Being the Text of an Address by Governor Alex C. Otti OFR, on Wednesday, August 27, 2025, to Mark the 34th Anniversary of the Creation of Abia State
1. Umunne m Ndi Abia, I bring you warm and joyful greetings from Umuahia, our beloved State capital, on the auspicious occasion of the 34th anniversary of the creation of our great State, Abia. I want to congratulate all of us for how far we have come as a people, united by a common heritage and connected to a shared destiny of infinite possibilities. Our primary gratitude is to the Almighty God who has continued to preserve, protect and provide for us as individuals and a collective. Abia is a creation of God and the events of the last few years have further justified the wisdom of our fathers who wholly dedicated this State to the one Sovereign God from the very beginning, announcing it to the ends of the earth that we are Ndi Abia, God’s own people, living in God’s own State. It is therefore fitting that we spare a moment on this great day of our anniversary to thank the founding fathers of this great State for their foresight and courage in working diligently to carve out a distinct land that would be defined by the resilience of the population, the entrepreneurial spirit of the people and the positive disposition of its men and women to the tough realities of life.
2. Abia is a unique place. Beyond its vast array of human talents, this State is also blessed with an industrial supply of rich mineral resources. Our environmental, social and cultural realities support multiple economic ventures including agriculture, trade, manufacturing, tourism and artistic enterprises. I am quite proud of what we have achieved over the past 34 years even amidst the difficult challenges we face. The significant number of first-class professionals with Abia roots and origin in different frontiers of human enterprises across the world offers an immense source of pride on a day like this. It also points us to the greatness that each of us carry. Beyond the exploits of our parents, brothers and sisters, children and grandchildren across the world, we have also given an excellent account of ourselves here at home, overcoming seemingly insurmountable odds to give this land its core identity as the home of the brave and resilient.
3. This land called Abia, since the beginning of time, and in the 34 years it has existed as a distinct political entity, has achieved a certain distinction as a place that gives life to the dreams of its inhabitants if they consistently work hard. Our greatest treasure is in the mind and intellect of our people; it is in our creative spirit and willpower — the attitude to confront whatever life throws at us with equanimity of heart and the quiet confidence that breaks the hardest rocks. We are also blessed in the places where we trade, whether in Aba, Umuahia, Ohafia or any of the traditional or evening markets you find across our communities. Our farmlands are a source of immense wealth to us, supplying the food we need for our sustenance and income for millions of families in urban and rural communities. Our schools form the foundations of our intellectual accomplishments and imbue us with the confidence to take on the world — walking with our heads held high, wherever we go. We are a proud people who glory, not in the vain things of life, but in the appetite to advance the borders of material success for each succeeding generation.
4. Today, I say congratulations to all of us for what we have accomplished in developing our communities, building institutions and improving our stock of social and economic infrastructure. As a member of the larger Abia community since its creation, I know first-hand the mountains of odds many of us had to overcome to get to where we are. At the same time however, I also know that what we have achieved is merely a scratch on the surface compared to what we are truly capable of. Today, as we reflect and take stock of how far we have come since 1991, it would also be required of us to ask a few soul-searching questions of ourselves to determine how we can rise to the demands of true greatness as we look to the future. We can no longer afford to sell ourselves short through the misery of mediocrity. If there is one important lesson history teaches on the evolution of societies through different epochs, it is the immortal truth that in every community, the development tone is set by the iron-clad resolve of ordinary men and women to demand more from themselves, push the boundaries of what is possible and ultimately demonstrate the infinite possibilities of the human spirit in the things they create.
5. As a people, our set time is now. With a government that answers wholeheartedly to you and not beholden to external interests, this is our moment in the sun and it is our responsibility to make it count. I am glad that the character of public conversations in the last 27 months has shifted as we move into a new development era. The issues in public domain today are no longer if or when the entitlements of workers and retirees would be paid because we have created a framework that not only makes such routine administrative functions seamless, but also guarantees that new additions to the system are promptly onboarded for timely access to their benefits. This administration has also demystified the complexities that hitherto existed around waste management. Our urban centres now rank as some of the cleanest destinations in the region. Road construction is happening on a scale no one had ever seen before and we are only just getting started. As a result of our commitment to getting it right with road infrastructure, new communities are opening up, and business activities, including farming, real estate development and transportation, are expanding in all parts of the State. Currently, our performance evaluation benchmark is no longer in the length of road constructed but in the impact of those projects on the economic and social well-being of the population.
6. I am also glad to report that even as we continue to rapidly expand the stock of public infrastructure in different communities, we have particularly kept our eyes on the number one responsibility of government which is the protection of lives and property. While I would acknowledge that it may be difficult to create an island of safety in the midst of chaos across the larger corridor, I am impressed with what we have been able to achieve in the area of security, especially in the way we respond to those who attempt to test our resolve to keep the people safe, and their property secure. My message everyday remains the same as on the day we took our oath of office: no inch of Abia territory shall be safe for those who traffic in violence and the tools of destruction. It is either you change your ways or you pack your bags and leave, to never return.
7. Without equivocation or the fear of contradiction, I can boldly announce that things are looking up on every social and economic indicator; our young people now can apply for jobs in the public sector with the confidence that if they are qualified, they will be employed, irrespective of their place of birth or political leanings. From education to health, technology and vocational trade, we are creating new paths to fulfilling careers for our young people by directly supporting the technical training and human capacity development of thousands of individuals. We are remodelling the education value chain to be responsive to the demands of the new age economy. Our goal is beyond the periodic award of certificates; we are focused on the development of the whole being in ways that make them portals of value for the immediate and the larger global community. Our overarching vision is to create an environment that gives expression to the brilliance of our young people, offering them the platform to excel and achieve great strides in whatever field of endeavour they choose. We draw inspiration from the fact that if our children are able to do so much with very little or no support, it logically follows that by the time the fruits of our reforms and investments in the education sector becomes manifest, the products of our school system would set the pace in whatever fields they elect to function in.
8. Human beings, ordinary men and women, are at the centre of our governance philosophy. Everything we have done in the last 27 months is to improve the social and economic realities of our people. We are committed to the health, education and general welfare of every man, woman and child who lives here. The modest gains we have recorded on multiple development frontlines are targeted at creating a general environment that supports the entrepreneurial energy of the people, mapping out new paths to self-discovery and fulfilment for the majority while restoring the confidence of our children to take on the world. As we said in the early days of the administration, government is set up, not to solve all the problems in the community, but to confront and drastically reduce the obstacles that impede the productivity of the population — be it insecurity, poor infrastructure, institutional corruption and social behaviour and belief systems that are inimical to growth. Through effective distribution and allocation of resources, governments, through its institutions and agencies, stimulate economic growth, lead the private sector in ways that drive higher output levels, job creation and optimal factor utilisation.
9. If we objectively measure government outputs on the benchmarks captured above, you will agree that we are moving the development needle in the right direction. While it is true that we have not exactly hit the bull’s eye on every metric that counts, there is no disputing the evidence that we have set the State on a new trajectory, one that prioritises public gains over parochial interests. We may not achieve everything we set to accomplish in the short to medium term but one assurance I can give is that you will never find us reneging on our promise to build a State that works for its people. This great State, under our watch, shall continue to develop and make the most of the opportunities of the day because our aspirations are noble and the commitment is genuine. We shall not slow down; our State shall never be sold short again and we shall run to win.
10. As a State, the progress we have made at 34 is down to the resilient spirit of our people as expressed in the unique ability to mine the systems of advantage that nature has bestowed on us. Again, permit me to say that while it is not disputable that we have done reasonably well amidst serious resource limitations and dire environmental constraints; it is also true that we are capable of so much more. Today’s event presents us an excellent opportunity to recommit ourselves to the values of excellence, industry and good neighbourliness. The torch has been passed onto us and the light must be made to shine even brighter. We are encouraged to reject any explanation that limits our capacity to act, think and challenge defeatist assumptions. It is squarely in our hands to create the future we want our children to live in and we have no reason to fail them. We are enjoined to be conscious of our obligations as active members of the larger Abia family; pay our taxes as and when due, take active interest in the political and social progress of our communities and make a firm commitment to support the efforts of the government to make Abia truly the number one State.
11. Thank you for listening and may God bless Abia State.
