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• Says roads alone can’t define good governance
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate in Abia State, Dr. Kelechi Anosike, has delivered a damning verdict on Governor Alex Otti’s administration, rating it below average in nine out of 10 critical areas of governance and declaring that road construction alone could not compensate for alleged failures in the welfare of Abians.
Anosike, who formally kicked off his campaign and unveiled a 10-point welfarist manifesto, accused the Otti administration of concentrating heavily on roads while, in his assessment, performing poorly in other sectors that directly affect the lives and livelihoods of the people.
“You cannot build roads at the expense of the lives of Abians,” the PDP candidate said, as he sought to draw a sharp battle line between his welfare-centred campaign and the infrastructure record of the Labour Party government.
Speaking during a live radio programme in Umuahia, Anosike said his assessment of the government covered 10 key areas of governance, with the administration scoring above average only in road infrastructure.
He argued that good governance must go beyond physical infrastructure to include workers’ welfare, employment, healthcare, education, security, agriculture, economic opportunities and social protection.
According to him, an administration could not claim overall success merely because it had constructed roads while workers, families and vulnerable citizens struggled with economic hardship.
Anosike said his campaign would offer Abians an alternative anchored on what he described as a 10-pillar welfarist governance philosophy, with human welfare placed at the centre of government policy.
Among his major promises is the payment of a N90,000 minimum wage to Abia workers if elected governor in 2027.
He also pledged to revisit the disengagement of about 15,000 workers, promising to recall those affected after reviewing their cases.
The PDP candidate said the welfare of civil servants would receive priority attention under his administration, arguing that workers should not be treated merely as recurrent expenditure but as critical drivers of the state economy.
He also promised interventions in healthcare, education, agriculture, youth and women empowerment, security, industrial development and support for small businesses as part of his proposed programme of government.
Anosike maintained that the 2027 governorship election would give Abians an opportunity to assess the Otti administration beyond roads and determine whether their overall living conditions had improved.
He said his campaign would be driven by issues and competing ideas rather than personal attacks, insisting that the central question before the electorate should be which candidate could deliver better living conditions and broader economic opportunities.
The PDP candidate challenged the government to defend its record across the full spectrum of governance rather than rely predominantly on its infrastructure projects.
For Anosike, the contest for Government House in 2027 would ultimately be a referendum not only on what had been built, but on how Abians had fared under the administration.
He said his welfarist agenda would seek to change that emphasis by making the wellbeing of the people the principal measure of government performance.
