The good work of Governor Alex Otti is speaking eloquently for him in Abia State. Based on the remarkable performance of the governor which has seen the state transforming into a modern economy with vastly improved infrastructure, Otti has been receiving accolades, endorsements and commendations from across the various social strata of Abia and beyond.
With the impressive level of achievements recorded so far by the Otti administration in just within two and half years, the darkness of the last 24 years of the state during which the People Democratic Party-led governments held sway, has been starkly brought to the fore. Having been accustomed to bad governance, a vast majority of Abians never thought the ongoing infrastructural revolution was possible. To the delight of the people, the jinx of underdevelopment and mal-administration has been totally shattered by Otti, thereby making it extremely difficult for the retired political cabals and godfathers to reclaim power in the state anymore.
It is, therefore, not surprising that all the good people of the state and well-meaning Nigerians are unanimous in their demand for Otti to seek re-election in 2027 so that he would continue with his good works. Earlier in this new year when he paid a courtesy visit to the governor at his country home in Nvosi, Isiala Ngwa South Local Government Area, the state’s first Military Administrator, Air Vice Marshal Frank Ajobena (rtd.) was effusive with praise for the incredible job Otti had done to develop and reposition the state for greatness. He described the governor as a change agent who has done so much to turn Umuahia, the state capital, into a city befitting its status. He also gave Otti kudos for the economic turn-around in Aba, the commercial hub of the state.
After Ajobena`s visit, many groups had met with the governor and reassured him of their collective support in his 2027 re-election bid. One of such groups was a delegation of the Abiriba Community Improvement Union. They commended Otti for all his efforts to change the hitherto bad narratives about the state and assured him of their support in 2027. One of the leaders of the delegation, Prof. Mkpa Agu Mkpa, who is a former Secretary to the State Government, spoke in glowing terms about the transformational Otti’s leadership, saying that his accomplishments within two years had surpassed the contributions of the combined tenures of Orji Uzor Kalu, Theodore Orji and Okezie Ikpeazu, all former governors in the last 27 years.
A few days ago, the people of Ukwa and Ngwa in Abia South Senatorial zone similarly gave their backing to the governor to seek re-election in 2027, assuring him of their unflinching support. During a civic reception they organised at Aba Township Stadium in his honour, the Ukwa La Ngwa group raised the N100 million to purchase governorship nomination form for the governor. This is an unprecedented gesture, which underscores the implicit confidence and trust of the people in Otti’s impeccable performance.
On the occasion, the Chairman of the event, Chief Adolphus Wabara, who is a former Senate President, commended Otti for his superlative performance. He vowed that no individual, group or cabal would be allowed to determine the political destiny of the state in 2027. In his reaction to the recent threats by a coalition of the former governors of the state to block Otti`s second term bid and rather the state to the All Progressives Congress, Wabara warned that the inglorious era of a few individuals imposing a leader on the State was ‘irretrievably gone’.
‘Leadership must be earned through competence, credibility and track record, and not imposed through manipulation and selfish interests. No cabal will decide Abia`s political destiny’, Wabara pointedly stated.
The position of the former Senate President is widely shared by all well-meaning people of the state. Those former cabals who brought the state down on its knees would be forcibly retired by the electorate to their various hamlets in 2027, thus marking the end of prebendal politics in the state.
The people of Abia suffered tremendously in the hands of these godless godfathers in the last 24 years. They must not be allowed to reverse our current gains and re-launch the state on the path of infamy. All hands must be on the deck to ensure that these mindless cabals are booted out in 2027.
Afflictions shall never be allowed to occur twice.
May Abia continue to prevail!
Nwosu, PhD, a public affairs analyst, writes from Umuahia, the Abia State capital. Email: cdnwosu2@gmail.com
