By Enyinnaya Appolos

Governor Alex Otti, it is shamelessly petty and utterly disappointing, frankly beneath the dignity of your office, that your only response to a grave and legitimate question of financial accountability was to attack the messenger.

Chief Eze Chikamnayo, a former Abia State Commissioner for Information and a chieftain of the APC, led a group that addressed a press conference in Abuja, demanding that you account for N54 billion allegedly spent on the renovation of just 51 schools in the state. Instead of addressing this critical matter head-on, you chose to tell Abians that Chikamnayo had once “begged” to be part of your administration.

What a diversionary stunt! What a brazen attempt at distraction! Mr. Governor, this is not about who sought political appointments from you. This is about Abia’s money, money that, according to your own published figures, was spent under your watch. You cannot wave this matter away with personal jabs. You cannot run from this question.

Chikamnayo is not the first Abian to demand answers. The PDP in Abia has also publicly questioned this same expenditure, alongside other financial concerns. Other concerned citizens have echoed these demands. Whether or not Chikamnayo ever sought to serve in your government is completely irrelevant. Every Abian has the constitutional right to demand transparency on how public funds are used. Resorting to character assassination as a shield only deepens suspicion of malfeasance, mismanagement, and possible misappropriation in your administration.

And then, you said this: “Chikamnayo does not have integrity. He sent someone to me saying he wanted to be part of my government, and I said no. He wants to be in every government. He doesn’t have credibility.”

Governor Otti, how petty can you be? To think you made this statement yourself, during an official media chat, truly suggests that you are more concerned with personal grudges than with answering serious questions of governance. Such a response does not reflect the transparency and accountability you promised Abians before they entrusted you with the state’s resources. The truth is, you were overrated.

If you truly have integrity, and you campaigned on that claim, then prove it by answering the only question that matters: Where is Abia’s N54 billion? Where is the money you claim was used to renovate just 51 schools? We are not interested in who sits in your cabinet. We are asking how public funds were spent.

Let me remind you, Governor Otti: the State Fiscal Transparency, Accountability, and Sustainability (SFTAS) 2024 report, not hearsay, not partisan propaganda, clearly states that N54.07 billion was spent on the “Rehabilitation of Public Schools” in Abia. Are you denying this? Are you disputing the figures your own administration reported?

This is not going away. You may dodge now, but sooner or later, you will have to account for every kobo. Abians deserve more than soundbites. They deserve facts, receipts, and transparency.

And until you provide that, the question will remain, loud, persistent, and unavoidable: Governor Alex Otti, where is Abia’s N54 billion, and where are the 51 schools you say you renovated with it?