Governor Alex Otti of Abia State has called on the people of the state to see the New Abia Project as their collective responsibility, charging them to rise and build a homeland that shall be the pride of their race.
Otti said this at the International Conference Centre, Ogurube Layout, Umuahia, where he officially unveiled and signed into law the 25-year development plan with assurances of its sustainability over the period of the plan (Abia State 25-Year Development Plan 2025-2050).
Otti told the citizens that all that is required of all Abia people is to believe and do their part as empowered citizens and work collectively to achieve the dream that they all hold.
He said that a society that seeks progress must wholly commit itself to the discipline of planning, the culture of goal setting and the systematic allocation of resources in ways that guide the economy along predetermined trajectories.
Otti, however, said that the 2025-year development plan is not to cast Abia in the light of an imaginary El Dorado by 2050 but to present a holistic development framework upon which the government’s policy direction and resource allocation outlook would be evaluated.
He further explained that the 25-Year Abia State Development Plan is a dynamic document that captures Abia’s resource advantages as a state, its current position on the development ladder and where it hopes to be in the next 25 years.
The governor told the people that having a development plan is not a license to daydream, as there are many challenges ahead, but stressed that all the pitfalls have been carefully noted and are in line with the government’s determination to achieve the priority targets as captured in the plan.
He said that the legislative framework to instil discipline in execution is in place, as well as the ability to realistically anticipate bumps and outline mitigation measures.
“We have anchored our aspirations on a firm legislative foundation through the State House of Assembly, so what we unveil is more than a proposal; it is a binding law that this administration and the ones to succeed it are obliged to follow over the next two and a half decades.
“Beyond the legislative imprimatur which makes the outlook in the Plan difficult to sidestep in pursuit of some fanciful but unconnected projects and programmes, this document represents the collective aspirations of every segment of our community, every demographic and every socio-economic interest.
“It has also made conscious accommodation for the needs of future generations. It then follows that whoever wishes to make changes to the Plan would have to return to the people and convince them of the rationale for pressing to sail in a different direction.
“The uniqueness of the document before us is in the fact that it is not the ideas of a few eggheads but the expectations of the entire Abia community going into the future.”
According to him, starting from the 2026 fiscal year, Abia’s annual budgets, project mapping and implementation plan would draw extensively from the broad outlines set out in the Development Plan.
He said that the document would provide the basis for evaluating Abia’s progress and identifying gaps on critical measurement parameters, as the document has outlined specific milestones on central indices like education, healthcare delivery, general infrastructure layout, public transportation, housing, water and sanitation, environment and other bodies of indicators that are relevant to our targets.
Otti said that “the enabling law guiding the implementation of this plan has mandated that a holistic review be undertaken at the end of every five years, so by 2030, we shall gather again to evaluate the progress that has been made, identify where we have fallen short and then make projections into the future, leaning into what may have been learnt.”
He added that while it is given that a review will be undertaken at the end of every five years, provisions have also been made for the government to respond quickly and recalibrate expectations in the event of any major socioeconomic upheavals that are proven to disrupt projections or shatter the underlying assumptions of this plan.
“We do not pray for disruptions, but should there be any untoward development locally or globally over the implementation period, let it be known that we have also set modalities in place to reassess our priorities.”
Otti recalled that a few weeks ago during the presentation of the 2026 appropriation bill, he announced that Abia’s target in the next fiscal year is to reach for self-sufficiency in the implementation of its recurrent expenditure.
He stressed that the idea is to raise the state’s capacity for internal revenue generation such that it shall use what it raises from within to keep the government and its institutions running, pay salaries and meet its obligations to retirees.
“With the latitude provided by projected higher internal revenue, we shall then commit 100% of the receipts from external sources to the execution of capital projects.
“The calculation is that as we deliver more impactful infrastructure projects, we further boost the productivity of our factor assets, leading to higher public sector income from within.
“With the ongoing efforts at streamlining the revenue generation system using bespoke technology tools, the transformation of the public transport system and the expansion of the urban corridor to adequately harness our real estate potential, I can optimistically forecast that in the next decade, we shall become less and less reliant on income from external sources.’
Governor Otti also acknowledged the existence of a 30-year development plan launched by the previous government in 2020 but stressed that unfortunately, the local and international fundamentals have drastically changed, requiring that a new and more realistic plan be put in place.
He said that the new plan, which was mapped out after a thorough study of the old one, will help reposition Abia and enable it to mine the new wave of opportunities that have developed in the larger macroeconomic space on account of landmark legislation, constitutional changes and executive decisions of the new federal and state administrations.
Speaking further on the old plan, Otti said that beyond the notable external events, the speed of progress recorded on multiple economic frontlines in the state over the last 30 months has also necessitated some key changes in the original plan.
He added that many of the principal assumptions in the 2020 plan have since become obsolete, making it necessary to recalibrate and recast the foundational pillars for a more resilient economic superstructure.
Otti, who said a word of appreciation to the state’s partners from PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) for their professional insights and committed support to improved governance architecture, which is at the heart of the document, acknowledged them for their guidance in reviewing the original plan put together by his predecessors.
He thanked them for injecting fresh ideas that align with his governance vision as captured in his manifesto, the Transition Council documents, appropriation documents and general policy framework of the State Government.
“Thank you for scouring through thousands of documents in the effort to produce a plan that would stand the test of time. As you may be aware, putting a brilliant plan together, as you have done, is only the beginning of the journey.”
Otti said that to better appreciate the rationale for putting in so much work on a 25-year development plan, an observant person could have taken note of the body of partners joining Abia for the presentation of the plan.
“You would observe in an instance that we now enjoy a great amount of goodwill from leading players in the regional and multinational development space.
“The confidence of global institutions in Abia is rising, and you would agree with me that the attention of development partners in any community raises public expectations and demands the adoption of significantly bolder initiatives to signpost the beginning of a new era.
“This event ultimately speaks to three things: the first is the readiness of Abia to mine the gains of the new opportunities in the macroeconomic space; the second is the codification of our development vision into a holistic framework to form the foundation of future prosperity; and the third is to announce the emergence of Abia as a major development frontier in this region and beyond.”
The Governor thanked members of the State’s Economic Management Team and equally commended the leadership and members of the Abia Global Economic Advisory Council (AGEAC) for providing important directions.
“We owe the co-chairs of AGEAC, Prof. Arunma Oteh, Emir Muhammed Sanusi, Mr Bolaji Balogun and Mrs Ifueko Omogui Okauru, and other members a debt of infinite gratitude for their tireless commitment to the New Abia project,” Otti said.
Otti said he is glad to acknowledge the multidimensional contributions of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the Foundation for Partnership Initiatives in the Niger Delta (PIND) and the Partnership for Agile Governance and Climate Engagement (PACE) to the successful completion of the 25-year development plan.
