Abia State Governor, Alex Otti, has revealed that the state inherited a debt burden of over N138bn, out of which N72bn has been repaid, leaving a balance of N66bn in addition to outstanding liabilities such as salaries, pensions, and contractors’ payments.
He said this was according to information from the Debt Management Office (DMO).
He also announced plans to invest $1.3bn in the construction of a proposed Abia Medical City.
Speaking during the April edition of Alex Otti Speaks to Abians on Wednesday, the governor said, “The state will continue to be prudent in the management of resources, and none is to be wasted. As a result of prudence, goodwill and ability to get the best deal in every transaction, we have added no dime in the form of borrowing.”
Otti disclosed that the Port Harcourt Road in Aba will be completed by next week and will be commissioned before May 29, 2025, by President Bola Tinubu, who will also flag off the construction of the Abia Medical City, which he said will save billions of dollars from medical tourism and transport costs for the country.
On education, the governor said that 7,000 pupils are currently benefiting from the state’s free education policy.
He added that 9,000 teachers have been engaged and are undergoing phased training to improve teaching quality across schools.
Otti said the state was paying attention to mathematics, engineering, and science, among other critical subjects and “wants to prepare students to be at home with technology”.
On healthcare, Otti said primary health centres across the state will receive what he called a “touch of the new Abia,” with the planned recruitment of 777 additional healthcare workers.
On security, the state governor said the area is critical and that his administration is paying attention to the sector, noting that security is everybody’s business, and advised Abians not to “tolerate any act of insecurity”, stating that security agencies in the state are doing well, adding, “some people who tested our will didn’t find it easy”.
According to him, all investments will come to nothing if people don’t sleep with their eyes closed.
On agriculture, the governor said his government has entered into partnerships to boost rice production and greenhouse farming with Israeli firms to improve yields of vegetables and maize.
He also addressed the state’s anti-grazing law, saying, “Abia has gone beyond cows destroying our farms. We will look at it.”
Otti concluded by thanking members of the State House of Assembly for their continued support, noting that many of them had recently defected from their former political parties.
