02/03/2026
You are st_ pid and irr£ spons?ble': Alex Otti bl@sts journ_al!st for asking him to provide £conom!c impact data
Metrodailyng. Yesterday
Abi@ St@te Gov3 rnor, Alex Otti, on Friday sl@ mmed a journ alist during his monthly
media chat in Umu , the st@te cap_!tal.
The gov*rnor, while re*cting to a qu£stion on verifi_@ble data for measur@ble socio-£con_mic improv_ments under his adm_nistr@tion, described the journ@_list as irr_spons!ble and ill-pre_p@red.
The exchange occurred at the February edition of the gov_rnor's regular engagement with journ@_lists, broadc@st live to residents of Abia st@te and beyond.
Chika Nwabueze, a journ_alist with the BON media group, asked Otti to prov!*de concrete, quant!*f!able ev!dence beyond v!sible infrastr_cture projects such as road rehab!lit@tion to demo_nstrate how his pol_!cies have impacted the lives of the
average Abians since he got into off!ce.
Nwabueze's question did not sit well with the gov*rnor, who ch*_llenged him that, as a res!dent of Abia st@"te, he should have in his possession before attending the media chat.
"You have not said anything. Do you live in Abia? So if you live in Umuahia, you are the one that will provide data," a furious Otti said.
He described the media chat as a "serious" platform not intended to "massage opposition," adding that open qu£st*ioning does not permit unpr£*pared or what he termed frivolous inquiries.
"You can't come to a media chat and ask me to provide data about measurable impact on work that is being done in the state that you live in. It's irr£_*sponsible," Otti said.
He added, "That we throw this open for people to ask questions doesn't mean that people should be stup*d, so let's take this very seriously. When you come to my media chat, you must be prepared; if you don't have a question then you don't raise your hand."
The governor claimed that tangible changes residents could "feel", including improved roads, functional primary healthcare centres, enhanced public transport, and elements of free education, questioning why the journalist could not
