By Newspot Nigeria News Desk
Umuahia — The Forum of South-East Academic Doctors (FOSAD) has named Abia State Governor, Dr Alex Otti, as the Best Performing Governor in the South-East for 2025, following the outcome of its South-East Governors’ Performance Poll.
The poll was conducted online through Google Forms as part of FOSAD’s end-of-year activities for 2025 and was open exclusively to members of the forum. Participants comprised academic professionals and citizens from the five states of Nigeria’s South-East geopolitical zone. A total of 830 valid responses were recorded, reflecting what FOSAD described as an informed and evidence-based assessment by respondents with deep knowledge of governance and public policy in the region.
At the conclusion of the poll, Governor Alex Otti emerged overall winner with 461 votes, representing 55.5 percent of the total responses. He was followed by the Governor of Enugu State, Peter Mbah, who secured 292 votes (35.2 percent). The Governor of Anambra State, Charles Soludo, placed third with 65 votes (7.8 percent). Hope Uzodinma of Imo State received seven votes (0.8 percent), while Francis Nwifuru of Ebonyi State recorded five votes (0.6 percent).
According to the leadership of FOSAD, the poll assessed governors across clearly defined governance and development indicators. These included 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.
FOSAD stated that Governor Otti’s performance rating was driven by members’ assessment of reforms, policy direction and visible governance outcomes recorded in Abia State during the period under review. The forum emphasized that the exercise was not intended to disparage any governor but to provide constructive feedback, encourage healthy competition and promote peer learning across the South-East.
The forum further noted that the 2025 poll was conducted in a free, fair and transparent manner, without external influence or financial inducement, and reflected the independent views of participating members.
In recognition of the result, Dr Alex Otti is expected to receive the FOSAD Best Performing South-East Governor 2025 Award at a formal ceremony scheduled for January 2026. FOSAD 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 region.
The announcement was jointly signed by Dr Stephen Nwala, President of the Forum of South East Academic Doctors, and Dr Uzor Ngoladi, Secretary General of the forum.
