Abia Assembly Deputy Speaker Austin Okezie Nmeregini has warned Charles Ogbonnaya against using the name of Ibeku in attacks on Governor Alex Otti.
Deputy Speaker lists roads, health facilities, public projects and Ibeku indigenes in government, says community will not be used to advance personal political interests
By Avid Reporters
ABIA STATE — The Deputy Speaker of the Abia State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Austin Okezie Nmeregini, has condemned what he described as the incessant attacks on Governor Alex Chioma Otti by Chief Charles Ogbonnaya, popularly known as Evulogu, warning him against repeatedly invoking the name of Ibeku whenever he criticises the governor.
Nmeregini said it was wrong for Ogbonnaya to give the impression that he speaks for the people of Ibeku, stressing that residents and indigenes of the area have the right to form their own opinions about the performance of the Otti administration.
His comments came amid renewed political exchanges in Abia involving Ogbonnaya and Governor Otti. In September, the Abia State Government publicly rejected an allegation attributed to Ogbonnaya that Otti had described Ngwa people as having “no brains,” challenging the former commissioner to produce evidence supporting the claim.
‘Stop Using Ibeku to Attack Otti’
In a statement, Nmeregini said Ogbonnaya had the right to criticise the governor but should do so in his personal capacity rather than present his position as that of Ndi Ibeku.
“Chief Charles Ogbonnaya Evulogu should simply stop mentioning Ibeku land each time he wants to speak ill of the governor,” Nmeregini said.
According to him, repeatedly referencing Ibeku in political attacks against Otti amounts to an affront to the collective sensibilities of Ibeku people.
He maintained that Ibeku people are capable of assessing government policies and projects for themselves and should not be portrayed as a community speaking with one voice against the governor.
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Nmeregini Lists Otti Administration’s Projects in Ibeku
The Deputy Speaker said the Otti administration had recorded several infrastructure and social-development interventions across Ibeku.
He listed roads he said had been completed or substantially developed under the administration to include Dozie Way, Orpet-Umuafai-Lodu-Ahiaeke-Ndume Road, Ahiaeke-Okwuta-Bende Road, now known as JOJ Okezie Road, Madonna Hospital Road in Afara, Justice Okoroafor Close in Afara, IBB Way, the six-lane Ossah-Ibeku Road, now Aguiyi Ironsi Boulevard, Amuzukwu-Mbom-Umueze Road and Ehimiri Ring Road.
He also cited sections of the Umuahia-Uzuakoli-Abiriba-Ohafia corridor and the reconstruction of the long-neglected Umuahia-Ikot Ekpene Road.
Some of the administration’s wider infrastructure claims are independently documented. In May 2026, Otti said his administration had completed 414 road projects covering 864.12 kilometres across Abia. The state government also commissioned the reconstructed Abiriba-Ohafia Highway in May.
Nmeregini further cited the retrofitting and commissioning of the Ahiaeke, Lodu, Amuzouro and Mbom Primary Health Centres, as well as erosion-control interventions at Nkata, Umuchime-Ossah and Ata-Emede Mgburu.
He argued that the scale of government activity in Ibeku, rather than political claims made on behalf of the community, should form the basis of public assessment.
‘Ibeku Sons and Daughters Are Part of This Government’
The Deputy Speaker also rejected the suggestion that Ibeku people are marginalised under the Otti administration.
He listed several Ibeku indigenes whom he said occupy prominent positions within the state government and its agencies, including Secretary to the State Government Dr Emmanuel Meribole, SSA on Homeland Security, Fire Service and Medical Emergency Chukwunenye Alajemba, Chairman of the Christians Pilgrims Board Apostle Emmanuel Agomuo, Dr Betty Obasi, Dr Patrick Umezurike, Uchenna Nnaoma, Raphael Emeka Ofoegbu, Comrade Obinna Igwe, Commissioner for Transport Dr Chimezie Ukaegbu, UCDA Chairman Kingsley Agomoh, ASUBEB Chairperson Dr Lydia Onuoha, SSA on Tertiary Education Dr Emeka Enyiazu, Umuahia North Deputy Mayor Mrs Chinwe Odoemelam and former BIR Chairman Prof Udochukwu Ogbonna.
Nmeregini also pointed to his own position as Deputy Speaker of the House of Assembly and described himself as an indigene of Umuana Ndume Ibeku.
His position as Deputy Speaker and member representing Umuahia East State Constituency has been independently reported.
Dispute Over Ndume Land
Nmeregini also turned his criticism toward Ogbonnaya’s alleged role in the previous administration.
He alleged that Ogbonnaya was involved in the previous government’s acquisition of land associated with the present industrial/timber market at Ndume Ibeku and claimed that portions of land belonging to Umuana Ndume were taken without compensation.
These claims could not be independently established by Avid Reporters from the available public records.
The Deputy Speaker further alleged that Ogbonnaya had interests in shops within the market while the original landowners remained uncompensated. He said the affected landowners had under the present administration applied for compensation.
A 2025 report on tensions surrounding the Umuahia Industrial Market at Ahiaeke Ndume confirmed that a dispute over ownership of market land had emerged, although accounts of the land’s acquisition and compensation differed.
Ogwumabiri Market Also Raised
Nmeregini further accused Ogbonnaya of being part of the government under which the former Ogwumabiri Market in Umuahia was sold to a private investor.
He said the development affected Ibeku traders who operated businesses at the market and lost their means of livelihood.
The Deputy Speaker credited Governor Otti with recovering the property and developing the site into the Prof. Nnenna Oti Central Bus Terminal.
Public records confirm that the former Umuahia market site was allocated to a private investor by the previous administration under a build-operate-transfer arrangement. In 2025, the Abia State Government said it was clearing unauthorised structures at the former market premises as part of its urban-renewal programme.
Governor Otti subsequently commissioned the new 340-capacity central bus terminal in May 2026 and named it after Prof. Nnenna Oti.
‘We Will Mobilise for Otti in 2027’
Nmeregini said Ibeku people should not be portrayed as opposed to the governor, arguing that the community’s assessment of the administration would be based on its development record.
He said he and other supporters of the administration would mobilise for Otti’s re-election bid in 2027.
“We all are part of Ibeku, and because we are lovers of progress and admire all the exceptional transformation happening in Abia and Ibeku land under this present administration led by Dr. Alex Otti, we are going to mobilize and vote massively for Governor Otti to win again in 2027,” he said.
The Deputy Speaker accused Ogbonnaya of pursuing what he described as a personal political agenda under the banner of Ibeku and urged him to stop presenting his criticisms as the collective position of the community.
“The more Evulogu attacks Governor Otti in the name of Ndi Ibeku, the more he makes so many of Ibeku sons and daughters angry, both at home and in diaspora,” Nmeregini said.
He concluded with a warning to Ogbonnaya to stop what he described as the denigration of Ibeku’s name for political purposes.
“ENOUGH IS INDEED ENOUGH!” he declared.
Avid Reporters — Stay In the Know.
Editorial note: Claims concerning land acquisition, compensation, ownership interests and the conduct of individuals in previous administrations are presented as allegations attributed to the Deputy Speaker. Avid Reporters has not independently established those claims and has sought to distinguish them from publicly documented facts.
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