[VIDEO] Otti snaps at journalist over ‘measurable impact’ question

A heated exchange between Abia State Governor, Alex Otti, and a journalist during a media chat on Friday night has triggered intense debate online, with supporters and critics sharply divided over the confrontation.

The incident occurred during the governor’s weekly media interaction when a journalist, Chika Nwabueze of Dawn Media Group, was handed the microphone.

Nwabueze asked:

“Your administration has received praise for visible infrastructure projects and reforms, but people say that measurable impact, transparency and inclusive governance need improvement. I want to ask, can you provide verifiable data showing how your policies have directly improved the economic and living conditions of ordinary Abians?”

The question appeared to irk the governor.

“You have not said anything. Do you live in Abia?” Otti asked.

After Nwabueze confirmed that he resides in Umuahia, the state capital, the governor responded:

“Okay, so, if you live in Umuahia, you are the one that will provide data. The point is that this media chat is a serious media chat. We are not here to massage opposition. You can’t come to a media chat and you are asking me to provide data about the measurable impact of work that is being done in the state where you live. It is irresponsible. That we throw this open for people to ask questions doesn’t mean that people should be stup*d. So, let’s take this very serious. Speech is free, but when you come for my media chat, you must be prepared. If you don’t have any questions, then you don’t raise your hand. What do you mean, what do you want to hear from me?”

Seeking clarification, the journalist pressed further:

“Beyond road infrastructure, can we know about the positive impact, the economic impact on the living conditions of the average Abian that your policies have impacted?”

Otti replied:

“That’s not my business. My business is to deliver on my promises. So, it is for you as a journalist, if you are actually one. If you want the governor to sit and tell you the economic impact, then something is wrong.”

The exchange has since gone viral, generating a flood of reactions on Facebook and other social media platforms.

Segun-Ohi Oruame suggested the journalist could have framed his question more precisely.

“The journalist could have framed his question in more specific ways. Ask the governor if his team has data that can be used to measure impacts of his efforts so far,” he wrote.

Chiaozie Unumegbu defended the governor, stating, “Mr. Governor is right. As a journalist, all he needs to do is to go round the cities & communities in the state to sample opinion of Abians. Mr. Osani was there last time.”

Similarly, ’Niyi Fatogbe argued that the governor handled the situation firmly.

“The governor firmly addressed the journalist’s line of questioning and he did a good job by putting the dumb journalist in his place. Interestingly, even within the question itself, the journalist admitted that roads are being constructed. But isn’t road infrastructure a fundamental component of enhancing the quality of life for ordinary citizens in any community/state?” he wrote.

Unaegbu Bishop Amah was even more blunt: “To be sincere the journalist is stup*d, since he lives in Abia State he should have known the impact himself.”

Uche Uwadinachi added, “That question is out of place. Data is my duty to investigate and asked based on my investigation. And that’s the essence of a media chat.”

Henry Ibezimako Uche echoed similar sentiments, arguing that the journalist should have come armed with counter-data.

“In a media chat the governor must have addressed the journalists. Asking the governor to provide measurable data is asking him to blow his own trumpet. As a journalist who resides in Abia state he should have provided the governor the data to counter him and not asking the governor to provide them,” he wrote.

However, not all reactions favoured the governor.

Another journalist who was present at the session told Business Hallmark that the atmosphere in the room became tense after the exchange.

“The governor wasn’t happy, he just put it as if he’s opposition. Other journalists were also disappointed because as a journalist, you have to ask your questions like a journalist,” the reporter said.

“But the governor should have handled better instead, so hard on him. But actually, some of our colleagues are consultants for opposition, so when they come for the media chat, they try to do that type of thing. But unlike others who try to couch their questions in a way that won’t raise suspicion, he was too direct.

“He hosts a radio show, and this morning, opposition voices were commending him for asking the governor those questions.”

Watch video below: