***13 tons of refuse evacuated weekly in Abia
Abia State governor, Alex Otti says, that the state debt profile his administration inherited has been reduced by 60%, informing also that about 13 tons of refuse are being evacuated weekly to make the state the most cleanest in the country.
Speaking on Friday on the occasion of the May edition of his monthly media parley with journalists in the state, Otti disclosed, “we have been able to reduce it significantly by about 60% from about N191 billion in 2023 to less than N50 billion at the end of 2025.
“Your government has also been positively wrapped, particularly in areas of fiscal sustainability, transparency and accountability. The budget State of the State report moved Abia from No. 17, two years ago in 2023, to No. 4 last year in 2025.
“And we believe we will continue to do well. These are independent rankings. It just gives you an idea of how the government is being run. You also expect a lot of pushback from people who depended on primitive accumulation as their source of income.
“So that has been cut off. So sometimes when you see people complaining and pouring libation, it is probably because their mouths are being removed from the sitting pot”.
Otti, who reviewed his achievements in different sectors of Abia economy, informed that in the last three years “we have completed the construction of 414 roads, improved business efficiency, accelerate our trade and commerce, hired 831 healthcare professionals in the last three years. 771 of them have resumed duties, and a few are in different stages of the recruitment process.
“We have over 193,000 people enrolled in the state health insurance scheme, 277 primary healthcare centres have been retrofitted – 200 by the state government and 77 by the World Bank Impact Project”.
In basic education, he said, “since we made education free and compulsory in January last year,, noting, “we have seen enrollment increase and it continues to increase and we are happy about that, and that is what we want to see that no child is left behind. And out of school children will reduce drastically if we cannot completely eliminate it.
“5,394 teachers resumed duty last year. 4,000 teachers are in the process of being recruited and appointed”.
In the area of lands and public buildings, as of yesterday, 4,707 certificates of occupancy have been signed, Otti said, while in the area of waste management, “I think this is a major area for us.By the time we came in, the place was in a mess. It was described as the dirtiest place in the country. They declared a state of emergency.
“This story has changed. Our people are creating over 13 tons of refuse weekly. Over 2,000 jobs have been created in the Abia State Environmental Protection Agency to keep our place clean.
“There have been rankings that place the state as one of the cleanest places in the country. I think what is important is that when you come out of your house and you are driving on our streets, you are not embarrassed by the refuse dumps, which used to be the hallmark of the state”.
In the area of transportation, Otti informed that his electric vehicles he introduced last December have served over 326,000 passengers since the end of last month, adding, ‘with the additional 20 electric buses coming in by July, I am sure that the number will double. We are also expecting another 30 buses after that”.
On the area of power, the governor said his administration has entered into an agreement with a new electricity distribution company, EEDC, to acquire the electricity distribution assets, adding, “we have installed over 10,000 solar lamps, and street lights”
“We signed the domestic violence law and set up the Abia Center for Rehabilitation of Survivors of Rape, Domestic Violence, and Human Trafficking. Sometimes when people go through some of these experiences, there is nowhere to go. So between the state and agencies, we set up this law so that victims will have somewhere to go to receive support”, Otti said.
His administration, he said has plans to set up the SME Village and Innovation Hub in Aba, to boost entrepreneurship, stating “ee are in partnership with UNDP, who support us in these efforts, just like they supported us with the set up of the Export Growth Lab in Aba. We have had agreements to ensure that the whole state is covered with a 3G network. Aba is already at work with that. So anywhere you are in this state, the story of no network will be a thing of the past.
His administration, he said is rebuilding trust in governance and government, delivering very tangible improvements in critical social and economic sectors of this economy, saying, “so without any fear of contradiction, we can say that we have restored the pride of our people, both home and abroad. It is not us that did it, it is your trust in us that helped us collectively do it.
‘We have also been able to restore relative security across all the 17 local governments of the state. Of course, there may be one or two challenges with that. But that will be the exception. The rule is that by the 28th of every month, salaries are paid.
Pensioners also receive their full pension by the same 28th. So that helps with planning. It helps people also manage themselves.
“We have also recovered a lot of stolen assets. Especially not from people who acquired them illegally. Some of them have been put in the law courts and we have met them there.
“This government is very, very strict about government property. Some of the things we have also done include criminalising appropriation of government property. Ensuring that we refuse property belonging to government’
