Governor Alex Otti Applauds President Tinubu for Authorising Abia’s Takeover of Key Federal Road

Abia State Governor, Alex Otti, has publicly expressed his sincere appreciation to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for granting approval to the Abia State Government to fully take over the reconstruction of a critical 25-kilometre stretch of the Umuahia–Ikot Ekpene Federal Road.

Dependable NG reports that the Governor made this important statement on Friday during the flag-off ceremony for the road’s rehabilitation in Umuahia. Governor Otti highlighted that the Federal Government’s favourable disposition towards the state’s infrastructural development has been a significant boost. The road, which is a crucial inter-state corridor, had been in a deplorable state for years despite its original reconstruction contract being awarded by the Federal Government a decade ago.

The Governor specifically thanked the President, acknowledging his decisive action in the matter. “I would like to specially appreciate the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, for graciously giving us the go-ahead to initiate the reconstruction of the abandoned sections of this federal highway,” Otti stated.

Furthermore, Governor Otti used the opportunity to critique the concept of differentiating between federal and state roads, arguing that the paramount concern should always be the welfare and interest of the road users, regardless of which tier of government owns the road.

He also revealed a hidden political drama surrounding the project, alleging that certain politicians from Abia State, driven by what he termed “oversized ego” and selfish interests, had actively attempted to frustrate his administration’s efforts to secure the approval to fix the federal road. He praised the presidency for resisting these divisive attempts, saying, “I would also like to express the collective gratitude of our people to Abuja for refusing to be misled by the petty designs of a few political actors from this state who attempted to scuttle this initiative just to massage their oversized ego.” This intervention by the Abia State Government aims to end the long-standing commuter suffering caused by the road’s terrible condition.