…scores over 50 percent at polls to defeat four others
By Ime Silas
Abia State governor, Dr. Alex Otti has been named the Best Performing Governor in the South East in the year 2025 by the Forum of South-East Academic Doctors (FOSAD).
This disclosure was made in a statement by FOSAD signed by its President; Dr Stephen Nwala and Secretary-General; Dr. Uzor Ngoladi.
“The Forum of South-East Academic Doctors (FOSAD), in furtherance of its mandate to promote good governance, accountability, and evidence-based public leadership in Nigeria’s South-East geopolitical zone, has announced the outcome of its 2025 South-East Governors’ Performance Poll. The poll, conducted as part of FOSAD’s end-of-year activities for 2025, ranked Abia State Governor, Dr. Alex Otti, as the Best Performing Governor in the South-East for the year under review”, the Academic Doctors’ Forum noted in its statement released today.
Giving details on how it arrived at its conclusion, the Forum noted, “The poll was conducted online through Google Forms and was open exclusively to members of FOSAD, who are academic professionals and citizens of the five states that make up the South-East region of Nigeria”, adding that “A total of 830 valid responses were recorded, reflecting a broad and informed assessment by respondents with deep knowledge of public policy, governance, and development issues in the region”.
While revealing that the Abia State Chief Executive defeated his four other counterparts from region, FOSAD maintained that the outcome reflected the perception of its members about the southeast governors.
“At the conclusion of the poll, Governor Alex Otti of Abia State emerged overall winner with 461 votes, representing 55.5 percent of the total responses. He was followed by Governor Peter Mbah of Enugu State, who came second with 292 votes, amounting to 35.2 percent. The third position was taken by Governor Charles Soludo of Anambra State, who recorded 65 votes, representing 7.8 percent. Senator Hope Uzodinma of Imo State received seven votes, equivalent to 0.8 percent, while Governor Francis Nwifuru of Ebonyi State came last with five votes, representing 0.6 percent.
According to the leadership of FOSAD, the outcome of the poll reflects the collective perception of its members on the performance of South-East governors across clearly defined governance and development indicators. These indicators include security, peace and rule of law; economic development and job creation; infrastructure and urban development; education and human capital development; healthcare delivery and social welfare; agriculture and food security; governance, transparency and accountability; youth, women and social inclusion; diaspora engagement and regional integration; as well as environment, climate, and sustainability”.
The release continued “FOSAD noted that Governor Otti’s performance rating was driven by members’ assessment of reforms, policy direction, and visible governance outcomes in Abia State within the period under review. The Forum emphasized that the poll was not designed to disparage any governor, but rather to provide constructive feedback and encourage healthy competition, peer learning, and continuous improvement in governance across the region.
“The Forum further stated that the 2025 poll was conducted in a free, fair, and transparent manner, with no external influence or financial inducement. The process was entirely voluntary and reflected the independent views of participating members.
In recognition of his performance, Dr. Alex Otti will be formally presented with the FOSAD Best Performing South-East Governor 2025 Award at a ceremony scheduled to hold in January 2026. FOSAD expressed confidence that this recognition will further inspire governors in the region to deepen reforms and prioritize people-centered development.
The Forum also announced that the South-East Governors’ Performance Poll will henceforth become an annual exercise, aimed at tracking progress, strengthening accountability, and sustaining informed civic engagement in the governance of the South-East region”.
Dr. Alex Otti is the only governor elected on the platform of the Labour Party (LP) in 2023 and has not defected from the party, even though the party’s 2023 presidential candidate, Mr. Peter Obi has defected to the African Democratic Congress, ADC.
