Abia State Governor Alex Otti has announced that 20 electric buses will be introduced into the state’s transport system within the next two months, revealing that his administration completed the Port Harcourt Road reconstruction for $22 million, significantly less than the $29 million spent by the previous government without yielding results
Abia State Governor, Alex Otti, has announced ambitious plans to revolutionise the state’s public transport system with the introduction of 20 electric buses within the next two months.
This revelation came during a thanksgiving carnival organised by the Aba community at Umuagbai Secondary School, Port Harcourt Road, celebrating the successful reconstruction of the long-abandoned road.
Governor Otti informed the appreciative crowd that bus terminals are currently under construction across the state to support the new transport system.
“In the next two months, not more than two months, our transport system will start working,” he declared. “We have paid for the 20 electric buses.
So, they are bringing the buses to carry you and me, and the buses will be beautiful.” He emphasised the modern nature of the buses, stating, “The only difference is that these buses will not use petrol.
It will not use diesel. It will not use gasoline. They will be electric buses.”
During his address, Governor Otti also used the occasion to highlight his administration’s fiscal prudence in completing the Port Harcourt Road, a project abandoned for over three decades.
He contrasted his government’s expenditure with that of the immediate-past administration, revealing a stark difference in cost and outcome.
“In 2017, they awarded this Port Harcourt Road. The amount at that time was N9.8bn and they paid out the entire money. But the road was not done,” Governor Otti recounted.
In 2025, $22m was spent and a standard road is done and delivered for use.
He then provided a detailed financial breakdown to counter “noisy opposition” criticisms regarding the current project cost. “In 2025, the road cost N36.5bn, they started making noise.
So, I said, since you people understand mathematics, the average exchange rate in 2017 was N333 to a Dollar. Now, if you apply that, the N9.8bn was actually $29m (equivalent).”
He continued, illustrating his government’s efficiency: “In 2025, at the average exchange rate of N1,600, N36.5bn is actually $22.8m equivalent.
So, let us do the mathematics. $29m and $22m, which is higher? The real issue is that in 2017, $29m was spent, and no road was done. In 2025, $22m was spent and a standard road is done and delivered for use.”
The Governor expressed gratitude to the Aba people for their consistent support since his first gubernatorial contest in 2015.
In a notable gesture, he rewarded a Keke (tricycle) driver in Aba with N1.4 million for his honesty in returning N2.4 million forgotten by a passenger.
Senator Darlington Nwokocha and the Speaker of the Abia State House of Assembly, Emmanuel Emeruwa, both commended Governor Otti’s achievements in Aba and the state, describing them as a testament to focused leadership.
Representatives of the Aba business community and the Aba Landlord’s Association, including Chief David Onuoha, Chief Leo Okoye, Chief Alphonsus Odigbo, and carnival convener Chief Onyeka Udeajah, lauded the governor, particularly highlighting the completed Port Harcourt Road as a landmark achievement.
Fresh concerns have emerged over compliance with a court order issued by the High Court of Kano State on April 8, 2026, restraining key parties—including the Honourable Minister of Education, the Kano State Ministry of Land and Physical Planning, the Kano State Urban Development Authority, and Pluck Global Company Limited—from further actions pending the determination of the matter before the court.
Findings indicate that while all parties—except the concessionaire, Pluck Global Company Limited—were duly served within two days of the order, significant challenges were encountered in effecting service on the company, raising troubling questions about its corporate traceability and regulatory vetting.
A review of the company’s records filed with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) revealed addresses that could not be verified as functional business locations. Notably, documentation submitted to Federal Government College (FGC), Kano, dated June 20, 2024, listed two addresses: 8B, Lalupon Street, off Keffi Street, off Awolowo Road, Ikoyi, Lagos, as its head office, and 3 Bargery Road, Bompai, Kano, as its branch office.
However, a physical visit to the Ikoyi address revealed that the entire property is occupied by a company identified as Golden Alchemy, whose staff категорically denied any knowledge of, or shared occupancy with, Pluck Global Company Limited.
Efforts to trace the Kano address yielded even more unsettling findings. The location—a locked duplex—showed no visible signs of commercial activity. Neighbours, while reluctant to speak on record, alluded to irregular movements at odd hours, casting further doubt on the legitimacy of the premises as a corporate office.
In a twist, after multiple attempts to establish contact, an individual purportedly representing the company surfaced in Kano and agreed to receive and acknowledge the court order on April 11, 2026, at approximately 6:00 pm. Curiously, the Ikoyi address—already discredited—was again listed as the company’s official address in the acknowledgment.
These developments raise critical questions regarding due diligence and Know Your Customer (KYC) protocols on the part of the Federal Ministry of Education. They also cast a spotlight on the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC), should a concession agreement indeed have been executed with the company. Stakeholders say it would be instructive to review the addresses contained in all official correspondences and contractual documents linked to the transaction.
Meanwhile, a visit to the premises of Federal Government College, Kano, revealed ongoing construction activity, with workers observed excavating foundations. When approached, the workers declined to disclose the authority under which they were operating—despite the subsistence of a court order restraining further action.
Notably, a previously installed project billboard bearing the insignia of the school authorities and the Federal Ministry of Education had been removed. Sources within the institution suggest that the directive for its removal may have emanated from the Ministry following receipt of the court order.
The unfolding situation presents a complex mix of legal, regulatory, and accountability issues—raising the spectre of possible non-compliance with judicial directives, as well as deeper concerns about transparency in public-private concession arrangements.
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