The All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship aspirant in Abia State, Sir Mascot Uzor Kalu, has fiercely criticized Governor Alex Otti’s record-breaking N1 trillion budget proposal for 2026, labeling the fiscal plan a “gamble” and a roadmap lacking a proper economic foundation.
Governor Otti presented the over one trillion naira budget, the first of its kind in Nigeria’s South East region, to the State House of Assembly on Tuesday. However, the move immediately drew sharp condemnation from the former Chief of Staff, who argued the ambition was divorced from the state’s fiscal reality.
Kalu specifically contrasted the budget size with the state’s current internal revenue generation. “Abia cannot be governed with fantasies and fictional figures,” Kalu asserted, noting that for a state currently reporting just N20 billion (approximately USD 15.6 million) in monthly revenue, the trillion-naira projection is “wildly unrealistic.”
He emphasized that fiscal policy must prioritize realism over political spectacle. “Governance is not a theatre for inflated ambitions. It is the solemn duty of aligning needs with capacity, desires with reality, and development with credible resources,” the opposition leader said in a quoted statement.
Kalu pointed to the previous fiscal year, where the administration’s budget ballooned from an initial N752 billion to N900 billion midyear after an extra N150 billion was requested. He claimed the increased spending failed to produce tangible results on the ground.
“No single youth nor healthcare development programme to justify such heavy spending,” he noted, demanding accountability for the lack of visible improvements in crucial sectors like rural hospitals, water supply, roads, and electricity.
The APC chieftain challenged the state government to provide a clear funding structure for the 2026 budget, expressing fears that it could plunge Abia further into heavy debt. He called on Governor Otti to provide a transparent breakdown of revenue sources, debt management strategies, and economic safeguards, warning that the state’s future must not be “mortgaged to political showmanship or experimental economics.”
