Tekedia AI Lab Co-Learners (October 2025): This is a reminder and a special invitation to join our current November edition class as I teach Vibe Coding today. When you previously took the course, this module had not yet been introduced. We would be delighted to have you join us and experience it.

The Zoom link is available on your Tekedia Institute class board. And in case the timing is short and you’re unable to attend, we will upload the full session video afterward; so you are fully covered.

In this lab, co-learners will master how to plan, design, and deploy on a cPanel environment. Those using AWS, Google Cloud, or other cloud platforms can also deploy there. The current class has not done VPS setup but you know how to do that and can also setup therein. We will work with Google AI Studio, so please ensure you have a Gmail account.

• Week 3 Session
• Sat, Nov 29 | 3pm – 6pm WAT
• Topic: Building AI Agents & Websites via Vibe Coding – Setup, Implementation, Deployment
• Venue: Zoom (link on your Tekedia class board)

Meanwhile, for those interested in joining our widely subscribed Tekedia AI Lab, the next edition begins on Jan 24, 2026. Our Black Friday Deals significantly reduce the fee. Reserve your seat here.

Umu Abia: I want to take this moment to share the good news coming our way in 2026 and beyond. Immediately after the election, His Excellency Dr. Alex Otti invited a group of professionals to help design and architect a roadmap for Abia’s future. I was privileged to be included in the transition council and had the honour of serving as Co-Chair, Economic Transformation.

At that time, the public sentiment was gloomy: Abia was described as broke, unable to pay polytechnic lecturers, unable to keep the state university teaching hospital functioning, with the college of education abandoned and pensioners left without hope. But a comprehensive document was submitted to the new administration, anchored on Governor Otti’s mandate. He improved it, refined it, and embedded his grand execution strategy, a methodical framework built on People, Processes, and Tools.

From day one, Governor Otti understood that Abia was not poor; rather, its wealth was locked away. He began unlocking it systematically. First came the tools, fixing key roads, restoring public infrastructure, repositioning education. Then came the people, clearing pension arrears, paying salaries promptly, restoring dignity. Then the processes, reviving the courts across LGAs, digitizing bureaucracy, and building a governance architecture that works.

Abians responded. Investors responded. Confidence returned. And Governor Otti’s core doctrine came alive: if Aba, the industrial heartbeat, is revived, Aba will revive the rest of Abia. Today, Aba is back: working, producing, exporting, and creating economic velocity that is lifting the entire state. Abia’s IGR, once stuck near N20 billion a few years ago, is projected to hit N100 billion in 2025 and potentially climb to N223.4 billion in 2026!

Now, the game is elevating: in the 2026 budget, Abia will cross the N1 trillion mark: “For the first time in the budget history of Nigeria’s South-East, a state has crossed the trillion-naira threshold. Abia achieved that milestone on Tuesday as Governor Alex Otti presented a N1.016 trillion budget proposal for 2026 to the State House of Assembly”. About 80% will go into capital projects; the rest into recurrent spending. Please understand that Abia is ranked #1 in Nigeria by the federal DMO as the most fiscally responsible in Nigeria.

Tagged “Budget of Acceleration and New Possibilities,” the plan marks a dramatic leap in the state’s financial ambition. It is a development many observers see as a pointed signal of how far Abia has travelled under Otti’s stewardship since 2023. The rise to a trillion-naira estimate, they argue, mirrors a growing administrative confidence backed by an economy that has become more active and more attractive to investors over the past two years.

Otti told lawmakers that the 2026 plan is designed to deepen infrastructure, strengthen social services, and lock in the gains of ongoing reforms. The size of the estimate represents a 13 percent rise from the 2025 budget.

A striking feature of the proposal is its aggressive capital allocation. Abia intends to channel N811.8 billion — or 80 percent — into capital projects, while recurrent spending is capped at N204.4 billion, or 20 percent. Otti explained that the state is targeting a point where internally generated revenue, now rising sharply, fully covers recurrent expenditure.

Fellow Abians, fellow Nigerians, Abia is working. Our Governor leads with merit, pragmatism, and honesty. The 2026 budget is tagged “Budget of Acceleration and New Possibilities” because Mr. Governor wants Abia to fund platforms of commerce (social services, infrastructure, etc), accelerate growth to unlock possibilities and abundance for all. May the good Lord bless Abia, Nigeria.

For the first time in the budget history of Nigeria’s South-East, a state has crossed the trillion-naira threshold. Abia achieved that milestone on Tuesday as Governor Alex Otti presented a N1.016 trillion budget proposal for 2026 to the State House of Assembly, drawing both admiration and scrutiny in equal measure.

Tagged “Budget of Acceleration and New Possibilities,” the plan marks a dramatic leap in the state’s financial ambition. It is a development many observers see as a pointed signal of how far Abia has travelled under Otti’s stewardship since 2023. The rise to a trillion-naira estimate, they argue, mirrors a growing administrative confidence backed by an economy that has become more active and more attractive to investors over the past two years.

Otti told lawmakers that the 2026 plan is designed to deepen infrastructure, strengthen social services, and lock in the gains of ongoing reforms. The size of the estimate represents a 13 percent rise from the 2025 budget.

A striking feature of the proposal is its aggressive capital allocation. Abia intends to channel N811.8 billion — or 80 percent — into capital projects, while recurrent spending is capped at N204.4 billion, or 20 percent. Otti explained that the state is targeting a point where internally generated revenue, now rising sharply, fully covers recurrent expenditure.

Abia expects a combined internal and external revenue inflow of N607.2 billion in 2026, leaving a N409 billion deficit — roughly 40 percent of the entire plan. The size of the gap has raised questions about full implementation, yet analysts familiar with the state’s recent trajectory say Abia is now better placed to borrow and close the financing hole.

The reasoning is that the state’s economic profile has shifted. Investments in infrastructure, security, and digital revenue systems have helped broaden economic activity and improve investor sentiment. Otti reminded lawmakers that Abia’s IGR, once stuck near N20 billion a few years ago, is projected to hit N100 billion in 2025 and potentially climb to N223.4 billion in 2026. The state, in other words, is now seen as bankable.

Where the Money Will Go

Otti laid out an expansive list of spending priorities. Education takes N203.2 billion, or 20 percent of the entire proposal. The plan covers salaries for approximately 15,000 teachers, new model schools, three technical colleges, and ICT labs for more than 100 public schools, along with investments in ABSU, Ogbonnaya Onu Polytechnic, and the Abia State College of Education (Technical) in Arochukwu.

Healthcare receives N149.7 billion. The state intends to supply new equipment to ABSUTH and 23 other public facilities, upgrade seven general hospitals, and expand infrastructure for training more medical professionals.

Roads and transport together consume one of the largest slices. Abia is planning to spend N169.3 billion on road construction and rehabilitation, from the Umuahia–Ikot Ekpene axis to Ahiaeke–Okwuta–Bende and several community-impact routes. Another N11.1 billion is set aside for the transport sector, including N6 billion for 80 more electric buses, after the arrival of the first batch of 20.

The proposal also includes support programmes for entrepreneurs, farmers, youths, women, and vulnerable households, alongside more than N229 billion for housing, urban renewal, environmental cleanup, and cultural development.

Anambra’s Push: A N757 Billion Plan to Keep Momentum

Across the Niger Bridge, Anambra is charting a different path but with equal determination.

Governor Chukwuma Soludo has submitted a N757 billion proposal to the State House of Assembly for 2026. The figure rises 24.1 percent above the state’s 2025 estimate, which stood at N606.99 billion.

Soludo’s proposal allocates N595.3 billion for capital expenditure — about 79 percent of the budget — while N161.6 billion is dedicated to recurrent spending. He told lawmakers that the administration recorded more than 60 percent budget performance in 2025, even in an election year.

The plan, titled “Changing Gears 3.0: Solution Continues,” aims to consolidate the administration’s push toward a more digital and economically diversified Anambra. The budget carries a deficit of N225.7 billion, which the government hopes to finance through a blend of public–private partnerships, concessions, improved internal revenue, and support from financial institutions.

Commissioner for Budget and Economic Planning, Chiamaka Nnake, later told reporters that the state’s 2025 budget had already hit 61 percent performance as of October, and could close the year around 75 percent.

Ebonyi’s “Actualization and Hope” Budget Hits N884.8 Billion

In Ebonyi, Governor Francis Nwifuru is pursuing his own ambitious vision with a N884.868 billion proposal for 2026. His plan — “Budget of Actualization and Hope” — is said to be anchored on the administration’s “People’s Charter of Needs,” a framework built around infrastructure expansion, human capital improvement, and social-sector consolidation.

The estimate includes N749.49 billion for capital expenditure, representing 84.7 percent of the total. Recurrent expenditure is pegged at N135.37 billion. Nwifuru credited the State Assembly for its cooperation, saying the administration had restored stability across key institutions.

“We are building not just roads and schools, but resilient people empowered to be globally competitive,” he said.

A Region Entering a New Fiscal Cycle

Taken together, the 2026 proposals tabled by Abia, Anambra, and Ebonyi show a South-East in transition. All three states are leaning heavily on capital spending, infrastructure upgrades, and rising internal revenue as they attempt to push their economies into a new phase.

Yet Abia stands out this year. Breaking through the N1 trillion ceiling has positioned the state at the center of attention — partly because of its milestone significance, partly because it reinforces a narrative about renewed administrative direction and growing investor confidence.

The N409 billion deficit still looms, and full execution will depend on Abia’s ability to secure concessionary financing and sustain its rising revenue curve. But after two years of steady reforms and visible capital work, the state is no longer seen as a risk-heavy territory. This perception, many argue, is the biggest factor that could help Abia bridge the gap and keep its trillion-naira plan alive.