The entire social space and mainstream media was agog with encomium at yesterday’s 59th birthday celebration of His Excellency,  Dr. Alex Chioma Otti, the executive governor of Abia State. The rumors of the birthday were sent around the state on Saturday eve to the D-Day, even without official notice. By evening on the 17th of February, the word of his birth was literally on everyone’s slips.

That the people of Abia could amid unprecedented hardships across the country find the time to soliloquize Dr. Alex Otti’s birthday was in itself phenomenal. There is no better litmus measure of a leader who is appreciated and loved by his people. Alex Otti has managed to hold the people’s sentiments in his grip by pursuing all the right policies and demonstrating performance that had hitherto been a scarce commodity in God’s own State.

Alex Otti is pursuing the most ambitious infrastructure rejuvenation of all the comity of the 36 states of Nigeria by today’s rankings. The over N400 Billion infrastructure catholicon for Abia state expressed in this year’s budget is a statement of unrivaled performance across the states of the federation. He succeeded in pulling Abia out of the delirium of bad news of yesteryear governments to a New Abia of infrastructure pontification.

The new narratives in Abia today include 67km Umuahia Ohafia highway reconstruction, an almost completed 3kms Umuahia approach from Abia Tower which will continue to Onuimo covering additional 5kms, a 6kms Port Harcourt Road Aba with channelization project by Julius Berger, Ozu Abam to Ndi Oji to Okobo to Amuvi Arochukwu state highway project, Aba township urban roads reconstruction, rehabilitation and commissioning etcetera, Umuahia Urban renewal project, Umuahia zero potholes program, Commissioning of 180 Megawatts of Geometric independent power project for Aba, the Owaza industrial clusters cum complexes.

The list of Alex Otti’s new narratives and the changing Abia of our dreams seem endless. I have also been told of a coming bridge overpass that will take traffic from Okpara Square straight to the Ikot Ekpene road axis. This will practically redefine the city road infrastructure and give us a new lease of life. Another bridge overpass is being contemplated at Abia Tower crossing, overflying the Enugu Port Harcourt federal highway to take traffic along Owerri Mbaise road.

The second stanza of Alex Otti’s infrastructure revolution in God’s own State would be to join the Owerri Umuahia road reconstruction presently ongoing and coming from Owerri, join the Ikot Ekpene road reconstruction at our boundary with Akwaibom, connect the Ohafia Arochukwu federal highway to Ikot Ekpene through Amuvi. By the time these infrastructures are in place in another two years, Aba, Umuahia, and Ohafia will become the destination of trade, commerce, and industrialization.

By then, Alex Otti would have delivered on his campaign promises to open Abia state to job creation, development, and prosperity. We are already seeing through Dr. Alex Otti’s deft movements that creating a New Abia of a transformed destination is not rocket science. It is doable and he’s doing it.

Happy Birthday Dr. Alex Chioma Otti. You deserve all the encomium.

Dr. Engr Odo Ijere.