Abia Community Seeks Removal Of Otti’s Chief Of Staff From Airport Project Negotiations

The Village Heads and landowners of Nsulu, the proposed site for Abia State’s new airport, reaffirmed their support for the project in an open letter delivered Saturday, but demanded the immediate removal of the Governor’s Chief of Staff, Pastor Caleb Ajagba, and Pastor Okorugo Aji from the negotiation team.

They alleged the pair are undermining the process and creating unnecessary conflict.

The letter, signed by Engr. Ikechukwu Uche (Chairman, Umuezeukwu landowners), Mazi Gabriel Echozolam (Secretary, Umuezenta Nbawsi landowners), and Mazi Chimaobi Ohaka (PRO, Umuosu Nsulu landowners), accused Ajagba and Aji of violating agreements reached in meetings on January 3rd and 11th, 2025.

The landowners claimed that the government team, led by Ajagba, is deliberately disregarding previously agreed-upon terms and the role of their preferred negotiator, Dr. Max Nduaguibe.

“It’s against the tenets of peaceful resolution that our team…is now being undermined,” the letter states. The landowners point to the presence of the Department of State Security (DSS) and the State Commissioner of Police at the initial meetings as witnesses to the breached agreements.

The letter also claimed that Ajagba is using divide-and-rule tactics, misleading Governor Otti’s administration, and exploiting the airport project to advance his personal political ambitions, specifically his bid for the Isiala Ngwa North State Constituency seat in 2027.

They accused him of involving unrelated individuals in the project, holding clandestine meetings in various villages, and launching a smear campaign against Dr. Nduaguibe, the landowners’ unanimously chosen negotiator.

The landowners argued that Ajagba’s actions jeopardise the project and instill distrust in the community, stating that as landowners, they should be at the forefront of perimeter surveys, which they say Ajagba is delegating to outsiders.

The open letter concludes with a request to Governor Otti to replace the Ajagba-led team with a neutral leader, preferably from outside Nsulu or Isiala Ngwa North Local Government Area, to ensure impartiality and prevent the 2027 elections from overshadowing the airport project.

Despite ongoing disagreements, the landowners reiterated their commitment to the airport’s construction.