Jonathan: What Nigerian Politicians Can Learn from Governor Otti

Former President Goodluck Jonathan has called on leaders across Nigeria to take a cue from what the Governor of Abia State, Alex Otti, is doing in the state.

Jonathan, who is also an alumnus of the University of Port Harcourt, made the call on Saturday, during the University of Port Harcourt’s Alumni, 1980s Reunion Dinner and Award ceremony in Umuahia, the Abia State Capital, with the theme, “Celebrating Excellence and Service to Humanity.”

The former President, who was the Special Guest of Honour at the event, was represented by Dr. Godknows Igali.

The former President said Otti’s presence in Abia State shows his intentionality in leadership, adding that he came prepared.

He said, “Before, in Abia State, once they say Aba made, people would laugh, but today, people are scrambling for Aba made.

“Let governance in Nigeria take a cue from what you are doing in Abia State; the intentionality of leadership – the leadership that was voted to make a change. Nigerian leaders should strive to make a change as Governor Alex Otti is making in Abia State.”

Earlier in his opening remarks, Igali, who doubled as the chairman of the event, commended the Alumni of UNIPORT for their impact on Nigeria’s political and socio-economic development, stating that UNIPORT is the only institution in Nigeria that has produced six governors and a Vice President in Jonathan, who later became the President.

This came a day after ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo did the same.

Recall that on Friday, April 11, Obasanjo, while inaugurating the 46.36km Umuahia—Uzuakoli—Akara—Alayi—Abiriba Road reconstructed by Otti, described him as an example of a good leader.

He noted that what the governor is doing in Abia State presently is proof that whatever is bad in the country today can be made good tomorrow.

In a response, Otti thanked the members of the UNIPORT 80s Alumni for choosing Umuhia for the reunion12 years after they had their first meeting, which was held in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, during the time of Rotimi Amaechi as the Governor of Rivers State.

He said that they should not wait that long again to meet, noting that the Governor of Bayelsa State, Sen. Douye Diri, would be willing to receive them next year, being also one of them.

He encouraged his fellow Alumni to join the political space, saying that it is not as bad as they thought, which has discouraged many of them from joining. He maintained that the political space allows you to impact the larger society positively than the corporate world.

He informed his guests that when next they visit, they would have the time to visit some of the 200 Primary Health Centres and 221 schools, selected across the 184 wards of the State, currently under reconstruction, renovation, upgrading, remodeling, and retrofitting. Otti declared that the allocation of 20% and 15% of the annual budget of his administration to the education and health sectors, respectively, totaling 35%, was non-negotiable.

The reunion programme featured a tour of some of the ongoing projects being executed by Otti’s administration.

After touring a few of the projects as their time permitted, the 1980s Alumni of UNIPORT applauded Otti for the massive facelift that he has given Abia State in less than two years in office, stating that they were proud of him.

Also speaking, the Vice-Chancellor of UNIPORT, Prof. Owunari Georgewill, commended Otti for his giant strides in Abia State, including the significant improvement in the power sector, road infrastructure, waste management, and so on.

He also commended the governor for his significant interventions in UNIPORT, which includes, building the faculty of Social Sciences, among others.

He used the opportunity to seek more interventions from Otti and other alumni of UNIPORT, as the institution has over 40,000 students and 5000 staff, and he said that providing accommodation for them has become a major problem.

The Chairman of the steering committee of UNIPORT 80s Reunion, Mr. Benjamin Owuapu Willie, said that UNIPORT 80s Reunion is “a child of compassion,” which came into existence following the loss of one of their brightest stars, Mr. Eze Alomefuna, a first-class graduate of economics, popularly known as RICO, in 2019.