COMPLETING THE RESTORATION CYCLE

Being the Text of an Address Presented by Governor Alex C. Otti, OFR, at the flag-off of the Reconstruction of Uratta and Old Express Roads on Wednesday, October 21, 2026, in Aba
Protocol

1. “Weep no more, help is on the way,” was the central message of our campaign in 2023. This was no ordinary political sound bite; it was said and written from a place of deep conviction, certain that we were closer to our destination at the time than we were at the beginning. Our journey has its foundation in an unshakable faith — the unyielding belief that the infinite wisdom of the Creator will ultimately triumph. In moments of disappointment, frustration, and anxiety, we found courage in the knowledge that our mission was divine; therefore, we refused to give up. Far from the trappings of power and ego of occupying a high office, our motivation came firmly from the understanding that millions of you, hardworking men and women of different ethnic, religious and cultural backgrounds, had committed their individual faith and resources to this movement; how then would history remember us if we had left our people in the lurch?
2. What could have happened to Port Harcourt Road, Ohanku, Obohia and several other roads that have now been restored, after decades of abandonment? Beyond the roads, how about the restoration of the livelihood of thousands of people running their businesses or living along those corridors? How about the schools, the health facilities, the restoration of sanity on our streets, the transparent recruitment of more than 10, 000 young men and women to support service delivery in the education and health sectors? Shall we forget the retirees, health workers, teachers and their colleagues in the civil service, or perhaps lecturers in higher institutions and the restoration of order in the schedule of payment? The message of this afternoon is resilience; it flows directly from our experience as we journeyed through the wilderness of uncertainty and into the responsibility of turning things around.
3. Today, we have gathered at the intersection of 2 major roads that embody the ruins of yesteryear. Today’s ceremony is both symbolic and sobering. Symbolic because the projects we have assembled to witness their flag-off, the reconstruction of the 3.1-kilometre Uratta Road and the 3.95-kilometre Old Express Road, represent the last frontier in the first stage of the greater Aba Road infrastructure restoration outline. When these projects are completed and commissioned in about 24 months or less, we can formally declare an end to the nightmare of the last two and a half decades. Beyond the symbolism of this event, there is also something sobering about the pains of the past: the wasted opportunities, the losses, and the catastrophic damage to the social interaction of the population. It was painful to watch several business leaders abandon what they had built through the years in Aba to move to other places as the deterioration endured. The exit of these entrepreneurs created gnawing gaps in the local economy as thousands lost their jobs, customers took their patronage elsewhere, and, as expected, the reputation of Aba as the regional engine of commerce and industry slipped away. The failure of the city’s infrastructure landscape, beyond the tragic wreck of its economy, also opened the floodgate of criminality as wicked individuals and gangs found an opportunity to heap more misery on innocent men and women through armed robbery, kidnapping and other expressions of violence.
4. On assumption of office in 2023, we sent a direct message of intent to rebuild and restore the old glory of our land. Our journey is only just beginning, but on the strength of the testimonies shared by several stakeholders who spoke before now, it is evident that we have crossed the Rubicon; the phoenix has risen; Aba, our beloved Enyimba City, is back. The assurance I want to leave with us this afternoon is that it can only get better; as you already know, any project we flag off is as good as completed, so you can take it for granted that the 25-year nightmare you faced in Uratta and Old Express is now over; never again will you have those ugly experiences that defined our past.
5. Recall that those who came before us made several attempts to fix these roads, all to no avail. This time, the story is different, as the projects shall be completed and delivered on schedule. It may especially interest us to know that the resources required to finance every phase of the project had long been secured,d so there will be no delays. The engineers and the heavy-duty equipment you find here moved ahead of us and will remain until the projects are satisfactorily delivered. The 24-month completion timeline may look stretched, but rest assured that improvements in the condition of the roads will start immediately. The contractor, CCECC, has a long record of success in the execution of major infrastructure projects and has delivered on several projects for us in the state, so I am convinced that this will be no exception. It is expected that they will not only give these projects their engineering best, but also support the economy through targeted recruitment and patronage of local businesses.
6. Old Express and Uratta Roads belong to the basket of programmes contained in the Abia State Integrated Infrastructure Development Project (ABSIID), which we launched in July 2025. ABSIID is a joint, long-term development venture involving the State Government, the Federal Government, the African Development Bank (AfDB, the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB), and the Canadian Climate Fund (CCF). As I said at the project launch 15 months ago, the initial round of efforts to get ABSIID off the ground predates the coming of our administration; it is, however, instructive that it took our coming on board to finally unlock the funds. I would like to specially commend the AfDB management, the Federal Government, represented by Dr. Adebola Bejide-Akande, and other partners for their genuine support for the take-off of these projects.
7. The construction works that will happen on this corridor in the months ahead will come with certain inconveniences, especially for residents and businesses. The good thing, however, is that we have since moved ahead of the curve to develop robust public safety and stakeholder engagement models. The project team has been directed to open channels of regular interaction with different stakeholder groups. The aim is to quickly address legitimate concerns as they arise; we appreciate that some of the steps that may be taken to effectively execute these jobs may be difficult, but you can take it for granted that the best international practices with respect to civil construction and resettlement protocols shall be adopted; no half measures will be tolerated. I would like to directly invite every stakeholder group, particularly the residents, landlords and business owners, to extend their full cooperation to the contractor and the project team.
8. Let me specially thank the ABSIID team in the State for the hard work that got us to this point. As we say often, the reward for good work is more work, so we invite you to double your efforts as construction activities pick up — never take your eyes off the ball. Do not hesitate to let us know if there are areas where our intervention may be required to achieve better results.
9. To our people, ndi Aba, the help that was promised has come, the agonies of old are gone, and the dawn of a new era is upon us. It is, however, important that we take nothing for granted; a certain measure of vigilance is required if we wish to remain on the trajectory of accelerated progress. Remember to pay your taxes as soon as they fall due and report suspicious activities in your neighbourhood to the nearest security agency. Let us therefore, as one people bound by a common heritage, stay united in the conviction that the glory of this land is fast being restored and will be in our lifetime. Thankfully, help is now here indeed.
10. Thank you for listening, and may God bless you.