were the norm. Restoring fiscal discipline to the point where salaries are paid consistently, and a thirteenth-month salary was paid in this December without fanfare, signifies progress in a state once defined by financial chaos. It is indeed a clear evidence of responsible governance.
On pensions, the current administration has been transparent about the scale of inherited liabilities running into tens of billions of naira, accumulated without any sustainable framework. Rather than perpetuate the deception of empty promises, the Otti administration chose audits, openness and structural reform. The introduction of a contributory pension system is designed to prevent future suffering, not to deny pensioners their rights.
Claims surrounding electricity infrastructure in Ukwa further expose the shallowness of the criticism. Infrastructure vandalised and neglected over several years has been rebuilt, with power restored across communities. Only recently, Governor Otti reconnected electricity in 33 communities. To dismiss these efforts as falsehoods ignores the complexity of infrastructure recovery and reflects political desperation rather than genuine concern for development.
Globally, governments collaborate with private sector organisations for urban beautification and seasonal activities. Such partnerships do not amount to misrepresentation. The fixation on Christmas decorations and the brief presence of Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, who commissioned the first 20 electric buses currently providing free services to Abians during the Yuletide, only underscores the weakness of the attacks against the governor and the Abia State Government.
Suffice it to say that under Governor Otti’s visionary leadership, Abia does not require borrowed credibility. The governor is steadily rebuilding a state once in ruins through good governance and accountable leadership.
At the core of these attacks lies the fear of irrelevance. The collapse of a system that rewarded excess, concealed corruption and celebrated mediocrity has unsettled its beneficiaries.
Governor Alex Chioma Otti represents a decisive break from that past through transparency, competence and people-centred leadership. Abia State is no longer governed by propaganda, but by purpose. The transformation may discomfort those nostalgic for dysfunction, but it is evident to the people who value progress over noise. The New Abia is moving forward, and no amount of recycled falsehoods can reverse that trajectory.
– Dr Ebere Uzoukwa is the Senior Special Assistant to the Governor of Abia State on Public Affairs.