Otti Blasts Ex-Commissioner Over Criticism Of schools’ Rehabilitation

Abia State Governor, Dr. Alex Otti, has blasted a former Commissioner for Information in the state, Eze Chikamnayo, for criticising his government’s spending in retrofitting public schools in the state.

Chikamnayo, who has virtually served in all administrations in the state as Commissioner since 1999, was quoted to have questioned Governor Otti’s government spending of N14.43b in rehabilitating public schools in the state.

Slamming the former Commissioner in Umuahia while addressing newsmen at the weekend, Otti said his government spent about N14.43 billion on retrofitting 61 public schools as at June 2025, in line with his transformational agenda in the education sector.

He accused Chikamnayo of dabbling into issues he does not understand, adding that his government has fellows of accountants who contribute to the accountability and transparency of the administration.

“There is something called State S.F.A.S. It is a programme by the World Bank which requires states to publish their budget performance. What is a budget? A budget is an estimate. So these things are very simple.

“But at the end of the day, what is important is what is the cash that has been spent.

“So if you go to the website of Abia State Government, the audited financial statement for December 31, 2024, states exactly how much of that N14.43b was spent.

“So if you want to take on this government, it should not come from numbers, particularly for a man who doesn’t understand numbers,” Gov. Otti stated.

He said he knew the person who sponsored the former Commissioner to hold a press conference against his government, saying it was unfortunate the sponsor hired the wrong person, a man he said was without credibility to carry out the hatchet man’s job.

The Governor made it clear to the former Commissioner for Information that his government would neither hire him nor call him for negotiations.

“So, to Eze Chikamnayo, I have a message for him. This is a different government. And my response to his request that came at the beginning of this administration remains the same.

“The person he sent to me, oh, he wants to be part of this government, I told him no. And the answer is no. So we have followed him. He has been part of every government since 1999. In 2007, he started blackmailing the governor at that time and they called him and gave him jobs.

“So, if he likes, let him hang on the transformer. This government would not call him…”

So he said I should do a video. I checked the records and I found out about five or six schools are being done in Umunneochi as we speak. He should come home and see them, if he is not afraid of coming home.

“I should not do a video. Why should I do a video and prove to him that I am working in his local government? No, he should come. I should not stay in Abuja.

“And if he comes, please somebody should also tell him not to forget to also visit the university where he claimed he read law. I am also working there. And to the people that sent him, first of all, they sent the wrong person.”

Otti said if anybody else should criticize his government, it should not be Chikamnayo who demands accountability from his government for money allocated to renovate public schools in the state.