Barely 10 months to the general elections, the sparks of comparative policy and programme performance have started flying in Abia State, exposing the undercurrents in the anticipated explosive encounter between the incumbent Labour Party (LP) government in the state and the All Progressives Congress (APC) opposition in the state, LEO SOBECHI reports.

In no other state across the federation is the lead-up to next year’s general election as acutely absorbing as Abia. Even in the entire South-East, the situation in the self-styled ‘God’s Own State’ is already attracting serious concern.

A few days before the Easter holidays, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu reportedly gave the green light for Dr Benjamin Okezie Kalu to leave the Green Chamber of the National Assembly and contest the APC governorship ticket, ostensibly to confront incumbent Governor Alex Chioma Otti, who has withstood pressure to defect from the Labour Party (LP) to the APC.

What makes the emerging political permutations in Abia particularly intriguing is that old political rivals, now on new platforms, are seeking to assert dominant influence and control the state’s politics and governance. Former governors Orji Uzor Kalu, Senator Theodore Ahamefule Orji and Dr Okezie Victor Ikpeazu, all erstwhile strongmen of the beleaguered Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), have adopted the All Progressives Congress (APC) to challenge the ‘giant killer’, Otti, who had traversed the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) and APC before berthing in LP, on which platform he reclaimed the governorship victory denied him in 2015 under APGA.

Last month, when the Federal Court of Appeal handed him full control of the LP structure, alongside the recognition of the Senator Nenadi Usman-led interim National Working Committee, Otti reiterated his resolve not to join the party’s 2023 presidential candidate, Mr Peter Obi, in defecting to the opposition coalition African Democratic Congress (ADC) ahead of next year’s general election.

Relishing his control of the platform, the Abia State governor stated that he did not join LP because of Obi, recalling that he had contested the governorship election twice, albeit unsuccessfully.

However, beneath that confidence lies the governor’s apparent strategy to steer LP along a path similar to that adopted by his Anambra State counterpart, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, who ‘used’ APGA to secure a second term.

At the height of efforts to build Southern solidarity within the APC, the Abia State governor was said to have rebuffed attempts to persuade him to defect, unlike his Enugu State counterpart, Mr Peter Mbah, whom President Bola Tinubu had commended for his private sector experience in governance.

Specifically, on January 4, 2025, while commissioning legacy projects completed by the Enugu State government, President Tinubu described both Mbah and Otti as his personal friends, acknowledging that they belonged to opposition parties. Eight months later, Mbah defected to the APC, fuelling expectations that Otti would follow suit within weeks.

Various APC stakeholders from Abia, including the South-East representative on the Governing Board of the North East Development Commission (NEDC), Rep Sam Onuigbo; former Senate Chief Whip, Orji Kalu; and the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Dr Benjamin Kalu, visited Otti in efforts to woo him to the ruling party.

However, insisting on resolving the LP leadership crisis, pitting former national chairman Julius Abure, whose tenure had expired, against the National Caretaker Committee set up by Obi, Otti and other party leaders, the Abia governor remained resolute.

Angered by Otti’s refusal, the Deputy Speaker, Kalu, declared his determination to ensure that the APC produces the next governor of Abia State in the 2027 poll. Other APC stakeholders, apparently incensed by the LP governor’s stance, also resolved to present a united front against him.

For instance, former Senate Chief Whip, Orji Kalu interpreted Otti’s refusal to join the APC as a sign that party stakeholders in Abia had failed in their pledge to President Tinubu to deliver the state to the ruling party.

Consequently, the former governor convened a meeting of Otti’s predecessors, including Theodore Orji and Ambassador-designate to Spain, Dr Ikpeazu. At the end of the meeting, the trio criticised the incumbent’s governance style, alleging that Otti had been repainting roads constructed during previous administrations to claim credit.

Nonetheless, with technical and administrative support from his cousin, the Minister of Works, David Umahi, Otti has undertaken the construction of key federal roads, particularly the controversial Umuahia–Ikwuano–Ikot-Ekpene Trunk A road, boosting his infrastructure profile.

Both the process and execution status of the road have become a source of political contention between the Abia State Government and APC leaders. The state government explained that its intervention was necessary to curb accidents caused by the road’s dilapidated condition.

However, APC leaders, particularly former lawmaker representing Ikwuano-Umuahia North and Umuahia South Federal Constituency, Sam Ifeanyi Onuigbo, refuted claims that the road had been abandoned by successive APC-led Federal Governments.

At the height of the controversy, a Federal Ministry of Works official, Chidi Uwaeziozi, clarified the status of the Umuahia–Ikwuano–Ikot Ekpene Highway.

Uwaeziozi stated that the project remained under execution by the Federal Government, contrary to the Abia State Government’s claim of takeover, noting that the contract had been restructured into two phases to accelerate completion.

The Controller of Works said: “Phase One, which remains under the Federal Government, is still being handled by Hartland Construction Company and is nearing completion. About 1.5 kilometres remain.

“The contractor is legally obliged to complete the remaining section. Rehabilitation of this critical interstate road predates the current administration and dates back to federal legislative intervention in 2016.

“The project was facilitated through the efforts of former lawmaker Sam Onuigbo, whose intervention led to the commencement of rehabilitation works on the long-neglected highway.”

Perhaps concerned that the clarification could affect its infrastructure rating, the Abia State Government, through the Chief Press Secretary, Ukoha Njoku Ukoha, released a list of 112 projects undertaken since May 29, 2023.

The government described the projects as its response to persistent criticisms from the opposition APC.

Of the 112 projects, 76 have been completed, while 36 are at various stages of completion.
Otti versus Kalu’s squads.

WITH indications that the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Dr Benjamin Okezie Kalu, is likely to fly the APC flag in the February 6, 2027, governorship election, the contest is taking shape.

In the unfolding rivalry between LP and APC, both camps appear aligned in their support for President Tinubu’s anticipated re-election bid. Otti recently stated that he does not oppose Tinubu’s second-term ambition, while also pursuing his own re-election.

However, the divide lies in how voters will align in the National Assembly and governorship elections. While the APC may field candidates such as Senator Orji Uzor Kalu and Sir Sam Onuigbo, Otti’s camp is backed by Dr David Ogba Onuoha-Bourdex, who previously challenged the PDP in 2015.

Ahead of the January 16 National Assembly elections, LP supporters believe Onuoha-Bourdex, founder of Bourdex Telecoms, could defeat Orji Kalu in the Abia North senatorial race.

Underscoring the contest’s intensity, both Onuoha-Bourdex and Kalu have engaged in a war of words.

Referencing the disputed 2015 elections, Onuoha-Bourdex stated on Facebook that history “does not bend to noise, propaganda or revisionism.”

“This statement reflects what many have long known but said in whispers. When Chief Orji Uzor Kalu became governor, he was not the financial giant he now claims. Some of us were active participants at the time.

“I speak from experience. We supported, contributed and stood firm when structures were still being built. When narratives are rewritten, one must ask, who is deceiving whom?”

The Abiriba-born businessman argued that the contrast between Otti’s administration and Kalu’s tenure is “as clear as daylight and darkness.”

“We are no longer in an era where roads existed only in speeches while citizens navigated death traps. Governance today is visible, measurable and people-centred.”
He added that 2027 would be “a contest of value, not volume,” where voters would demand performance over rhetoric.

In response, the APC, through its state chairman, Chijioke Chukwu, criticised the LP government, arguing that it has failed to justify the increase in revenue inflows.

Speaking during Rep Sam Onuigbo’s declaration for the Abia Central senatorial race, Chukwu said: “Abia remains the only state where the Government House operates from a private residence.

“It is an insult to the people and to the President. Yet, people claim the governor has performed well. Is there any state where workers are still owed salaries?”

Comparing Otti’s administration with that of Ikpeazu, he added: “Under Ikpeazu, about 70 per cent of states owed salaries. His monthly revenue averaged between N3 billion and N4.2 billion, with a wage bill of N2.8 billion.

“Today, Abia’s quarterly revenue averages N60 billion, while salaries are about N9 billion. That means only 15 per cent goes to wages, leaving 75 per cent for development. If less than 30 per cent of that is used for capital projects, can one say performance is satisfactory?”