“Nothing in this world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity”. -Martin Luther King Jnr.
A few days ago, the non-performing PDP State Chairman, Chief Abraham Amah woke up from his slumber after being ravaged by his own self-inflicted leadership misadventure in the PDP and sought to use Governor Alex Otti’s name to come back to relevance and limelight after leading his party, the PDP to destruction and desertion within the shortest period of time. For Amah, the game is; let me use the big name of our familiar foe and remain relevant by pretending to be saying something. Guyman!
What is the issue? Rural Access and Agricultural Marketing Project (RAAMP)
RAAMP is a World Bank-supported initiative in Nigeria focused on improving rural road networks and agricultural marketing in participating states. The project is initiated to enhance rural access, boost agricultural productivity and value chains, and improve the sustainability of rural road infrastructure in the participating states. Interestingly, Abia is one of the participating states.
The Facts as they are:
RAAMP started in 2011 during the administration of former Governor Chief T.A Orji as Rural Access and Mobility Project (RAMP). It had a state coordinator. The SPIU Team couldn’t key in Abia state into the first and second generations of the project (RAMP 1 and 2), due to alleged mis-management of the sum of #110 million counterpart fund said to have been released by the Governor then.
In 2015, when Dr Okezie Ikpeazu took over as Governor, he dissolved the SPIU Team for non-performance and appointed a new team.
Even after the state keyed into the project, yet implementation of the project in Abia suffered delays because of poor management and selfish political interference. Being a world bank project where every step of the progress is monitored and reviewed by the bank, in 2023 there was an in-depth review of Abia RAAMP by the world bank and some fraudulent discoveries were made.
- Front loading of over #40m in the payment of the Design Consultant for the Design Review of the 19.1Km Pilot Road (Itungwa-Mgboko-Amaise-Amairi-Ahiaba Ubi-Nkwoelechi-Omoba).
- Mis – procurement in the engagement of the contractor for the construction of the Pilot Road where a contractor who didn’t meet up with the requirements especially the annual turnover #7b was awarded the contract.
Based on these discoveries and other unhealthy practices, the bank recommended that the Contract be terminated.
Upon assumption office, Governor Otti swung into action and took meaures to ensure that the project would not only kick off properly, but that things would be done responsibly and transparently so as to achieve the project’s objectives.
The Governor provided a befitting office complex to Abia RAAMP and released the sum of #600 million as counterpart funding. The Governor further approved for the release of the remaining #3.4B counterpart funding. So far, between 2023 and now, Governor Alex Otti, has committed a total of 4.1 Billion Naira in counterpart funding under the project. This is both factual and verifiable.
It is worthy of mention that under Governor Otti, the under listed achievements have been made by Abia RAAMP:
- Design of 200km Backlog Maintenance Roads
- Design of 160km Upgrade Roads
- Design of 6 number Agro Logistics Centres
- Design of 100km Spot Improvement Roads
- Design of 80m Cross Drainage Structures (Mini Bridges)
6.Ongoing construction of 19.1km Pilot Road (Itungwa-Mgboko-Amaise-Amairi-Ahiaba Ubi-Nkwoelechi-Omoba). . - Physical Improvement of 3 number Agro Logistics centres ready for flag off.
- Cancellation of the procurement process for the engagement of contractors for the construction of upgrade roads (LOT1-3) which was marred with irregularities and the world bank recommended that we should cancel.
- Evaluation Report for the Engagement of Contractors for the Construction of 91.22km Upgrade Roads approved by the World Bank and awaiting flag off.
- Signing into law Rural Access Road Agency (RARA) and State Road Fund (SRF) by His Excellency, The Executive Governor of Abia state, Dr Alex Chioma Otti.
The Hypocrisy and Audacity of Shamelessness
Abraham Amah and his ragtag PDP are angry that Governor Otti desolved the SPIU with a view to effecting the necessary corrections and achieving the desired result, but refused to tell those they wanted to misinform, that Ikpeazu had carried out similar dissolution on assumption of office, though without achieving any positive result.
Amah was as lousy as his analysis was lame, and was dishonest as his narrative was deceitful, hence he forgot that under Ikpeazu, a total sum of #530 Million was paid as counterpart funding and allegedly stolen from the back which was why not even a kilometre road was constructed, but under Governor Otti, a total sum of #4.1 billion has already been committed and many visible and verifiable projects are either ongoing or are about to commence within two years in office.
Is Abraham Amah’s conscience buried in the mud that he would have the audacity to compare daylight and night?
Is he blinded by the atrocities of the past that he cannot see that Abians are laughing at his delusion?
As PDP’s Publicity Secretary, Amah spent his time on BCA radio abusing Dr. Alex Otti ahead of the 2023 election without provocation. Few days into the Governorship election he spent hours on BCA casting aspersions on Otti’s personality. He told workers not to vote for Otti and promised that the arrears of salaries owed by Ikpeazu would be cleared after the 2023 election. Abia workers knew that it was the usual 419 and subsequently joined hands with other Abians and bundled him and his co-conspirators out of office. Amah hasn’t recovered from this uppercut and the psychological trauma that followed.
Amah is embittered, bruised and broken that Otti is completely in charge and asserting his powers and authority to the fullest as Governor, especially where it concerns RAAMP. Yes, Otti is in charge and charged up by his conscience, capacity and conviction to succeed, knowing that in the end, it’s his name that would be mentioned and dragged when agents of deceit would have moved on. Otti is not and will not behave like the other Governor who was willing and available for manipulation by dubious lieutenants who sought power from little strange gods with which they dribbled and bamboozled him and ensured that he ended up becoming an object of negative example.
Amah said that he “has drunk from the bitter well of silence for too long” hence his decision to speak out mow.
Yes, Amah was deservedly silenced by Otti’s performance because he decided to lead his party with the same mindset of hate, anger and bitterness with which he operated as Publicity Secretary in charge of defamation of Alex Otti, and as expected, came crashing prematurely as a clueless chairman.
Amah wanted to run a Shadow government but ended up ensuring that PDP became a shadow of itself. Why is he venting his anger and frustration on Governor Otti?
In ending his puerile piece, Amah wrote thus “I speak not out of opposition, but out of obligation—to truth, to history, and to the people of Abia”.
Did I hear “Obligation, Truth and History”? This sounds like a shocking irony, coming from someone whose government left a sad history of devastation and destruction. A government that ignored its obligation and ensured the obliteration of all known virtues associated with good governance. A government that saw truth as a vice and embraced falsehood as a virtue.
It will be commendable if Amah decides to purge himself of politics of hate, bitterness and dishonesty and embrace genuine truth, but he and his party must start by apologising to Abians for the atrocities of the past. They must apologise for being part and defenders of a notorious regime that caused the untimely death of many Abians through wicked and irresponsible governance, like non-payment of salary and pension.
If Amah and the battered PDP are sincere, they should first exhibit sobriety anchored on willingness to embrace repentance. They should, while assessing or criticising Governor Otti and his government desist from mentioning the failed notorious PDP government that was both vicious and perfidious, as that would amount to audacity of shamelessness.
For now, there’s nothing to suggest that Amah and the PDP are ready and willing to show remorse or embrace repentance. There’s nothing to suggest that they mean well for Abia and Abia people. If anything, Amah and his cohorts are more interested in self-serving propaganda and mindless mischief, and they are all geared towards expressing their frustration, anger and bitterness against Dr. Alex Otti and Abia people over the March 18, 2023 heroic and historic decision that served them a well deserved justice.
For now, we are happy that the PDP that once boasted that it will rule Abia for 50 years has become Abia APC’s House Boy under Amah’s watch, the APC they once called Islamic and Terrorist party- what a shame, what an opprobrium, what a mess from Amah!
Ferdinand Ekeoma
Special Adviser to the Governor
(Media and Publicity)
June 29, 2025.
Disclaimer: Candid Reporters publishes news, information, sports, opinions, and Interviews. The site includes both reported and edited content. Unmoderated posts and Comments expressed here do not reflect the opinions of Candid Reporters or any employee thereof..
