Nigerian Governor To Pull Down Multi-billion Naira Government House Amidst Economic Hardship

The governor of Abia State, Alex Otti has vowed to demolish a newly built multi-billion naira Government House in Umuahia, the state capital.

The governor announced the development while inaugurating a newly constructed office of the chairperson of Arochukwu Local Government Council in the state.

The details of the governor’s comments were provided by his spokesperson, Ukoha Njoku, on Sunday in a statement.

According to Premium Times, Otti reportedly abandoned the new Government House complex after assuming office in May 2023.

The publication alleged that the governor has been running the government from his country home outside of Umuahia.

The administration of the former governor of the state, Okezie Ikpeazu, had commissioned the new Government House on 28 May, a day before the end of his tenure.

Ikpeazu’s administration inherited the project located at Ogurute Layout in Umuahia, a few metres from the State Secretariat, from his predecessor, Theodore Orji, who initiated and built it up to the roofing stage.

A statement issued by the administration on 29 October 2012 indicated that the government paid ₦175 million just for its fencing.

Similarly, the amount spent on the project by  Ikpeazu’s administration is unclear, although officials say it must have gulped several billions of naira before it was commissioned.

Abia has an old Government House in Umuahia where past governors of the state operated from.

Otti has not also moved into it since he became governor.

The governor has been living in and carrying out government functions from his private residence in his village, Umuru Umuehi, in Nvosi, Isiala-Ngwa South Local Government Area of the state.

At the commissioning of the complex in Arochukwu on Saturday, Otti said his administration would “pull down” the new Government House before the end of the year.

He described the new Government House complex as “dilapidated and decayed buildings.”

The governor said he would construct another “befitting Government House” after the planned demolition of the newly commissioned complex.

He said, “Today, l am not operating from the Government House in Umuahia because there is no Government House. Everywhere is dilapidated and decayed.

“The option would have been to use the money I used to pay pensioners to retrofit the Government House. But, I felt we could operate from anywhere while doing the most important things first.

“I am proud to report that before the end of this year, we are going to break down those dilapidated buildings and we’ll put up structures that are befitting for our people who are enlightened like Abia people.”