The phrase “Abia is not for sale; we will not return to Egypt” has recently been echoed loudly by supporters and beneficiaries of the present Abia State administration. As 2027 approaches, these voices have grown more defensive, insisting that Governor Alex Otti must not be voted out.
However, in the last few weeks, a new reality has begun to confront Abians, one that social media hype can no longer conceal. Many residents who returned home during the festive period confirmed what the government’s online cheerleaders desperately tried to mask: Abia has been largely governed by media validation rather than measurable development.
Public schools across the state remain in deplorable condition, despite claims that ₦82 billion has been expended on so-called “smart schools.” The much-celebrated Enyimba Hotel remains, by every objective standard, an audio project including over #60 spent in repainting of old Primary Health Centers PHC. These realities have forced even neutral observers to begin asking hard questions.
Yet, amid this awakening, one voice stands out for its sheer audacity, Ginger Onwusibe, the member representing Isiala Ngwa North and South in the House of Representatives, who has repeatedly described Abia’s past administrations as “Egypt.”
This is where credibility collapses.
Ginger Onwusibe has no moral or historical standing to make such a declaration. Since the return of democracy in 1999, he has done little outside government. From being a councillor in 1999 to local government chairman (three different times) to the State House of Assembly, and now the National Assembly, his entire adult life has revolved around public office. He only exited the Abia political structure briefly after losing party primaries, before conveniently re-emerging through the much-denied Obi wave—the same wave his political camp now disowns.
What moral right does a man who served successive administrations from 1999 till date now label them “Egypt”? If anything, Ginger Onwusibe was a chief servant of the Pharaohs, he now condemns.
Records exist verifiable records of payments routed through him, including funds allegedly drawn from the Ministry of Sports, reportedly running into ₦10 million monthly during the Ikpeazu administration. These funds did not translate into salary payments, pensions, or sustainable grassroots development. Instead, Abia resources were allegedly used to build and maintain political structures such as Otawike, which today lies in ruins, not because of reform, but because the current Governor refuses to fund parallel political groups outside Abia Arise.
More telling is the quiet truth insiders know well: Ginger Onwusibe has, in private, criticized the fraud, manipulation, and governance inconsistencies within the present administration, criticisms he lacks the courage to voice publicly.
National Union of Teacher (NUT) last week issued warning strike notices over unpaid arrears. Pensioners are reportedly being forced to forfeit parts of their gratuities. Abia remains one of the few states still publicly struggling with salaries and pensions, despite reportedly generating over ₦43 billion monthly. These are not inherited problems, they are current failures. A manipulative Government will not like Nigerians to know the level of mismanagement in Abia State
With over ₦1.4 trillion received in 32 months, can Ginger Onwusibe point to a single major road, hospital, water project, or transformative infrastructure completed by the Otti administration in his constituency? Can he identify one virgin project initiated and completed in his own local government?
The General Hospital at Okpuala Ngwa, located within his constituency, has been abandoned to decay. Can Ginger confidently send his security aides there today for medicare?
Even basic rural electrification has been neglected, villages around Umuehim( Governor’s adopted village )remain in darkness, while electricity is conveniently secured elsewhere for Governor’s use only .Is this the “New Abia” citizens are expected to applaud?
Abians are no longer naïve. Anyone who actively participated in the governance of Abia for 24 years has no moral authority to denounce those same years, including the current Governor who once oversaw Abia funds as an Executive Director at First Bank and later as MD of Diamond Bank, where state funds were domiciled under his watch.
What Abians demand today is verifiable evidence, not slogans. Development should be tangible, like a bank with Signature of growing from zero to 22 branches in 35 months, not theoretical.
Alex Otti is not the best Abia can offer, even if we concede that the past was imperfect. And characters like Ginger Onwusibe longstanding fixtures of Abia’s political establishment and serial defectors should exercise restraint when history is being discussed. He is not an observer; he is an integral part of that history. 1999 till date .
The masquerade has been unveiled.
2027 will not be won with sentiment, recycled slogans, or selective amnesia. Even Peter Obi has been discarded by those he helped into power.
The shock is coming. And this time, Abians are watching closely.
Boniface Okoro
A public commentator writes from Umuahia.
11/01/26
