Abia State Governor Alex Otti has told a federal government-organized media inspection team visiting the state that his administration welcomed external scrutiny of its record rather than treating it as a threat, saying that genuine progress was visible and verifiable and that governments which feared independent assessment of their performance typically had reasons to do so.
Represented by his deputy Ikechukwu Emetu at a reception in Umuahia, Otti told the Renewed Hope Projects Media Tour team to go beyond physical inspection of infrastructure projects to engage freely with residents, visit communities, and interact directly with stakeholders about the changes they had or had not experienced under his administration.
He said his government had over three years maintained a commitment to transparent governance, infrastructure development, improved security, healthcare and education revitalization, business environment improvement, and economic growth, and that the evidence of those commitments was visible across the state for any observer willing to assess it objectively. He urged the media team to provide context, balance, and accuracy in their reporting rather than limiting themselves to project inspection visits.
Media Tour leader Chief Bayo Onanuga praised the working relationship between the federal and state governments and said President Tinubu’s economic reforms had increased the resources available to states for development projects, creating a foundation for the kind of collaborative delivery the tour was documenting across the country.
