Abia’s Positive Ranking: How fiscal discipline, visionary leadership put Abia on top, By Ferdinand Ekeoma

In less than three years, Abia State was moved from the margins of national conversations to the very centre. The reason is simple: results.

The recently released “BudgIT 2026 State of States Report”, placed Abia among Nigeria’s top-performing states across fiscal performance, health, education, infrastructure, and governance. The numbers are not just impressive. They are historic.

The Numbers That Tell the Story

BudgIT’s data shows Abia leading on the metrics that matter most to development:

– 1st in total expenditure growth

– 1st in capital expenditure growth

– 1st in personnel expenditure growth

– 2nd in aggregate revenue growth

Earlier in the year, a separate BudgIT analysis ranked Abia number one in Nigeria for capital expenditure per resident, with ₦137,253 spent per person on infrastructure and development projects. That means more roads, more hospitals, more schools, and more jobs— per Abian.

The wins didn’t stop at spreadsheets. A few months ago, Abia emerged as the best-performing state in the South-east zone and clinched $500,000 USD at the 2025 Nigeria Governors’ Forum Primary Healthcare Leadership Challenge. That prize is a direct reward for visible improvements in primary healthcare delivery, immunisation coverage, and facility upgrades across the 17 LGAs.

The Otti Doctrine: Economics meets empathy

None of this happened by accident. At the heart of Abia’s turnaround is the Governor of Abia State, Dr. Alex Otti, OFR.

His pedigree matters. As a renowned economist, former group managing director of a bank, and one of Nigeria’s most respected financial minds, Governor Otti came into office with a clear understanding of two things: how money works, and how to make it work for people.

His vision has been consistent from day one: “A New Abia” — a state where government is efficient, transparent, and delivers tangible value to citizens.

That vision translated into three core pillars:

1. Fiscal responsibility

By blocking leakages, prioritising IGR, and aligning expenditure with impact, Abia moved from borrowing to build, to building from earnings. The result: top rankings in expenditure growth and revenue growth. Capital projects were no longer abandoned. Personnel were paid on time. The books were opened.

2. Infrastructure as an economic engine

From the reconstruction of strategic roads like Port Harcourt Road, Ohanku Road, Umuahia-Uzuakoli-Abiriba-Ohafia Road etc. to rural road networks, the administration treats infrastructure as more than concrete. It is commerce, jobs, and dignity. Spending ₦137,253 per resident on capital projects is the clearest proof that Abia is building for the next 50 years, not just the next election.

3. Human capital investment

The NGF $500,000 healthcare prize reflects deliberate investment in PHCs, health worker training, and drug supply chains. In education, there’s renewed focus on teacher recruitment and welfare, school rehabilitation, and skills acquisition to prepare Abia’s young people for a digital economy.

These achievements do more than win awards. They change perception.

For decades, Abia in national discourse was associated with decay in Aba, unpaid salaries, unhygienic environment, and infrastructural deficit. Today, “Abia” is associated with reform, growth, and possibility.

1. Investor confidence: When a state ranks 1st in capital expenditure and 2nd in revenue growth, investors pay attention. Businesses are more willing to site factories, shops, and tech hubs in Aba and Umuahia.

2. Diaspora pride: Millions of Abians at home and abroad now have a government they can point to with pride. That pride translates to remittances, partnerships, and advocacy.

3. Better services: Fiscal discipline means doctors are equipped, teachers are paid, and roads are motorable. Governance stops being an abstract idea and becomes water, streetlights, and classrooms.

The case for greater support

Giant strides require sustained momentum. Governor Otti’s economic background gave Abia the technical competence to reset its finances. But technical competence alone cannot finish the job.

Aba’s roads need to be protected from destruction. New PHCs need communities to use them and hold them accountable. Revenue targets need citizens and businesses to pay taxes willingly because they see what the money is doing.

This is the moment for Abians to double down.

Support the tax reforms. Support the ongoing audits. Support the contractors delivering quality work. Support the health and education policies, even when they demand patience.

When a government proves, with data, that it can spend ₦137,253 per person on development and still grow revenue, the rational response is not skepticism. It is partnership.

Governor Otti has shown that a banker’s discipline and an economist’s vision can be fused with a servant’s heart. Abia is no longer waiting to be discovered. Abia is leading.

The BudgIT 2026 report is not the finish line. It is the scoreboard at half-time.

If Abians intensify their support, hold the government accountable, and keep faith with the “New Abia” agenda, the next report will not just rank us first in growth. It will rank us first in prosperity.

A New Abia is here.

Ferdinand Ekeoma is Governor Alex Otti’s Special Adviser of Media and Publicity