Abia’s Local and Foreign Debt Is Around 200 Billion Naira – Alex Otti

The newly sworn in Governor and the 5th Democratically elected Governor of Abia State, Dr Alex Chioma Otti has stated the numerous challenges facing the state and the task ahead in rebuilding and restructuring the State.

The Governor, Dr Alex Otti revealed this immediately after he was sworn-in at the Umuahia Township Stadium during his inaugural speech.

While addressing the crowd at the Umuahia Township Stadium, the Governor stated that, him, his Deputy together with his team, are fully ready to bequeath to his successors a far better Abia State than the one he was inheriting today.

Otti said his major responsibility will be to ensure that the citizens and the residents of the state who have finally been free from their bondage, will continue to breathe freely and go about their daily pursuit of good quality life. He continued by saying that, he will make sure he dries the tears and help Abians to rediscover who they are and lead them back to the pathway of sustainable growth, development and prosperity.

He further stated that, there’s a very difficult and challenging road ahead as the state is starting from zero, but, from an enormous negative position.

“While we were busy battling with the devastating effects of insincere and corrupt leadership, the rest of the world, and even many parts of Nigeria, would appear to have left us behind.”

“We have a treasury that has been criminally ravaged to the extent that we have an alleged N50 billion in unpaid salaries, gratuities, and pensions.”

“Our local and foreign debt overhang is reported to be in the region of N200 billion, in addition to other debts to contractors. We have a poorly motivated workforce, extreme youth unemployment, collapsed physical infrastructure, a terribly frail primary, secondary and tertiary healthcare delivery system.”

These are in addition to a broken educational system, urban waste disposal crisis and a large army of citizens, especially teachers, health workers, including medical doctors and nurses, lecturers in tertiary institutions, Local Government Authority workers and most painfully, our senior citizens, who feel blatantly betrayed by successive administrations that wilfully and unconscionably abandoned them to live in wretched sub-human conditions.

He went further to point out to the overwhelming crowd at the inaugural ground that, transparency, accountability and public trust would be at the centre of everything his administration will do. He continued by saying his administration will run a responsible and honest government and lead by example.

“We will not tolerate any form of corruption or stealing of public property. Gratification and kickbacks are totally forbidden in this government.”

He beckons on everybody to withhold any awards, honours and recognitions which were not given to him before he was sworn in until he leaves office.

He concluded by saying that, the time of building process has started and the task of being the driver of this train has been given to him and finally thanked all Abians who took part in the struggle without any consideration for any anticipated personal benefit.