Exposing the N32.7bn Land/Compensation Payments, N85bn School Repairs Other Questionable Expenditures Under the Alex Otti Administration By Obinna Oriaku
Abia State’s financial status has remained at the centre of public debate in recent weeks, following revelations that the state received a staggering N38 billion in total revenue between April and June 2025, excluding Local Government (LG) allocations. With LG monthly allocations averaging N11 billion, and the state government retaining full control of LG finances, Abia’s combined monthly inflow now floats around N49 billion.
These figures, confirmed in financial reports signed by the State Accountant General and the Commissioner for Finance, have stunned many Abians who were unaware of the true magnitude of state revenues during the current administration.
However, instead of responding with clarity and openness, government officials reacted defensively. Media aides were hurriedly dispatched to deny the figures, while officials attempted to redefine budgeted estimates as actual earnings. The focus shifted from accountability to diversion.
Yet, with revenues rising sharply from roughly N6 billion monthly in 2023 to nearly N49 billion monthly in 2025, many citizens are now asking critical questions:
Where is this money going? Why is progress not matching income? What exactly is being achieved with this unprecedented inflow?
While the public deserves clarity about revenue, attention must now shift to how this money is being spent. A meticulous review of the state’s financial records raises serious red flags.
1.) Land Compensation Spending: N32.7 Billion (Jan 2024 – Sept 2025)
Official records show that in 2024 alone, the government spent N15.048 billion on land compensation.
This raised immediate public concern, especially as many real landowners received only fractions of this amount. Some were paid as little as N400,000. Many others insist they received nothing at all, including the Abia Airport landowners in Nsulu.
In 2025, the government quietly reclassified these payments under a new heading: “Lands and Housing.” Under this fresh title:
N2.8 billion was booked in Q1 2025 and N14.4 billion in Q3 2025, bringing the total to N32.7 billion in a 21-month window.
These expenditures raise several pressing questions:
i.) Who were the beneficiaries?
ii.) Where is the published compensation list?
iii.) Which lands were acquired?
iv.) What are their sizes, locations, and approved compensation rates?
v.) Why is land compensation taking priority over social infrastructure?
Until today, most of the so-called project sites remain bushlands which includes: Owazza Industrial & Innovation Park, Proposed Seaport Land, Modular Refinery Locations, Industrial Cluster Zones and Owerrinta Medical City Site, On the ground, none are active projects.
Exposing the N32.7bn Land/Compensation Payments, N85bn School Repairs Other Questionable Expenditures Under the Alex Otti Administration By Obinna Oriaku
Adding to that, reports arose that the airport compensation list included suspicious non-indigene beneficiaries with Yoruba names.
2.) N9.1 Billion for Electric Buses, Workable Innovation, or Costly Gamble?
The government announced grand plans to become Nigeria’s first state to deploy electric buses.
However, this claim is demonstrably false as Lagos State and Oando have been test-running electric buses for four years, Multiple private operators currently run electric fleets in Lagos, and other states are testing electric vehicles cautiously.
Beyond this, core issues remain unanswered, What is the cost per unit? How many buses were bought? Why procure 20 buses when 100 were announced? Where are the charging hubs? Was feasibility on weather, power sustainability, and logistics carried out? And what is Aba Power’s involvement?
The fear is that Abia may be financing an expensive experiment without due diligence or sustainability planning.
3.) Public School Renovations Costing Over N85 Billion With No Evidence.
Perhaps the most shocking revelation in the entire fiscal report is the N85 billion spent on school repairs between 2024 and September 2025.
Breakdown:
Q4 2024: N54 billion withdrawn in one tranche
Q1 2025: N14 billion
Q3 2025: N13.3 billion
Total: N85 billion
Meanwhile, schools across Abia remain visibly dilapidated.
There are: No “smart schools”, No large-scale modern classroom renovations, No significant new furniture and No technology upgrades.
What makes this more troubling is that these expenditures exclude the separate N10 billion UBE grant currently in use. Neighbouring states have achieved far more at far lesser costs.
4.) N39 Billion spent on Research & Development in 31 Months
Under normal circumstances, R&D funding is used for capacity building, technical consultancy, training programmes, and knowledge infrastructure. However, in Abia, it appears to have become a dumping ground for questionable expenditures.
Between 2023 and September 2025, Abia has spent N39 billion in Research & Development, barely N3 billion Agriculture.That ratio is alarming.
5. Agriculture Neglected and Directionless
Despite national food inflation, Abia has No agricultural development framework, Derelict public farm estates, Idle project lands, and minimal investment.
Between January 2024 and now, total spending on agriculture stands at only N1.3 billion, while N3.1 billion was allocated to social re-orientation and N5 billion to sports. These sectors have received far more attention than agriculture, the state’s most viable economic pillar outside trade and industry.
The consequence is visible in rising food prices and zero large-scale farm production.
With unprecedented revenue inflows and minimal visible development, the people of Abia deserve answers, not denial.
Therefore, the government must immediately:
1.) Publish the full beneficiary list of the N32.7 billion land compensation
2.) Publish school projects tied to the N85bn expenditure
3.) Publish procurement records for electric buses
4.) Publish R&D contracts, consultants, and deliverables.
This should not be seen as an attack, but as a fulfilment of the accountability Dr. Alex Chioma Otti promised during the campaigns.
Abians are not asking for charity. They are demanding transparency, value, prudence, and integrity. because it is their money, future, and state.
©️EKWEDIKE
