"He Restored Hope to Ovom, Where Others Failed"- Sen. Abaribe Hails Governor Otti's unprecedented transformation of Ovom Erosion site.

In a stirring commendation that underscores a renewed sense of leadership and hope in Abia State, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, the Senator representing Abia South senatorial district, has heaped praises on Governor Alex Otti for what he described as a transformational intervention at the long-neglected erosion site along Ovom Road in Aba North.

 During a personal visit to the site, Senator Abaribe expressed both astonishment and deep satisfaction at the scale and success of the work done to reclaim the once-treacherous gully erosion that had devastated the community for over a decade. “I could not believe my eyes!” Abaribe exclaimed. “To be able to walk on the road, on what hitherto was a very deep gully that had swallowed the road is nothing short of remarkable.”

The senator, who revealed that he had written multiple letters to the Ecological Funds Office dating as far back as 2012 with no positive response, recalled his previous visit to the site in 2019. At that time, the gully had expanded to a size so large that it could “swallow a three-storey building,” he said. The erosion had swept off infrastructure, including the base of a transformer he had attracted to the area, which was later relocated for safety reasons.

He narrated heartbreaking accounts of the human cost of the neglect, including the tragic death of a long-time resident, Mazi Okoro, who reportedly suffered a stroke after being told by local authorities to prepare for evacuation from his home of over 50 years. Even ancestral graves in the area, like that of the Aguwa matriarch, were not spared by the advancing erosion. “Governors had come and gone,” Abaribe lamented. “My people, everything rises and falls on leadership.”

It was against this backdrop of despair and abandonment that Governor Alex Otti’s intervention emerged as a beacon of renewed purpose. According to the senator, Governor Otti not only visited and assessed the site, but decisively took action where both the federal government and previous administrations had deemed the situation impossible to resolve. “After visiting the site and assessing the situation, what seemed impossible has now been made possible,” he declared. “He turned the tables there. What both the Fed Govt and previous govts had said was beyond them has been tackled head on. These are the things that matter.” Abaribe said he was compelled to visit the site again recently to see the progress firsthand and was met by a transformed landscape and rejuvenated community spirit.

He described a scene where residents were setting up musical equipment for a crusade right at the edge of what used to be the epicenter of the gully, a symbolic sign of how life has returned to a place once written off. “A quiet confidence and a sense of purpose has been restored to the area,” Abaribe noted. In his concluding remarks, the senator offered a heartfelt thank-you to the governor: “Thank you Alex Otti for restoring hope to residents of Ovom Street and environs.”

The visit and commendation by Senator Abaribe further solidify Governor Otti’s growing reputation as a responsive and transformational leader, particularly in addressing long-neglected infrastructural and environmental challenges across Abia State.