Abia State Governor, Alex Otti has abandoned the 30-year development plan which was put in place by the previous administration, saying that it is no longer realistic given the current economic fluidity.
He made known his rejection of the long term development plan on Friday, December 13 during his monthly media interaction tagged Governor Alex Otti speaks to Abians held at government house Umuahia.
“Abia’s 30-year development plan is unrealistic. What we are doing is short term of three years,” he said.
Abia’s long term development plan which runs from 2020 to 2050 was launched and formally adopted on April 7, 2021 by the immediate past government in collaboration with the PIND Foundation.
It came about after Abia emerged winner of Eastern zone of the regional development planning competion jointly organised in 2018 by the PIND Foundation, the European Union- sponsored Niger Delta Support Programme(EU-NDSP) and the Market Development in the Niger Delta(MADE).
The plan which runs from 2020 to 2050 was described by PIND as “a product of series of multi-stakeholder engagements”, adding that the document is made up of seven sections, 15 chapters, 11 pillars.
It has four cross-cutting themes built on the pillars of: Agriculture, Industry, Trade and Investment, Oil and Gas, Health, Education, Social Protection, Governance and Public Service Reforms. Other themes are Infrastructure, Environment and Regional Planning and Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E).
Otti acknowledged that he was aware of the document containing the 30-year development plan but his government would not key into its implementation as it doesn’t align with his development agenda.
Explaining his reasons for rejecting the long term development plan, the Abia Governor said that inflation and the volatile exchange rate has made nonsense of the plan.
He noted that at the time the development plan was put together the exchange rate was between N400 and N500 to the dollar but presently the rate has gone above N1,500.
Otti said that given the current exchange rate regime, “it no longer makes sense” to go with the 30-year development plan, adding that “anything we see that makes sense, we run with it and not try to invent the wheel”.
“We are working with iur own development plan that makes sense,” he assured Abia people.
On how he has managed to implement the 2024 Abia State Budget without borrowing despite its heavy deficit of over N400 billion, Otti reiterated that “it is my trade secret”.
But he noted that his government has been making big savings by using the professionals in the state civil service to do road projects through direct labour.
The Abia Governor said that government saved N2.4 billion in the reconstruction of Umuocham road, one of the three reconstructed roads he inaugurated in Aba on Friday.
According to him, the least amount quoted by the four contractors that bidded for the 2.8km road project was N3.6 billion but the road projected was eventually executed to standard at a cost of N1.5 billion.
“That’s how we manage to save money,” he said, adding, “Abia money must be used for Abians”.