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ABIA: Alex Otti unveils 20 electric buses as Tinubu Postpones Visit

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Alex Otti
Alex Otti
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Abia State Governor, Alex Otti, has announced the procurement of 20 electric buses which will be rolled out in the next two months.

The governor also revealed that $29m (the equivalent of N9.8bn at the time) was spent by the immediate-past administration in the reconstruction of Port Harcourt road, which was not realised, adding that his government successfully built the road with $22m (the equivalent of N36.5bn at current exchange rate).

Otti disclosed this while addressing the Aba community, who organised a thanksgiving carnival on the Umuagbai Secondary School premises, Port Harcourt Road, in celebration of the reconstruction and completion of Port Harcourt Road, abandoned for over three decades.

He said bus terminals were being built for the transport system in the state while the 20 electric buses for the transportation would be for the first batch.

“In the next two months, not more than two months, our transport system will start working. So, if you go around, you will see the bus terminals we are building.

“We have paid for the 20 electric buses. So, they are bringing the buses to carry you and me, and the buses will be beautiful.

“You know the kind of buses you see abroad. That is the kind of bus you will see in Abia. The only difference is that these buses will not use petrol. It will not use diesel. It will not use gasoline. They will be electric buses,” Otti stated.

The governor, who recalled his efforts in fixing the Port Harcourt Road against the attacks of the noisy opposition, said he replied the shameless opposition with performances.

He also revealed that the amount of money spent by the immediate-past administration in the reconstruction of Port Harcourt road, which was not realised, was much more than what his government spent in realising the road.

“In 2017, they awarded this Port Harcourt Road. The amount at that time was N9.8bn and they paid out the entire money. But the road was not done.


“So, when in 2025, the road cost N36.5bn, they started making noise. So, I said, since you people understand mathematics, the average exchange rate in 2017 was N333 to a Dollar. Now, if you apply that, the N9.8bn was actually $29m (equivalent).

“In 2025, at the average exchange rate of N1,600, N36.5bn is actually $22.8m equivalent. So, let us do the mathematics.

“$29m and $22m, which is higher? The real issue is that in 2017, $29m was spent, and no road was done. In 2025, $22m was spent and a standard road is done and delivered for use,” Otti said.

While appreciating the reception organised for him, Otti thanked the Aba people for their sustained support, right from 2015 when he contested the governorship election for the first time.

He gave N1.4m reward to a keke driver in Aba, who returned N2.4m forgotten by a passenger in his tricycle and commended such act of honesty.

Senator Darlington Nwokocha and the Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Emmanuel Emeruwa, saluted Otti for his strides in Aba and Abia State in general.

They said that the feat so far achieved by Otti was a testament to a focused leadership in the state.

Speaking on behalf of the Aba business community and the Aba Landlord’s Association, Chief David Onuoha, Chief Leo Okoye, Chief Alphonsus Odigbo and the chairman of the occasion, John Udeagba, said they decided to put the event together to show appreciation to the governor.

The convener of the carnival, Chief Onyeka Udeajah, lauded Otti, adding that the Port Harcourt Road stood tall in the achievements of the governor.

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu postpones visit to Abia State

Meanwhile President Bola Tinubu’s visit to Abia State, scheduled for Friday, May 23, 2025, has been postponed indefinitely due to unforeseen developments.

This was announced by the state Information Commissioner, Prince Okey Kanu, while interacting with journalists at the state executive council meeting held on Monday.

The President was to formally commission the 6.3 kilometre Port Harcourt Road, Aba, which had been dilapidated for over 25 years, reconstructed by the Governor Alex Otti’s administration, and was executed by Julius Berger Construction Company.

At Isiala Ngwa Local Council, Tinubu was to formally flag off the $1.3 billion Medical City at Mba Asaa, a project said to be the first of its kind in the country.

The Health Commissioner, Prof. Enoch Uche, said that the project has many dimensions and is being undertaken through a foreign partnership/collaboration. Describing the project as a bold one, he noted that it is situated on 200 hectares of land running across Isiala Ngwa North and Isiala Ngwa South councils, and would have the highest Medicare facilities, including a Helipad, among others.

Kanu, who did not disclose the rescheduled date for the President’s visit, said it might be next month (June). He, however, announced that the President’s wife, Oluremi, will visit the state on the same Friday.


The Commissioner noted that Mrs Tinubu, who will, during her visit, be hosted by the Abia State governor’s Wife, Mrs Priscilla Chidinma Otti, formally launch the Renewed Hope Agenda as it relates to the vulnerable people.

Speaking about the mid-term anniversary of Otti in office, which was earlier planned to be low-keyed, Kanu said that there have been some slight adjustments that will hold for three days from May 25 to 29.

According to him, Aba residents decided to organise an open public Carnival on the reconstructed Port Harcourt Road on Friday.

He said that activities for the anniversary will commence with a church service by 1:00 p.m. on Sunday, May 25, a Special State Executive Council meeting on Monday 26, visits to state orphanage homes by the governor’s wife and her celebration with children on the 27th.

Other activities he listed are an anniversary lecture to be delivered by Nigeria’s former Finance Minister, Dr Kalu Idika Kalu, on the 28th, with the grand finale featuring a state broadcast by the governor and celebration at the Umuahia township stadium.

*** Additional Report From Punch , Guardian ***

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