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Otti’s govt, now a confused bunch – PDP *Says things falling apart
Unless the Abia State Government ends the gale of unrestrained sacking of top officials trained at huge costs to the state, and recalls those already shooed out, so long would it descend more into the morass of confusion, such as it has currently found itself, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has warned.
The main opposition in the state which lost power to the Labour Party (LP), after 24 years in the saddle, accused the government of Alex Otti, of incessant sacking of the good hands it met on ground, said this has resulted in a state of flux, accentuated by bad policies and inexperience of those it has recruited to work with.
Abraham Amah, Vice Chairman of the Abia chapter, of the party, while noting that the government had been groping in the dark and running in confusion like headless chicken, said this has accounted for its frenzied activities as seen in the further sacking of its appointees in the past two weeks, adding that running helter-skelter to redeem itself would come to naught without doing the right thing.
The party, which claimed to have burst the pipe of propaganda, the government had since embraced as its major working tool, maintained that its well-oiled media machinery, would not relent in puncturing all the lies being fed to the people of the state by painting the right picture of the state of affairs.
Citing the sacking of Kazie Uko, Chief Press Secretary to the Governor and Ngozi Okoronkwo, the Commissioner for Health, the party said, the government had introduced an air of uncertainty into its operations as nobody, was now no longer sure where and on whom the axe would fall next.
Informing that the PDP had it on good authority that many of the commissioners and other aides of the governor, were now considering throwing in the towel rather than being disgraced out of office were the fate of their former colleagues, Amah, who is also the spokesman of the PDP, said: “A fortnight ago, Alex Otti suspended the Commissioner for Health, Ngozi Okoronkwo, on allegations of massive corruption in the Ministry and placed her under investigation.
“When the PDP released a statement claiming the suspension was more than meets the eye, as she was not the only one that has exhibited many excesses in the Alex Otti team, his Commissioner for Information, Okey Kanu, overreached himself and bared open the mindset of Alex Otti and his methods to the public when he started their usual PDP-bashing press statement with a quote by the infamous Joseph Goebbels, Adolf Hitler’s chief propagandist who helped Hitler to slaughter over six million Jews.
“The condemnations from well-meaning Nigerians that trailed Okey Kanu’s infamous quote are yet to settle, and Abians now know the copybook of Alex Otti and his operatives and the reason why he has been dealing ruthlessly with Abians, particularly the state finances, pensioners, sacked workers, and unpaid workers, in Hitler-style methods that brought the Third Reich to an inglorious end.
“Last week, Alex Otti sacked his Chief Press Secretary, Kazie Uko, and replaced him with one Ukoha Njoku Ukoha. We had expected that Ukoha N. Ukoha would understand that his duty is to tell Abians and Nigerians how his principal has delivered on his campaign promises and showcase his good works, if there are any, beyond re-asphalting roads done by the previous administration.”
Amah, while describing as unfortunate the hurry of Ukoha to please his boss, instead of heeding good advice, noted that this had led him to make the same error of his predecessor as could be gleaned in “his first misstep in his first outing by continuing with the deja vu bashing of the PDP, which earned his principal the bad reputation he was called to come and clean up.
“Our sympathy lies with the new CPS Ukoha because his fall would be more calamitous than that of his predecessor since he has failed to learn that his job is not to profile the PDP wrongly. As the fire in the Alex Otti media and propaganda team raged, the axe fell on Mrs Joy Maduka, former Head of Service, whom Alex Otti bypassed due process and promoted ahead of her superiors, as she was summarily dismissed and asked to proceed on compulsory retirement.
“Having sacked all the senior directors and permanent secretaries who were trained with state resources prematurely and out of an alleged insensitive hatred for the PDP, Otti is currently allegedly grappling with a shortage of trained manpower with whom to govern without the daily missteps that put him and his government into ridicule.
“It was the same confusion and lack of direction that caused the governor’s Chief Security Officer, CSO, to summon civil servants who had not been verified to his office, in utter defiance of Abia State Civil Rule, CS Rule 04102, which empowers only the Civil Service Commission to exercise disciplinary control over Abia civil servants. Such autocratic disposition reflects the character of the governor, which his Information Commissioner and Chief Press Secretary unknowingly pushed out to the public by endorsing the Joseph Goebbels quote time after time, even when they knew Abians would not accept such infamy.
“Presently, Alex Otti’s house is falling apart, and we advise him to come down from his high horse, swallow his pride, and recall those he sacked ignominiously so that they will help him in the good governance and administration of Abia State before the roof finally collapses on his head. The people he sacked were not Okezie Ikpeazu loyalists, not PDP members, but Abia civil servants, who ordinarily must be loyal to any government in power, as they are loyal to him now. No time is too late to do the right thing.”
For those eager to speculate around the sudden death of Mary Habila, a female student who reportedly died inside one of the rooms in the country home of Dave Umahi, located in Uburu, Ebonyi State, there is a message from the Minister of Works – prepare to meet me in court.
The circumstances surrounding the mysterious death of the lady said to be a physiotherapist, has been a subject of intense speculation, since the news was broken on Saturday by SaharaReporters, a foremost Nigerian online newspaper.
Umahi, who had earlier stated how he was shocked by the incident, explained that the deceased was one of the two employees of the David Umahi Federal University of Health Sciences, Uburu, who had been on secondment to the Federal Ministry of Works as physiotherapists for the past three years until, before her unfortunate passing.
On Saturday, the Minister, had warned those he referred as “tale bearers” to apply caution, to enable the police conduct unfettered investigation into the matter, said to have occurred in his palatial home on June 27.
Conveying the position of his boss, Nwaze, Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity had said in a statement: “The attention of the Media Office of the Honourable Minister of Works, Senator Engr. David Nweze Umahi, has been drawn to a publication by a publication concerning the unfortunate passing of Miss Mary Habila in Uburu, Ebonyi State, alleging that the circumstances surrounding her death were shrouded in secrecy.
“The Honourable Minister received the news with profound shock and sadness and has since extended his heartfelt condolences to the bereaved family. For the avoidance of doubt, immediately the unfortunate incident occurred, appropriate emergency steps were taken. Medical personnel, including the Chief Medical Director of the David Umahi Federal University of Health Sciences, Uburu, were contacted without delay, while the Nigeria Police was promptly notified in accordance with the law.
“Following confirmation of Miss Habila’s passing, the Honourable Minister personally received her parents, conveyed his sincere condolences, and advised that an autopsy be conducted to scientifically establish the exact cause of death. At the time, however, the family declined the recommendation.
“It is important to clarify that Miss Mary Habila and Miss Anita Baski are employees of the David Umahi Federal University of Health Sciences, Uburu, who had been on secondment to the Federal Ministry of Works as physiotherapists for the past three years until the unfortunate passing of Miss Habila.
“Following the recent developments and in the interest of ensuring that the truth is established beyond doubt, the Honourable Minister has again reiterated his position that an autopsy must be conducted. He remains convinced that this is the most credible and responsible path to resolving all questions surrounding the unfortunate incident.
“We therefore urge the public to exercise restraint, refrain from speculation or premature conclusions, and allow the relevant authorities to carry out their responsibilities without interference. At this difficult time, our thoughts and prayers remain with the family of the deceased, and we pray that God grants them the strength to bear this irreparable loss.”
Upping the ante, Umahi, told reporters on Sunday during the inspection of work along the Ebonyi section of the Calabar–Ebonyi–Benue–Nasarawa–Abuja Super Highway, saying his lawyers had been fully briefed to pursue legal action against those responsible for circulating alleged defamatory reports against him.
The Minister, who was quoted as condemning what he described as defamatory activities by “evil people who claim to be freedom fighters”, insisting such conduct should never be tolerated, explained that there was nothing hidden about the incident.
Explaining that the family of the deceased was in the full picture of the incident, being the ones who forced open the doors to the room after becoming concerned and immediately sought medical assistance, he said the police was fully in the matter also.
Wondering what led to people insinuating coverup on a matter that was already with the police, he was quoted as saying: “The family broke the girl’s door, called doctors from DUFUTH, who took her to hospital and did everything to revive her, but failed. The family reported the matter to the police, so where is the secrecy?”
For the first time in six years, Nigeria has recorded a crude oil and condensate production increase of an average of 1,735,398 barrels per day in June 2026, after posting consecutive four-month growth.
The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), which made the announcement on Sunday, also indicated that the also met its production quota set by the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).
Against the backdrop of scenarios, where oil theft and other shortcomings in the industry, which seemed peculiar had previously hampered crude production, which at a point dipped to as low as 700,000bpd, the agency through Eniola Akinkuotu, its spokesman, stated that in June, crude oil production hit 1.56mbpd while 0.18mbpd of condensates was produced, meaning the figure exceeded the OPEC quota of 1.5 mbpd by four per cent.
In strict crude oil terms (excluding condensates), the 1.56 million daily average production Nigeria witnessed in June is the highest that Africa’s biggest oil producer has recorded since April 2020, thus representing a 74-month high, the statement added.
Stressing the feat, the agency said in June, the peak combined crude oil and condensate production was 1.89mbpd, reflecting Nigeria’s potential to reach two million barrels per day in the near term, but however, the lowest production was 1.57mbpd for the period in review.
The NUPRC, while also stating that the improved performance was primarily driven by stable production operations across most producing assets, said the absence of any major pipeline outages during the period under review, resulting in enhanced operational stability supported improved production uptime and crude evacuation efficiency.
If a marching order by President Bola Tinubu, is achieved, every Nigerian would be captured in in the national identity database before the end of 2026, going by the signals coming from the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC).
Abisoye Coker-Odusote, Director General and Chief Executive Officer, who gave the out the information, said the President, the directive formed part of the Federal Government’s efforts to establish a comprehensive national identity system capable of supporting effective governance, planning, and service delivery.
A guest on Sunday Politics, a public affairs programme on Channels Television, the NIMC boss, told her host: “The President has given us till the end of this year to make sure that we capture every single Nigerian.
“What we have done is we have partnered through the World Bank ID4D project with front-end partners. They are part of the digital identity ecosystem. These are private citizens that we’ve enabled and given jobs to enrol citizens on our behalf.”
Stressing that the mandate of the agency, she explained that the National Identification Number (NIN) remained a unique identifier, ensuring that every individual is registered only once, stating that presently, Nigeria’s actual population remains uncertain, with estimates ranging from 200 million to 250 million, making a comprehensive identity database essential for national planning.
She said: “That’s why it’s called a unique identifier, so that you’re only enrolled once. It is estimated that we’re 200 million. When we’re done enrolling, we will then know the actual numbers that we have. Some estimates say 230 million, while a few people say 250 million.
“Your identity is basically the foundation for effective governance and service delivery. How can you plan if you don’t know the total number of persons that you have? We have been mandated by Mr President to go down to the community levels to enrol every single Nigerian.”
Dismissing the possibility of double registration under different guises, she said the NIMC boss said the commission’s biometric verification system prevents such occurrences, adding that while the previous system could accept duplicate enrolments before detecting them later, the current process automatically identified and invalidated multiple registrations.
“The legacy system had no way of verifying at the front end whether you had already been captured. Once the record comes into the system, it flags it as a duplicate or that the person already exists in the database.
“You would only have one identity generated for you. The other record goes into a deduplication bucket where it is invalidated. One of the things that this Act has done is to cement our role in capturing biometrics. Private and public sector organisations will no longer capture biometrics independently. They will validate identities through API integration with NIMC.
“The telcos are already doing that with us. If you need a SIM card, they capture your facial biometrics, which are matched against our database in real time to confirm that you are who you claim to be. We’re using biometric validation to tighten security around identity confirmation.”
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