Abia State Governor Alex Otti has thanked President Bola Tinubu for approving the Abia State Government’s request to take over the reconstruction of a section of the Umuahia–Ikot Ekpene Federal Road, spanning 25 km.

Otti, who spoke on Friday while flagging off the Umuahia–Ikot Ekpene Road, said he was impressed with the Federal Government’s favourable disposition towards the holistic infrastructural development of Abia State.

He lamented that the road had been in a terrible condition, despite the fact that the contract for its reconstruction was awarded ten years ago by the Federal Government, explaining that his administration decided to handle the section that had not been completed.

“I would like to specially appreciate the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, for graciously giving us the go-ahead to initiate the reconstruction of the abandoned sections of this federal highway,” he said.

The governor, who said that there should be no dichotomy between federal and state roads, stressed that what should matter is the interest of road users.

He alleged that some politicians from Abia State had attempted to frustrate his administration’s efforts to take over the federal road because of selfish interests.

“On this score, I would also like to express the collective gratitude of our people to Abuja for refusing to be misled by the petty designs of a few political actors from this state who attempted to scuttle this initiative just to massage their oversized ego,” he added.