Governor Alex Otti of Abia State has shared why his administration held off on renovating the Government House in Umuahia until now. According to him, the needs of the people had to come first.
Though the reconstruction of the governor’s office and residence has now kicked off, Otti explained that when his team took office, their focus was on urgent issues like workers’ salaries, healthcare, education, and infrastructure.
“Leadership is about putting people first,” he said. “At the start, we had to ask ourselves—what matters most right now? Everything seemed important, but we had to make tough choices.”
He emphasized that fixing up government buildings couldn’t take precedence over making basic education free, paying civil servants, or rehabilitating critical roads and public offices. “This place wasn’t more important than the healthcare centers or schools,” he noted.
Now that some of the major issues have been addressed, the state is turning its attention to upgrading the seat of government. Work has already begun, starting with the Michael Okpara Auditorium, which Otti says should be completed by the end of June.
For him, the delay wasn’t neglect—it was strategy. And now that the groundwork has been laid, the administration is ready to improve its own workspace, without losing sight of the people it serves.
