Reconstruction of Abia Govt House not priority – Alex Otti

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Alex Otti, the Governor of Abia State,  has said the reconstruction of the Government House in Umuahia because it was not a priority at the beginning of his administration.

Otti, who has begun the upgrade of the Government House in Umuahia with reconstruction of the governor’s Office and lodge, said while inspecting the ongoing reconstruction, he opted to first address more important things that directly impacted the people than Government House.

According to the governor, government should be about the people, and so he did not consider the construction more important than other needs in the state.

“Government is about the people and if the people do not give their support, then leadership will not be able to work,” he said.

“So, the challenge was, which one do we do first? As a student of economics, we have brought with us a scale of preference. And, we sat down and said, okay, everything is important, some are more important than others.

“We didn’t think this place (government house) was more important than workers’ salaries.

“We didn’t think this place was more important than the primary healthcare centres.

“We didn’t think it was more important than our schools. We didn’t think it was more important than making education free at basic level so that our children and those who cannot afford to pay will have the opportunity that you and I had.

“We didn’t think this place was more important than the roads that were dilapidated, the offices that were decrepit.

“So, we started with what we listed as the most important things. Having eliminated a lot of them (challenges). So, right now, I’m sure if you look around, you will see work has started around here.”