Governor Alex Otti has charged Abia residents to protect the various facilities his government is putting in place and ensure they are not vandalised.

The governor gave the charge while speaking at Ibeku High School field Umuahia on Wednesday after commissioning various projects undertaken by his administration across 3 LGAs of Abia State Central Senatorial Zone.

These projects include Primary Healthcare Centres (PHCs) retrofitted at Owerinta Isialangwa South, Amibo Umuahia South, and Ekeoba Umuahia North under Project Ekwueme and 8.3 kilometres Isieketa – Obikabia Road in Isialangwa South LGA and 1.5 IBB Way in Umuahia North LGA.

He said, “Ensure that everything that we are putting in place, the infrastructure, the roads, the equipment we are putting in those primary healthcare centres are secured. Because there is no security better than the security you provide.

“Anytime anybody wants to vandalise public properties, report them to the appropriate authorities. And, we can assure you, we will deal with them,” Otti assured.

Otti instructed the Commissioner for Works to commence the reconstruction of the Ikot-Ekpene Federal Road, a road that links the IBB way that was just commissioned.

“We have seen that the Ikot-Ekpene road, linking it (IBB way) is in a very bad state. And I have just moments ago given instruction to the Honourable Commissioner for Works to go and fix that road.

“We are aware that it’s a Federal Road. But, as we have always said, the Federal Government does not use any road. So, whether it’s Federal or State, it is Abia people that use it. And we are going to fix it,” Gov. Otti stated.

A former member of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Yusuf, has asserted that the former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, is no longer a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

He stated this while addressing Atiku’s current political standing, in an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today and noted that the 2023 presidential candidate of the PDP is currently part of the ongoing coalition talks.

He argued that the party must move beyond relying on individual figures to reclaim its electoral strength.

He said, “Atiku is out of PDP; he is in the coalition with a lot of people.”

He also criticised the decision to zone the 2023 presidential ticket to the North and blamed Atiku and poor leadership for the party’s 2023 presidential election loss.

He stated, “I blame Atiku for the 2023 election loss. If Atiku had not bungled the Obi relationship, if Obi had remained in PDP, and he had picked Obi as vice president, he would have won the election. Obi represented the southern agitations. Nigerians were looking for something different.”

Yusuf also lamented the recent defection of former Governor of Delta State, Ifeanyi Okowa, to the All Progressives Congress (APC), expressing regret that the 2023 campaign of the PDP heightened the grievances of party men.

“I booked Air Peace… They delayed the flight for over five hours. In the end, they announced a cancellation. I had to get another ticket. Yesterday, I booked a flight for 6:30 a.m., which is their first flight today. I booked and asked them to check me in online, which I did, along with two other Ghanaians who met me in Lagos. We checked in online just to avoid the last-minute issues I’ve had with them a couple of times.

“I got there at about five minutes past six. They told me the counter was closed. I told them, ‘No, I’ve already checked in.’ I showed them the evidence of my online check-in. Even before then, they had asked if I had checked in, and I told them ‘yes’, and that I had no luggage. They looked at it but still said the gate had been closed. Meanwhile, I noticed they were still taking other people in.

“So, I asked, ‘How can you close boarding for a 6:30 flight at 6:05? What is the purpose of online check-in, then?’ If I had to go through another check-in process, then what’s the point of checking in online?

“While speaking to them, I saw many men and women who had been there even before me, with similar experiences. Basically, they were selling tickets on the spot at higher prices. I’ll give you an example. A lady bought her ticket for N146,000 online. She arrived at the airport at 5:55 a.m. for the 6:30 a.m. flight, after the gatemen had delayed her.

“They told her she was late and that the counter had closed for check-in. She said that was impossible, as it wasn’t even 6:00 a.m. They told her she would be put on the next flight. She protested, saying, ‘Why? Put me on this flight.’ But they told her the flight was full and she would have to wait.

“Meanwhile, the airline was selling tickets on the spot for between N200,000 and N300,000. To take advantage of the situation, they discouraged those who had bought tickets online at lower rates and sold to people willing to pay more.

“I asked the manager, ‘What is this woman’s crime? She has a baby that’s no more than six months old. How can you refuse to board her when the aircraft is still on the ground and more people are buying tickets?’ You cannot continue like this. Tomorrow, everyone will blame the government. You have regulatory agencies, and they are all compromising. You cannot board people buying tickets on the spot and deny those who booked days ago or checked in online.

“By the time the DSS and Air Force personnel came to find out what happened, they intervened and offered to put the woman on the next flight—the same offer they had made to me earlier. But to board that next flight, they told her she would have to pay N109,100. This was in addition to the original N146,000 ticket, meaning she would spend about N256,000 for a one-hour flight to Abuja. There were many others in the same situation, and everyone was shouting at the airport.

“I said to the manager, ‘You must follow the rules.’ Many people were stranded, except those who could afford another ticket. I followed the woman to the counter and told her to do whatever they asked. Those of us who were also prevented from flying gathered there. Even when an officer offered me access to a lounge, people around said, ‘Comrade, please don’t leave—this is how they’ve been treating us.’

“I had to send that woman N500,000. That’s basically what happened. I told them this cannot be allowed. I checked in online and arrived on time. The aircraft hadn’t taken off. I’m not supposed to check in twice. The rowdiness arose because many people were denied boarding while tickets were being sold on the spot to others.”