Abia State Government under the leadership of Governor Alex Otti has been ranked the third most improved State by the latest 2026 Phillips Consulting State Performance Index released recently.
Otti disclosed this on Thursday during the July edition of his monthly media chat held at Government House, Umuahia, the Abia State Capital.
Governor Alex Otti, who attributed Abia State’s rise in the ranking to his Administration’s sustained investments in healthcare, education, infrastructure and governance, noted that the latest ranking showed that the Government’s reforms were beginning to make a noticeable impact on the lives of Abians.
“You will recall between 2023 and 2024, our State was rated number 36 and in 2025, we moved from 36 to number 10.
“And with the current report, we are number 3, closely following Jigawa, which came second, and Enugu which came first. These reports measure a few things. It will be nice that you get a copy and go through to understand”, he said.
Governor Otti also revealed that Abia State toppled the charts in terms of maternal and infant mortality in the 2026 first quarter report released recently in Nigeria.
He noted that, the health sector had recorded one of the Administration’s biggest successes, particularly in reducing maternal and infant mortality, while enrolment into the Abia State Health Insurance Scheme had continued to grow.
He said that 144 of the State’s 200 Primary Healthcare Centres had been fully functionalised, while another 77 centres renovated through the World Bank intervention had also been completed, adding that about 30 more facilities “are expected to become functionalided very soon.”
The governor further stated that the Government had taken delivery of another set of 20 electric buses, saying the possible routes for the buses would be; Umuahia – Bende – Arochukwu, Umuahia – Uturu (ABSU), Umuahia – Umudike – Ikwuano, Aba-Owerri, Aba to Ukwa, among others.
He noted that surveillance systems had been installed in the buses to monitor drivers and improve accountability, hinting that the pilot and co-pilot of Bus 8, whose activities were exposed had been disciplined accordingly.
The governor also said work is progressing steadily at the Aba Bus Terminal, while the first phase of the Ekeoha Market remodelling has been completed and would soon be commissioned.
The governor also highlighted reforms in land administration, adding that the State had issued 4,923 Certificates of Occupancy in the last three years, with close to 1,000 processed in this year alone.
He said that the digital mapping of Abia had been completed in partnership with UN-Habitat, paving the way for a fully digitized land administrative system that would eliminate fraudulent land transactions and make property documentation faster.
On education, Governor Otti said the Government had continued to expand its Smart School initiative with the commissioning of 2 smart schools, out of 20, assuring that the remaining 18 would equally be completed and commissioned in no distance time.
