Abia State Governor, Alex Otti, said discussisons have reached advanced stage with a famous company for the construction of a 250-room five-star hotel in Umuahia to boost tourism and business in the state capital.
Mr Otti said this on Friday during a civic reception organised in his honour by the people of Ikwuano/Umuahia North/Umuahia South Federal Constituency at the Umuahia Township Stadium.
He said that the site for the facility had already been identified, adding that a partnership agreement would be signed by this week ahead of an imminent groundbreaking event.
Mr Otti said, “I got the draft agreement, which I shall sign this weekend to bring in a partner and sign an agreement for a five-star hotel, just like we are doing in Aba with the Radisson Blu.”
The governor said the project partners would be formally unveiled during the groundbreaking ceremony.
“It is a name that you know and a name you will be very proud of,” he said.
He affirmed his administration’s commitment to institutionalising good governance and sustainable development, saying that leadership must be rooted in stewardship and service to the people.
He described governance as a sacred responsibility, pointing out that his administration remained guided by public trust and divine direction.
“It is a privilege to serve our people and I personally see leadership as service and leadership as stewardship.
“Anytime you take away stewardship from leadership, it becomes self-serving, because for us, this is about stewardship,” he said.
The governor listed key projects that were ongoing in Umuahia to include the proposed five-star hotel, the Umuahia Township Stadium and the Amachara Specialist Hospital.
According to him, his government only initiates projects it is sure to complete.
He said, “The transformation of Umuahia is at infant stages; it is just starting and we have clearly set out in our minds what we want Umuahia to look like.
“We are not comparing ourselves with anybody. We do not want Umuahia to look like Dubai; we want it to look like Umuahia.
“There are still a whole lot of things to do and by the time we are done, I want to assure you that it will never be the same again.”
In his speech, the Deputy Speaker of the State Assembly, Austine Mmeregini, commended the governor’s developmental strides and his leadership style.
Mr Mmeregini said that the Otti-led administration had demonstrated that there was hope in government being able to transform the lives of the citizenry.
The Chairman of Umuahia South Local Government Area, Chinedum Enwereuzo, said that the constituency had never witnessed such a massive development.
Mr Enwereuzor, who spoke on behalf of the Chairmen of Ikwuano and Umuahia North LGA, assured the governor of the continued support of their people.
He said that the people were poised and willing to demonstrate their appreciation of the governor’s sterling performance with their votes in 2027.
In their separate goodwill messages, major stakeholders from the constituency, including a former state Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Uzodinma Okpara, Monday Ubani (SAN) and a former Minister of Defence, Thomas Aguiyi-Ironsi, praised the present administration’s performance in the development and transformation of the state.
They said that the governor had introduced social security support for the elderly and improved healthcare delivery through the renovation and retrofitting of the hitherto dilapidated health facilities in the state.
Earlier, the Chairman of the occasion, His Grace, Archbishop Chibuzo Opoko of the Methodist Church Nigeria, praised the governor for his transformative leadership which, he said, had left huge impact on different sectors of the state’s economy.
Mr Opoko, however, appealed to the governor not to relent in executing more projects that would further transform the state capital, citing the Abia International Sports Center project.
Highlights of the ceremony was the formal welcome of a former federal lawmaker, Oluchi Ibeji, his supporters and hundreds of defectors from other political parties to the Labour Party (LP).
The National Secretary of LP, Senator Darlington Nwokocha, who received the defectors, assured them of equal opportunities and fair treatment.
In a brief remark, Mr Ibeji said that Mr Otti’s purposeful leadership had restored hope to the people of Ikwuano and Umuahia.
He pledged to mobilise support for the governor in the 2027 general elections.