The Facts Behind BudgIT 2025 Report And The Real Story Of Abia’s Rising Fiscal Performance
EBERE UZOUKWA, PhD
It is unfortunate, though not surprising, that those who once looted Abia’s treasury beyond recognition now find it difficult to come to terms with the new era of fiscal discipline, transparency, and accountability under the leadership of His Excellency, Dr. Alex Chioma Otti, OFR.
The recent BudgIT 2025 Report, which ranked Abia fourth in fiscal performance and among the five most viable states in Nigeria, is a clear validation of the far-reaching reforms and positive transformations introduced by the Otti administration. For the first time since BudgIT began its independent subnational fiscal analysis ten years ago, Abia has earned a place among the best performing states in the country.
BudgIT Report: Facts, Not Propaganda
BudgIT remains Nigeria’s most respected civic technology organization dedicated to promoting fiscal transparency and accountability. Its methodology is data-driven, independent, and anchored on five key parameters:
1. Growth in Internally Generated Revenue (IGR)
2. Ability to meet operating expenses without borrowing
3. Debt sustainability and management
4. Prioritization of capital expenditure
5. Fiscal responsibility and transparency
Abia’s strong performance across these indicators reflects sound economic management, improved revenue collection systems, and prudent resource deployment. It is therefore disingenuous for desperate political actors to dismiss these verifiable achievements as manipulation.
For clarity, Abia recorded the highest capital expenditure ratio in Nigeria, with 77.05 percent of its total budget devoted to capital projects. This unprecedented commitment demonstrates the Otti administration’s focus on infrastructure, development, and judicious use of public funds.
The Real Progress in IGR
Contrary to the misleading claims of Mr. Obinna Oriaku, a former Commissioner for Finance whose tenure was marked by gross financial opacity, more than 70 percent of Abia’s internally generated revenue during his time never reached the government treasury. The bulk of it was diverted into private pockets, including his own.
It was under his supervision that tertiary institutions across the state were unable to pay staff salaries despite collecting school fees. Many of those institutions lost accreditation and deteriorated beyond measure, while subventions meant for education and health were routinely diverted.
Governor Otti’s reforms have dismantled this corrupt system. For the first time in Abia’s history, the Abia State Internal Revenue Service (ABIRS) operates a fully digital, transparent, and accountable collection system that ensures every naira is paid directly into the state’s consolidated revenue account. This reform has plugged leakages, eliminated middlemen, and restored public confidence in governance.
Today, Abia’s improved IGR is not the result of manipulation but of efficiency. The government has expanded the tax net, enhanced compliance, automated collection processes, and captured revenue from previously unaccounted sectors. The inclusion of legitimate revenues from state-owned institutions follows the globally accepted Treasury Single Account (TSA) model designed to promote transparency and fiscal responsibility, not deceit.
Otti’s Positive Disruptions
What Mr. Oriaku and his cohorts call “manipulation” is, in truth, the dismantling of their entrenched criminal revenue networks. The Otti administration has introduced a governance model anchored on integrity, efficiency, and sustainability, in stark contrast to the reckless patronage and waste that characterized previous administrations.
Governor Otti’s achievements speak for themselves:
Massive road reconstruction and urban renewal projects across all three senatorial zones.
Transformational investments in education, including the rehabilitation of schools and adequate funding for tertiary institutions.
Comprehensive healthcare revival, with major hospitals renovated and new health centers established.
Agricultural reawakening driven by strategic investments to boost food security and youth empowerment.
Improved waste management and urban sanitation through a fully functional waste management system.
Support for micro, small, and medium enterprises, as well as new initiatives in sports and youth development, all aimed at stimulating sustainable economic growth.
Abia Is Rising, and the Truth Is Too Loud to Suppress
The ongoing reforms have restored Abia’s reputation nationally and internationally. The BudgIT 2025 ranking was not influenced by politics but by empirical data. Earlier in the year, the Debt Management Office (DMO) also recognized Abia’s improved debt sustainability and commitment to transparent fiscal management.
Mr. Oriaku’s outburst is nothing more than an attempt by a discredited former official to rewrite history and divert attention from his own record of incompetence and corruption. The people of Abia are fully aware of the difference between those who plundered the state and those who are rebuilding it.
Governor Alex Otti’s vision is anchored on rebuilding Abia from the ruins of years of misrule and transforming it into a model of transparent and accountable governance. The journey has begun in earnest, and there will be no turning back.
Abia is rising and will never return to Egypt.
– Dr. Ebere Uzoukwa is the
Senior Special Assistant to the Governor of Abia State on Public Affairs.
