Constitutional Lawyer Ubani Slams Abia Governor Alex Otti Over Alleged Reckless Spending, Poor Workers’ Welfare

A constitutional lawyer from Abia State, Onyekachi Godson Ubani, has launched a blistering attack on Governor Alex Otti, accusing his administration of fiscal profligacy, opacity, and gross neglect of workers’ welfare.

Ubani, an indigene of Nvosi in Isialangwa South Local Government Area, made the remarks on Thursday while speaking with journalists shortly after revalidating his membership with the African Democratic Congress (ADC) in Abia State.

Delivering a damning assessment of the state’s finances, Ubani alleged that the government has prioritised luxury spending over the wellbeing of its citizens.

“Abia now receives about ₦60 billion monthly, largely driven by fiscal reforms under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. Yet what we see is not governance but glaring waste,” he said.

“It is unconscionable indeed, a moral and constitutional aberration that over ₦18 billion could be squandered on private jets and frivolous travel while workers are reduced to penury. This is not leadership; it is fiscal vandalism. A government that cannot prioritise its workers has lost both its ethos and legitimacy.”

Ubani further criticised what he described as the partial and deceptive implementation of the ₦70,000 minimum wage, alleging that junior staff earn as low as ₦29,000, road sweepers ₦23,000, and supervisors ₦47,000.

He also decried conditions in the education sector, stating that professors at Abia State University earn about ₦520,000, far below the ₦1.2 million reportedly paid in comparable institutions. According to him, school fees exceeding ₦100,000 have compounded the hardship faced by families.

“With a wage bill below ₦10 billion, one must ask—where is the remaining ₦50 billion going? The utilisation of these funds remains shrouded in opacity,” he said.

The lawyer further alleged that workers, pensioners, and lecturers are subjected to fractional payments, often misrepresented as final settlements.

He also accused the government of prioritising optics over substance, claiming that about ₦560 million is spent monthly on media engagements to project performance, while critical infrastructure suffers neglect. He cited the Umuikaa–Owerrinta road project as an example of slow and substandard execution.

He further pointed to alleged irregularities in the Nsulu Airport compensation process, claiming that over 1,000 fictitious names accounted for ₦1.4 billion out of a ₦40 billion allocation, even as pensioners remain unpaid.