…Ikpeazu’s aide resigns, joins APGA
The 2015 governorship candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Dr. Alex Otti, has explained why he is re-contesting next year’s governorship election in Abia State.
Otti, at a public declaration of his intention on Friday, said he is seeking the governorship seat in order to reclaim his 2015 election that was allegedly stolen by the People’s Democratic Party (PDP). The event took place at Ngwa High School, Aba.
He expressed concern that the administration of Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu has failed to address the issues that prompted him to abandon his plum bank job, in order to provide good leadership for Abia State.
Insisting that his ‘loss’ to the PDP in 2015 was a clear case of electoral robbery by the PDP, Otti accused the party of using Federal might to overturn APGA’s victory. He thus assured the crowd of supporters at the event that it will no longer be business as usual.
The former bank chief executive said APGA will be victorious in 2019, promising to deploy his wealth of experience in the private and public sectors to rescue Abia State from the brink of slavery, which the ruling party had dragged it into.
Otti also said it was high timer Abia State was redeemed from the hands of godfathers who do not think well for the people.
“I’m declaring for 2019 to reclaim the mandate you people gave me in 2015. Despite whoever that is occupying the Government House, the person that is ruling Abia today is T.A Orji. Abia is not his personal property, I am on a mission to rescue my people from the Pharaohs of Abia and there will be no retreat and no surrender; they must let our people go this time around. ”
Urging Abians not to allow themselves to be deceived again on where he comes from, Otti said he is proud to say that although he has Arochukwu ancestry, he was born and bred in Nvosi, in Isiala Ngwa South Local Government Area.
According to the governorship hopeful, the same cannot be said of some of his political opponents who have made this a political issue and whose ancestry has been traced to Itim Ekpo in Akwa Ibom State.
“I am all round an Abia man. I have Arochukwu ancestry; I’m not denying that and I was born and bred in Nvosi in Isiala Ngwa Local Government Area, but we have traced the ancestry of some of those who have made this a political issue to Etim Ekpo in Akwa Ibom State and people can now tell who is more Abian.”
Otti said if elected governor next year, he would change the narrative of the state, assuring that he will not only ensure the state prospers economically, but also ensure its workforce will not suffer as a result of non-payment of salaries, gratuities and pensions.
The State Chairman of APGA, Reverend Agustine Ehiemere, Senator Victor Umeh, and the Governor of Anambra State, Willie Obiano represented by his deputy, Dr. Nkem Okeke described Otti as a man with impeccable character, intelligence and of good repute who has distinguished himself in both public and private sectors of the economy.
With the experience he has garnered, Otti, they said, he would be the most qualified candidate to lead Abia State out of the doldrums.
Obiano, while urging Abians to give Otti the needed support, said the government of Anambra State and the leadership of APGA have the confidence that if elected governor of Abia State, he would replicate the APGA transformation in Anambra, adding to the number of governors in the Southeast that would deploy their influence and contacts to draw the attention of the Federal government to the plight of Igbos in the country.
A major plus for Otti’s camp was the resignation of Ikpeazu’s Senior Special Assistant on ICT, Mr. Tony Onyenweaku, who also defected from the PDP to APGA. He was received with open arms.
