Alex Otti Accompanies Shettima to Nigeria-Ethiopia Nutrition Forum

What changed

Abia State Governor Alex Otti accompanied Vice-President Kashim Shettima to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, for the inaugural Nigeria-Ethiopia Nutrition Leadership Exchange Forum, also known as the Pearl Exchange Forum.

The forum ran from 7 to 9 October 2026. The trip puts Otti alongside Shettima at a bilateral policy gathering focused on nutrition leadership.

Why it matters

The significance is institutional before it is financial. Nigeria and Ethiopia used the forum to bring senior officials into the same conversation on nutrition, while Otti’s presence gives the meeting a state-level Nigerian participant alongside the federal vice-president.

That matters because nutrition policy often has to move between national priorities and what governments can actually deliver locally. Otti’s role signals that the discussion was not confined to Abuja’s federal machinery.

There is no reported agreement, funding commitment or programme outcome yet. The next meaningful signal will be whether the forum produces a named initiative or follow-through beyond the 7–9 October meeting.