By Okey Anueyiagu
Abia today: When performance is measured against real resources received, Governor Alex Otti has demonstrably delivered more durable, institutional, and state-wide value per dollar than Orji Uzor Kalu did in comparable early periods. This is not a partisan claim. It is a fiscal and administrative reality. History does not reward loud claims of personal sacrifice. It rewards functioning roads, disciplined finances, working institutions, and governments that leave states stronger than they met them. On that score, Abia’s long stagnation is finally giving way to progress — not because the money changed, but because the governance did.
For years, debates about governance in Abia State have been trapped in emotion, nostalgia, and partisan loyalty. Supporters of past administrations often argue that earlier governors “did more with less,” while defenders of the present insist that current progress is only possible because more money is available.
Both arguments miss the point.
The real question is not how much money was received in nominal Naira terms, but how much value Abia actually received in real terms — and what was done with it.
When federal allocations to Abia State are converted into U.S. dollars to neutralise inflation and currency distortion, an inconvenient truth emerges: Abia did not suddenly become rich under Governor Alex Otti. In real value terms, the state received roughly comparable federal allocations during the early years of Orji Uzor Kalu’s administration and the early years of the current government.
Yet the outcomes could not be more different.
The numbers don’t lie
Using conservative estimates, Abia State under Orji Uzor Kalu (1999–2001) received approximately $100–110 million annually in federal allocations. Under Alex Otti (2023–2025), Abia’s annual federal allocation averages about $120–130 million.
The difference is marginal—not transformational.
Over a comparable 24-month period, both administrations controlled between $200 million and $260 million in real value. If governance outcomes differ dramatically, then the explanation cannot honestly be “money.”
It must be governance quality.
What was delivered?
In the early years of the Kalu administration, Abia saw limited and fragmented infrastructure development. Road projects were narrow in scope, public finance systems were weak, and governance remained highly personalised. Institutions were not strengthened, procurement lacked transparency, and the civil service remained bloated, underpaid, and inefficient.
Most critically, projects were not designed to outlive the administration. Governance was driven by discretion rather than systems, leaving Abia structurally fragile long after oil revenues improved.
By contrast, the first two years of the Otti administration show a fundamentally different philosophy. Roads are being rebuilt across the state, not merely patched. Long-standing salary and pension arrears have been cleared. Public schools and health facilities are being rehabilitated. Aba’s commercial road network — long neglected despite its economic importance — is finally receiving coordinated attention.
Beyond physical projects, financial discipline has returned to Abia’s public administration. Leakages have been blocked, contracts reviewed, assets recovered, and procurement subjected to tighter controls. The emphasis has shifted from spending money to maximising value.
The difference is not luck
It is tempting to explain this contrast by pointing to time or circumstance. But such explanations collapse under scrutiny. The purchasing power of the Naira during Kalu’s era was far stronger. In real terms, every dollar received then could buy significantly more than it can today.
What changed is not fortune — it is intent and competence.
Kalu governed in an era when states treated public funds as extensions of personal authority. Otti governs in a framework where public money is treated as a trust that must show measurable results.
The real verdict
When performance is measured against real resources received, Governor Alex Otti has demonstrably delivered more durable, institutional, and state-wide value per dollar than Orji Uzor Kalu did in comparable early periods.
This is not a partisan claim. It is a fiscal and administrative reality.
History does not reward loud claims of personal sacrifice. It rewards functioning roads, disciplined finances, working institutions, and governments that leave states stronger than they met them.
On that score, Abia’s long stagnation is finally giving way to progress — not because the money changed, but because the governance did.
Okey Anueyiagu, a Professor of Political Economy, is the author of: Biafra, The Horrors of War, The Story of A Child Soldier.
