Among the notes Governor Alex Otti struck at Abia’s 35th anniversary thanksgiving service on Sunday was one that had little to do with Abia’s own milestones directly. Congratulating Osun Governor Ademola Adeleke on his recent electoral victory, Otti pointed out that Adeleke’s mother hails from Akwete in Ukwa East Local Government Area, making the Osun governor’s win, in a small but genuine sense, something Abia had a stake in too.
That aside fit naturally into a service otherwise focused on gratitude for Abia’s own three and a half decades since its creation. Held at the Okpara Square Event Centre in Umuahia under the theme “The Rise of a New Abia,” the interdenominational gathering combined thanksgiving prayers for the state’s founding and endurance with prayers for its leadership, security, and residents going forward.
Otti framed the anniversary as a moment to recognize forces beyond government policy in explaining the state’s progress. “We are not in any doubt that it is the prayers, the sacrifices, our people that have contributed to the progress recorded in Abia,” he said, tracing the practice of opening major milestones with thanksgiving back to 2023, when he and his supporters visited churches following his gubernatorial win. He thanked religious leaders directly for what he described as sustained prayer and support for the state’s peace and development, and urged residents to hold onto hope through ongoing difficulties, framing perseverance and faith as necessary companions to any tangible progress.
Former Cross River Governor Liyel Imoke offered a more explicitly political endorsement, describing the transformation he’d observed in Abia under Otti as unprecedented, a judgment he said was based on both testimonies shared during the service and his own firsthand observation of government projects. Imoke went further, encouraging Abia residents to continue backing the administration and praying for Otti’s re-election in 2027, arguing that sustained support was what would allow the governor’s development efforts to continue.
Catholic Archbishop of Owerri Archdiocese Most Rev. Lucius Iwejuru Ugorji struck a more reflective tone in his exhortation, calling the anniversary a sacred threshold and describing Abia’s 1991 creation as more than an administrative act, framing it instead as the fulfillment of a long-held collective dream. He described the state’s 35 years as a testament to divine faithfulness and Otti’s tenure as the beginning of a period where governance has moved closer to the everyday welfare of residents, while urging the governor to sustain that trajectory and leave Abia stronger than he found it.
Gospel artiste Buchi led praise and worship throughout the event, which drew government officials, political and traditional leaders, and residents, formally opening a series of activities marking Abia’s 35th anniversary since its creation on August 27, 1991, under the military government of General Ibrahim Babangida.
