Abia State Governor, Alex Otti, has appealed to residents to take collective responsibility in protecting public infrastructure, stating that their involvement is crucial for the long-term preservation of vital state assets.
Otti highlighted that preventing vandalism and neglect would save costs and ensure continued access to essential services like roads, schools, and hospitals for the entire community.
He gave this charge while speaking at Ibeku High School field after commissioning various projects undertaken by his administration across three LGAs in Abia State’s Central Senatorial Zone.
These projects include: Primary Healthcare Centres (PHCs) retrofitted in Owerinta, Isialangwa South; Amibo, Umuahia South; and Ekeoba, Umuahia North, under Project Ekwueme, as well as the 8.3-kilometer Isieketa-Obikabia Road in Isialangwa South LGA and the 1.5-kilometer IBB Way in Umuahia North LGA.
“Ensure that everything we are putting in place—the infrastructure, the roads, the equipment in the primary healthcare centres—are secured. There is no security better than the security you provide.”
“Whenever anyone attempts to vandalize public property, report them to the appropriate authorities. We assure you, we will deal with them,” Otti assured.
Speaking during the commissioning, the givernor directed the Commissioner for Works, Ogbonnaya Uche, to begin the reconstruction of the Ikot-Ekpene Federal Road, which links to the IBB Way that was recently commissioned.
“We have seen that the Ikot-Ekpene road, linking the IBB Way, is in very bad condition. I have just moments ago instructed the Honourable Commissioner for Works to go and fix that road.”
“We are aware it’s a Federal road. But, as we have always said, the Federal Government does not use any road. Whether it’s Federal or State, it is Abia people who use it. And we are going to fix it,” he stated.
Otti assured that the commissioning of roads and the 200 Primary Healthcare Centres, either retrofitted or in the final stages of completion, would continue.
In their speeches, Uche and Otumchere Oti saluted the Governor for retrofitting PHCs in Abia to world-class standards and creating access roads for the people in line with his infrastructural development agenda. They stressed the need for beneficiaries of both the PHCs and the roads to ensure their protection.
Also present at the event, the General Manager of the Abia State Debt Management Office and the Abia Central Project Ekwueme Coordinator, Kingsley Nwaigburu, said the Governor approved the retrofitting of 64 PHCs in Abia Central alone, adding that the project is real and not just an “audio” project.
Nwaigburu explained that the projects are impactful, as they ensure every ward in Abia State has a functional Primary Healthcare Centre to serve its community.
Speaking on behalf of benefiting communities, the Traditional Ruler of Ekeoba Kingdom, Ohuhu, Eze Iheanyichukwu Nwokenna, described the retrofitting of Primary Healthcare Centres by Governor Alex Otti as a new dawn for the state. He added that it is a testament to Governor Otti’s resolve to leave an indelible footprint in the sands of time.
He noted particularly that the newly retrofitted PHCs, especially the Ekeoba Primary Health Centre, have given his community a sense of belonging, as no previous government had undertaken such a bold step.
Governor Otti was joined at the commissioning by the Chinese Consul-General and his team. The event attracted many dignitaries and featured cultural displays, along with special presentations made for the Governor by the benefiting communities.
