By Emeka Oji
There are speeches that end when the microphone is switched off, and there are speeches that stay in the room long after the crowd has gone home. Chief Eric Opah’s speech on Thursday at the International Conference Centre, Umuahia, belongs to the second group.
It was not just a campaign speech. It was a declaration of intent. And for Abians who listened well, it was a glimpse of what Abia stands to gain if the man who made the declaration is elected Governor in 2027.
Opah did not come to beg for votes. He came to state a fact as he sees it: Abia will return President Bola Ahmed Tinubu massively in 2027. Not with the 5,000 votes of 2023, but with over 100,000 votes — the strength of the registered APC members in the state, plus a coalition of other parties who believe in the President’s work.
That is not empty boast. That is organisation. And organisation is the first thing Abia will gain from an Opah governorship.
For too long, Abia politics has been run on noise, not structure. Opah is showing a different style: build the structures, unite the units, count your numbers, then go to work. If he can build that kind of machine for a presidential election, imagine what he can build for governance — for roads, for markets, for schools, for hospitals.
The second gain is alignment.
Listen to the reasons Opah gave for supporting Tinubu, and you will see a man who understands how federal power works for a state:
1. The Port Harcourt-Enugu Expressway: Once a death trap of kidnappers and accidents, now receiving attention because the President gave a standing instruction. Abia needs a governor who can pick phone, enter Abuja, and get that kind of instruction for Abia roads. Opah has shown he understands that language.
2. The 188 Megawatts Power Plant in Abia: Opah called it the creation of the President, who supported to resolve a logjam that lasted for years. Power is the lifeblood of Aba, the commercial heartbeat of the South East. A governor who understands power, and who is already aligned with the centre that unlocked it, will not allow Abia to go back to darkness.
3. The New Tax Laws: Opah said it clearly — Abia is a hub of commerce. The hydra-headed tax regime has choked our traders for years. A governor who understands traders, who speaks their language, will use the new tax regime to free them, not to punish them.
4. The Student Loan Scheme: For the Abia youth who hawks in Ariaria today but dreams of university tomorrow, this is hope. Opah mentioned it because he knows Abia’s future is in its young people.
Put them together, and you see the real message of that speech: Abia cannot afford to be in opposition to the centre again.
When Abia was in opposition, we shouted, but nobody heard us. When Abia aligns, roads get attention, power logjams get resolved, traders get relief. Opah is offering Abia a seat at the table where decisions are taken, not a microphone outside the room.
The third gain is character.
Opah did not attack anybody in that speech. He did not abuse. He congratulated the eminent personalities in the PCC, thanked them for their hard work, and told them the work is still ahead. That is leadership. A man who can manage eminent people, unite structures, and carry everybody along will not govern Abia by division. He will govern by inclusion.
And that last line of his speech says it all: _“Long live Abia State. Long live Federal Republic of Nigeria. Long live President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. Long live all Abia faithful and APC in Abia State.”_
That is a man who sees Abia inside Nigeria, not Abia against Nigeria.
So, what does Abia stand to gain if Opah is elected?
Abia stands to gain a governor who is connected, not isolated. A governor who is organised, not noisy. A governor who understands commerce, power, infrastructure and youth. A governor who will make Abia win — not only in elections, but in development.
On Thursday, Opah thundered in Umuahia. In 2027, if Abians listen, that thunder will become rain — rain of development, rain of jobs, rain of progress.
Abia has heard the thunder. Now Abia must decide if it wants the rain.
