By Chibuike Nwabuko
UMUAHIA (PRECISE POST) – Abia State Governor, Dr. Alex Otti, OFR, and his wife, Mrs. Priscilla Chidimma Otti, on Sunday attended and chaired the wedding reception of Dr. Stephanie Ebidenere Diri, daughter of Bayelsa State Governor, Senator Douye Diri, the statement signed by Ukoha Njoku Ukoha, Chief Press Secretary to the Executive Governor of Abia State, on August 9, 2026 said.
Stephanie was joined in holy matrimony with her husband, Mr. Ballad Tamaradoubra, at a ceremony that attracted prominent dignitaries from across the country.
The Abia First Family participated fully in the ceremony, which began with a church service at the Royal House of Grace International Church, Greenland Parish, Yenagoa, where the couple exchanged their marital vows.
Governor Otti subsequently chaired the wedding reception, where he congratulated the newlyweds and prayed for a happy, successful and fulfilling marriage.
Drawing from the biblical injunction that a man shall leave his father and mother, be joined to his wife, and become one flesh, Otti urged the couple to build a new family founded on understanding, love and mutual responsibility.
“Today, both of you are leaving your immediate families to make a new family, and our prayer is that this union will be successful,” the governor said.
Otti acknowledged that disagreements were inevitable in marriage but advised the couple to resolve their differences internally rather than involving third parties, including relatives and friends.
According to him, allowing outsiders to intervene in marital disagreements could be counterproductive, as such persons might approach the issues with bias.
He therefore urged the couple to manage their affairs wisely, understand their respective responsibilities and remain committed to fulfilling their obligations to each other.
The governor also prayed that God would bless the couple with as many children as they desired and provide them with the resources, wisdom and strength required to raise them properly.
The officiating minister and Founder/General Overseer of the Royal House of Grace International Church, Apostle Zilly Aggrey, commended Governor Otti for his developmental initiatives in Abia State, particularly his administration’s investment in road infrastructure.
Aggrey cited the reconstruction and rehabilitation of major roads across Abia, noting that the improved road network had made movement from Rivers State through Port Harcourt Road in Aba, the Ikot Ekpene Road and onward to Uyo in Akwa Ibom State easier.
He recalled that travelling along the routes had previously been difficult and stressful because of the poor condition of the roads.
The cleric also commended Otti for giving the late Rev. Dr. Uma Ukpai a befitting state burial and immortalising the renowned cleric by naming the recently reconstructed and dualised Umuahia-Tower to Onu-Imo Federal Road after him.
Precise Post recalls that the wedding attracted several dignitaries, including Rivers State Governor, Sir Siminalayi Fubara; Kogi State Governor, Usman Ododo; Deputy Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Senator Akon Eyakenyi; former First Lady of Nigeria, Dame Patience Jonathan; and Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Mrs. Didi Esther Walson-Jack, among others.
Governor Otti was accompanied to the ceremony by the Secretary to the Abia State Government, Dr. Emmanuel Meribole, and the State Commissioner for Justice and Attorney General, Mr. Ikechukwu Uwanna, SAN.
