The Abia State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has launched a scathing attack on Governor Alex Otti over his decision to name the newly commissioned Umuahia Bus Terminal after the former INEC Returning Officer who officially declared his victory in the 2023 governorship election — describing the controversial gesture as a shameless and dangerous act of political patronage that threatens the integrity of Nigeria’s electoral process.
In a strongly worded statement, the APC described the naming as “one of the most brazen and ethically bankrupt decisions” ever made by a sitting governor in Nigeria — arguing that publicly honouring an electoral official with a government facility named in their honour sends a deeply corrosive message to the entire electoral administration system.
The party argued that the decision effectively rewards a public officer for performing a statutory duty — creating the damaging impression that INEC Returning Officers who declare results in favour of certain candidates stand to gain personal recognition, public honours, and political rewards from those candidates if they eventually assume office.
“This is not governance. This is a governor using public infrastructure to settle political debts and reward those he believes helped him get to power. It is shameful, reckless, and an insult to Abians who funded that terminal through their taxes,” the APC statement declared.
The opposition party further argued that the naming exposes the hollowness of Otti’s much-publicised governance reforms — describing an administration that has repeatedly claimed to stand for transparency, accountability, and institutional integrity while simultaneously engaging in acts that undermine the very institutions that democracy depends upon.
The APC reminded Abians that the same administration has refused to publish evidence of its claimed 414 constructed roads, has spent an alleged ₦360 million quarterly on decorative water fountains while workers earn as little as ₦23,000, and has now named a public facility after an electoral official in what the party describes as a pattern of misplaced priorities that reveals the true character of Otti’s governance philosophy.
The party called on INEC’s national leadership, civil society organisations, and the National Assembly to formally investigate the appropriateness of the governor’s action — arguing that institutional silence in the face of such a development would normalise a practice that could have far-reaching consequences for electoral integrity across Nigeria.
The APC also urged Abians to take note of the naming controversy as evidence that the Otti administration is more invested in political image management and settling personal political scores than in delivering the genuine, verifiable development that the people of Abia State urgently need and deserve.
Governor Otti’s media team is yet to formally respond to the APC’s latest broadside at the time of filing this report.
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