Residents of Abia State, one of the regions in the Southeast region of Nigeria, have yearned for good governance since the return of democracy in 1999.
Hope was rekindled when Orji Uzor Kalu emerged as Governor in 1999 under the People's Democratic Party (PDP).
His reign, according to some analysts, laid the foundation for the reckless looting of state resources which resulted in poor infrastructure, bad governance and unmitigated corruption.
Kalu after serving for two tenures of four years each, handed over to Theodore Orji who not only continued from where his predecessor stopped but plunged the state into huge foreign and local debts.
While other neighbouring states progressed with remarkable infrastructure, Abia State lagged behind. Orji's administration was characterized by allegations of massive corruption fraud and maladministration.
Despite performing so poorly, Orji was reelected Governor of Abia State in 2011 to complete his eight-year term. His reelection was contested by many as being fraudulent but the election umpire, INEC, had adjudged it to be free and fair.
Then came Okezie Ikpeazu in 2015. During the 2015 election, the people revolted against the dominance of the PDP in the state and demanded a change.
Alex Otti, then of the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) was the main challenger and the people's favourite.
Many predicted that he would emerge Governor but when the results were announced, it was discovered that Okezie Ikpeazu of the PDP had won.
The same scenario played out in the 2019 general election when Otti was defeated by Ikpeazu though many questioned his loss to the incumbent.
It was during the administration of Ikpeazu that workers and pensioners were owed over two years of salaries. Despite not paying salaries, the roads were dilapidated and no tangible infrastructure was built.
Aba, the state's commercial city became the dirtiest city in Nigeria. Heaps of dirt littered everywhere while Umuahia, the state capital was nothing more than a glorified local government headquarters.
However, during the 2023 election, Otti, now of the Labour Party was elected Governor of the state dethroning the PDP dominance of over 23 years.
The electoral success of Otti could be hinged on two factors: the will of the people to effect a change in the leadership of the state and the massive nationwide political wave brought about by the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, which swept many politicians into office.
Thus, after his win, the people celebrated endlessly. They danced through the streets professing their belief that it was time for governance in Abia.
Just two months into his administration, Otti has hit the ground running. In one of his public fora, he deplored the decadence that dotted long stretches of the roads earmarked for rehabilitation in the state.
“We had promised that we are going to rebuild the roads. The first thing is that we clear the drainages because if we don’t do that, we won’t be able to build roads that would last.
"As you can see on this Azikiwe Road, the main job here is to clear the drainages, desilt them and open up the flow of water to Aba River.
"There are a few roads we want to rebuild completely and those are the roads that we have come to hand over to the contractors today,” Otti said.
Some of the roads which he earmarked for immediate attention within Aba and which were handed over to contractors include University Road, Abayi, Green Avenue, Udeagbala Road, Shallom Road, Umuimo Road, Old Express Road, Abak Road with adjoining streets, Queens Street and Jubilee Road.
Meanwhile, the desilting of drains has commenced in major areas of the state. This is to facilitate the free flow of stormwater and reduce flooding on the roads.
Also, Otti has commenced immediate payment of salaries and pension arrears to workers who were being owed for several months.
This is in line with his plead during a meeting with the forum of retired permanent secretaries in the state where he had said that his mission in government would be centred on creating better living conditions for civil servants, retirees, the rejected, poor and common man.
The governor said that the state government would prioritise the interest of the poor and downtrodden to improve the standard of living of the citizenry.
Though Otti's administration is barely a few months old, the masses have continued to show unprecedented support and goodwill.
Despite this, it is still a long way from discovering whether the people have rightly invested their hope or not.
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