Abia State Governor Alex Otti has confirmed that he will soon relocate to the official Government House in Umuahia, following extensive rehabilitation of the facility, which had been left in a deteriorated state by previous administrations.
Speaking during a church service at the Unity Chapel within the Government House premises over the weekend, Otti said his administration had begun necessary upgrades to the premises, including the governor’s office previously used by both military and civilian leaders.
Since assuming office on May 29, 2023, Otti has worked from his country home in Nvosi, Isiala Ngwa South, sparking criticism from some quarters over his distance from the state capital. But the governor defended the decision, explaining that the facility he inherited in Umuahia was nearly uninhabitable.
Photo credit: Abia state gov
He said, “As a student of economics, we have brought with us a scale of preference. And we sat down and said, Okay, everything is important, but some are more important than others.” “We didn’t think this Government House was more important than salaries. We didn’t think it was more important than the primary healthcare centers,” he added.
Otti noted that his focus in the early months of governance was on immediate public needs rather than cosmetic projects. He described the existing lodge as barely livable and therefore not worth prioritizing over more urgent issues affecting Abians.
His predecessor, Okezie Ikpeazu, had hurriedly inaugurated a new Government House building at Ogwurube Layout just one day before leaving office in May 2023. However, it was revealed that only the ground floor of the three-storey structure had been completed at the time, making it unfit for use.
The current administration has since rejected the building as a viable governor’s residence. According to Information Commissioner Prince Okey Kanu, the government opted to repurpose the structure into a luxury hotel, citing concerns raised by security professionals over its surroundings and design.
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Kanu recently led journalists on an inspection of the uncompleted facility, describing it as unsuitable for official use due to its environment and security challenges.
However, the decision has drawn the ire of a former Commissioner for Information under the Ikpeazu regime, Dr. Eze Chikamnayo, who has threatened to drag the Otti administration to court. He said he intends to challenge the legitimacy of decisions taken from the governor’s private residence and seek a judicial order compelling Otti to move into the official seat of power.
Otti, who has continued to receive popular support for prioritizing workers’ salaries, healthcare, and security, dismissed the controversy as a distraction from his core mission of rebuilding the state after years of mismanagement.
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