*GOV ALEX OTTI’s GOVT OF LIES AND PROPAGANDA- How Abia Is Being Run as a Propaganda Govt of Deception* _[Dr Ope Banwo, Mayor Of Fadeyi and Founder, Naija Lives Matter calls out Gov Alex Otti and his team of Social Media Propagandists]_

Ore mi, you know I am not from Abia. I am from Ogun State—born and bred in Lagos. And trust me, we in Ogun already have our hands full dealing with our own despotic, incompetent, and vengeful Governor Dapo Abiodun—the one who seems more interested in jailing truth tellers like Special Adviser Justadetoun than fixing the state.

But this daily noise about Governor Alex Otti is starting to become unbearable in a nation desperately searching for just one good man in an ocean of underperforming governors.

The funny thing is, I was initially misled too. Those propaganda videos were flying everywhere, and I was preparing a full white-robe rant to praise the man and give him his flowers. After all, I was part of the Obidient movement in 2023. I know how hard people hustled for Peter Obi and Labour, and Otti ended up being the only governor from that wave.

Naturally, I want Alex Otti to succeed. Even though I am no longer obedient to anybody, I still want him to prove that better leadership is possible. He comes from that corporate executive class we all hoped would bring competence into governance. So you can imagine my shock when I started speaking to people actually living in Abia to verify the “miracles” I was about to celebrate.

It turns out many of those messianic achievement videos are either outright false or wildly exaggerated. My man is still learning the art of hyperbole.

Omo, it is one thing to lie. We are used to that. We live in Muguland. Even our supposedly pious Buhari had a whole “Lie Mohammed” machinery. So we understand political spin. But when you start comparing yourself to governors like Babajide Sanwo-Olu and won’t let us rest with exaggerated claims, then it becomes necessary to address you publicly.

What Governor Alex Otti’s media machine is doing has moved beyond public relations. This is governance-by-propaganda—a government behaving like a content studio, measuring success in likes, retweets, and WhatsApp forwards.

Every week, an army of social media warriors drops a fresh “ABIA IS GONE!” post—as if Abia relocated to Switzerland overnight.

We hear:

• “Abia has disconnected from the national grid!”

• “No blackout in Aba or Umuahia!”

• “Biogas is powering communities!”

• “Free healthcare for every citizen above 60 till death!”

• “Electric vehicles everywhere!”

• “All roads are tarred!”

Omo, when did Superman or Jesus become governor of Abia and we missed it? Se won fi iro se yin ni?

At this rate, Abia is no longer a state. It is a motivational poster.

Now let us separate truth from spin.

Before writing this, I spoke to real Abians actually living there—not people tweeting from London.

1. Electricity – Real progress stretched into fairy tale

Yes, Aba’s ring-fenced power arrangement is real. It involves Geometric/Aba Power and covers a defined portion of the state.

But propaganda has transformed “Aba ring-fence” into “Abia has achieved power independence.”

That is like fixing your living room generator and announcing the entire estate now has uninterrupted electricity.

We are told, “If you are looking for blackout, you won’t find it in Aba or Umuahia.”

Really? So power is now 24/7 statewide?

Even the power company itself has announced disruptions before. So this “Abia never goes dark” narrative is not a fact—it is marketing. And slogans do not keep lights on.

2. “Abia is the first state to take over electricity regulation”

Abia did assume intrastate electricity regulatory control. That is a legitimate policy step.

But “first in Nigeria”? That is where propaganda creeps in. Other states—including Lagos—had moved in that direction earlier.

Why the compulsive need to attach “first” to everything? Is governance now a primary school competition?

3. Biogas powering communities

The videos look inspiring. The language is beautiful. The tone is energetic.

But a pilot announcement is not the same thing as proven, measurable community power supply.

Nigeria is not short of launches. We have had many governors who could commission projects but not sustain them. Remember Aregbesola in Osun—grand announcements, but workers went unpaid for years.

If biogas is already powering communities, show us numbers: sites, output, scale, uptime, cost.

When I asked staff members living in Abia about this biogas revolution, they looked at me like I was speaking Greek.

Ordinary citizens do not even know what is being claimed, let alone experience it.

4. “Free healthcare for everyone above 60 till death”

This one is classic propaganda inflation.

A policy of that magnitude does not arrive via a random viral video. It requires legislation, budget allocation, hospital circulars, drug supply frameworks, implementation guidelines, and formal rollout.

Instead, we get a trending claim… and silence.

And the government does not debunk it either.

If it trends, they enjoy the praise.
If it is false, they pretend they never saw it.

That is not transparency. That is manipulation.

5. Electric buses and “all roads tarred”

Yes, I am told electric buses exist. That is commendable.

But “we introduced some buses” becomes “electric vehicles are operating everywhere,” as if Abia suddenly became Norway.

Electric buses have been running in Lagos for years.

Then comes the comedy: “All roads are tarred.”

All? Every single one? Including farm roads and forgotten rural paths?

At that point, governance becomes stand-up comedy.

The Real Problem: A PR Republic. The issue is not that Abia has done nothing. The issue is the inflation of limited achievements into statewide miracles—and the drowning of genuine criticism with influencers and hashtags.

A serious government does not need to exaggerate. Results speak.

But when governance becomes branding, everything becomes “historic,” “unprecedented,” “a revolution.”

Meanwhile, citizens are still asking basic questions about affordability, stability, and service delivery.

The most dangerous leadership style is not one that struggles and admits it.

It is one that struggles and hires content creators to rename struggle as “acceleration.”

My Challenge to Governor Otti: Stop marketing Abia like a digital product launch. Govern it like a state.

If the Aba ring-fence works, expand and stabilize it.

If biogas is real, publish measurable data.

If free healthcare exists, publish the policy instrument.

If roads are completed, release a project map with timelines.

Budgets are not captions.
Governance is not Instagram.
Citizens are not fools.

And please, stop comparing yourself to Lagos. Leave Sanwo-Olu alone and face your front.

Abia people deserve electricity, not excitement.
Hospitals, not hashtags.
Roads, not reels.

Abia has not “gone” anywhere.

But truth is being pushed into hiding—and that darkness is far more dangerous than any blackout.