Since the creation of Abia State, we have had Governors — men who carried the sacred mandate of leadership but left behind records that today weigh on the conscience of our people.
We had Orji Uzor Kalu, who came into power with youthful energy and political charm, but quickly abandoned the greater good for personal empire-building. The state stagnated under the burden of patronage and self-interest.
We had T.A. Orji, who promised liberation but ended up chaining Abia with policies that favored cronies over citizens, leaving roads broken, institutions hollow, and morale at its lowest.
We had Okezie Ikpeazu, whose era was drowned in rhetoric, endless excuses, and cosmetic projects that never touched the true suffering of the people.
I knew these men. I watched them closely. None of them can honestly be said to have governed with purpose. They pale in comparison to what we are witnessing in Abia State today. They only succeeded in enriching themselves, their families, and their loyalists — while the masses remained trapped in poverty, watching the rest of Nigeria march forward. They were clueless in the art of governance.
So I ask again: Can we just allow this Governor to breathe?
Today, under His Excellency Dr. Alex Chioma Otti, OFR, we have a different kind of Leadership, we are witnessing something radically different. For the first time since 1999, Abia has a Governor who came prepared, who understands governance not as a stage for personal drama but as a mission for collective upliftment.
Dr. Otti has shown intentional leadership — purposeful, thoughtful, and focused. He is repairing not just our roads but our dignity. He is rebuilding not just infrastructure but hope. He is redefining governance as service, not as an industry of plunder.
Yet, instead of rallying behind this new dawn, opposition voices — the very architects of yesterday’s ruin — are howling from every corner, desperate to distract him, to derail him, to suffocate progress.
And so I ask again: Can we just allow this Governor to breathe?
The framers of our Constitution, imperfect as it may be, understood the need to shield the Chief Executive from incessant distractions. That is why they enshrined Immunity — not as a license for impunity, but as a breathing space for governance.
The idea, the constitutional wisdom is simple: give the Governor the room to work. Let oversight institutions record, track, and investigate as they must. But let the man elected by the people focus on the task of rebuilding. Opposition is healthy for democracy, but when it crosses the line into nuisance, it is no longer patriotism — it is sabotage.
Gov Alex Chioma Otti
And so we must ask again: Can we just allow this Governor to breathe?
Under Dr. Otti, Abia has a track Record that Speaks, Abia State is already repositioning itself:
* Roads that had become metaphors for abandonment are being reconstructed with quality never before seen in the state.
* Salaries and pensions, once a nightmare for civil servants, are now prioritized and paid promptly.
* Education and healthcare are no longer back-burner issues but front-burner priorities.
*. Transparency and accountability are not empty slogans but visible practices.
* Investors, once fleeing Abia, are beginning to look our way again.
*. And the long-dreamed Abia Airport project — which his predecessor Ikpeazu could not build — has now been brought back to life under Governor Otti, proving that where there is vision and will, there will always be a way.
The difference is stark. The nation sees it. The diaspora celebrates it. Even those who opposed him during the elections cannot deny that something new is unfolding in Abia.
So the question remains: Can we just allow this Governor to breathe?
Those who plundered Abia for two decades must understand: their time has passed. They cannot hold the future hostage because they are uncomfortable with a leader who has chosen a higher road. The attacks, the noise, the campaigns of calumny — they do not weaken Dr. Alex Otti; they only reveal the desperation of men who fear irrelevance.
