Former President of Nigeria, Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, GCFR, GCON, has called on leaders across Nigeria to take a cue from what the Governor of Abia State, His Excellency Dr. Alex Otti is doing in Abia State.
Dr. Jonathan, who is also an alumnus of the University of Port Harcourt, made the call on Saturday, 12th April, during the University of Port Harcourt’s (UNIPORT) Alumni, 80s Reunion Dinner and Award ceremony in Umuahia, the Abia State Capital with the theme: “Celebrating Excellence & Service to Humanity.”
The former President, who was the Special Guest of Honour at the event but was unavoidably absent as he was in far away Seoul, South Korea, where he was presented with the 2025 Sunhak Peace Prize award, was represented by H.E. Amb. Dr. Godknows Boladei Igali, CON, as Chairman of the occasion.
He said that, “The presence of Alex Otti in Abia State shows intentionality in leadership. He came prepared. Before, in Abia State, once they say Aba made, people would laugh, but today, people are scrambling for Aba made. “Let Governance in Nigeria take a cue from what you are doing in Abia State; the intentionality of leadership – the leadership that was voted to make a change. His Excellency, President Jonathan said that Nigerian leaders should strive to make a change as Governor Alex Otti is making in Abia State.”
Speaking further in his opening remarks, Amb. Igali, CON, commended the Alumni of UNIPORT for their impact on the political and socio-economic development of Nigeria, stating that, they are the only institution in Nigeria that has produced 6 Governors, a Vice President in the person of Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, who later became the President of Nigeria.
The recognition and applause for the good works of Governor Otti in Abia State is coming a day after ex-President Obasanjo did the same. Recall that on Friday, 11th April, Former President Olusegun Obasanjo, GCFR, while commissioning the 46.36 kilometers, Umuahia – Uzuakoli – Akara – Alayi – Abiriba Road reconstructed by Governor Otti, described him as an example of a good leader. He noted that what the Governor is doing in Abia State presently is a proof that whatever is bad in the country today can be made good tomorrow.
Governor Otti thanked the members of the UNIPORT 80s Alumni for choosing Umuhia for the reunion. After 12 years that they had their first meeting, which was held in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, during the time of Rt. Bar. Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi as the Executive Governor of Rivers State. He said that they should not wait that long again to meet, noting that the Governor of Bayelsa State, Sen. Douye Diri, would be willing to receive them next year, being also one of them. He encouraged his fellow Alumni to join the political space, saying that it is not as bad as they thought, which has discouraged many of them from joining. He maintained that the political space allows you to impact the larger society positively than the corporate world.
He informed his guests that when next they visit, they would have the time to visit some of the 200 Primary Health Centers and 221 schools, selected across the 184 wards of the State, currently under reconstruction, renovation, upgrading, remodeling, and retrofitting. Governor Otti declared that the allocation of 20% and 15% of the annual budget of his administration to the education and health sectors respectively, totaling 35%, was non-negotiable.
The reunion programme featured the tour of some of the ongoing projects being executed by the administration of Governor Otti. After touring a few of the projects as their time permitted, the 1980s Alunmi of Unique UNIPORT applauded Governor Otti for the massive facelift that he has given Abia State in less than 2 years in Office, stating that they were proud of him.
Also speaking, the Vice-Chancellor (VC) of UNIPORT, Prof. Owunari Georgewill, commended Governor Alex Otti for his giant strides in Abia State; from the significant improvement in the Power sector, Road Infrastructure, waste management, and so on. He equally commended the Governor for his significant interventions in UNIPORT, which includes, building the faculty of Social Sciences, among others. He used the opportunity to seek more interventions from Governor Otti and other Alumni of UNIPORT, as the institution has over 40,000 students and 5000 staff, saying that providing accommodation for them has become a major problem.
The Chairman of the steering committee of UNIPORT 80s Reunion, Mr. Benjamin Owuapu Willie, said that UNIPORT 80s Reunion is “a child of compassion,” which came into existence following the loss of one their brightest stars, Mr. Eze Alomefuna, a first-class graduate of economist, popularly known as RICO in 2019. According to him, the humanity in a few of them, led by His Excellency Dr. Alex Otti, brought them together to support RICO’s burial and raise a trust fund for his wife and young children. The group was kept intact and metamorphosed into what is known today as UNIPORT 80s.
The event also featured the presentation of Excellence & Service to Humanity awards to carefully selected few, out of the many alumni deserving of the awards.
Some dignitaries who attended the event include, the Executive Governor of Bayelsa State, His Excellency, Sen. Douye Diri, Former Governor of Rivers State, and Minister of Transport, Rt. Hon. Bar. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, the Managing Director of NDDC, Dr. Samuel Ogbuku among other dignitaries.
Top Abia State Government functionaries also attended the VIP-packed event.
