Abia Won’t Get Paid For Fixing Federal Roads – Otti

Governor Alex Otti has put to rest speculations about Abia seeking reimbursement for federal road projects executed by the state, saying that the federal government has no plan to pay back.

Speaking at his monthly media interactive session with newsmen, on Friday night, Otti said the new federal government’s policy was that states could toll such roads, “if they want their money back”.

He sympathised with those peddling the rumour about reimbursement, saying they were speaking out of ignorance.

He reiterated his administration’s commitment to fixing all Abia roads, federal or state, saying “they’re all used by Abia residents.

“Before we jump on any federal road, we have long engagements with the federal government and those roads must be ceded to us in writing,” he said.

Otti also addressed compensation concerns for the Umuahia-Ikot Ekpene Road rehabilitation, saying he expected the Federal Government to pay, since it awarded the project without funding.

He said: “We always pay compensation in any route we are entering.

“But then, my understanding is that, if there is any compensation to be paid, Federal Government should have done so because the route was actually awarded, but was not funded.

“So, that’s my understanding. I can’t be too sure.”

The state government had undertaken to rehabilitate critical federal roads, including Umuahia-Ikot Ekpene Road, Owerrinta-Umuikaa dual carriageway, Ohafia-Arochukwu Road, among others.

The governor reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to establishing a state police.

He said, “The new general manager for Homeland Security is working with his team to get us ready once the whistle is blown.”

He ruled out any possible defection to another party, saying he would run for re-election on the Labour Party (LP) platform in 2027.

According to him, the Supreme Court decision has settled the party leadership crisis.

He, therefore, urged interested Nigerians to register for LP membership.

Otti described the progress on the newly introduced electric buses as “exciting”, saying that 30 more buses were expected by July, bringing the total to 50.