Alex Otti formally declares to contest for Abia governorship position

Aba, the commercial nerve of Abia State is usually known for the daily hustling and bustling of business and economic activities in almost any nook and cranny of the city that the residents hardly have the luxury of time for fun seeking.

Residents of Aba are so conscious of their time that they don’t want to waste the next minute talking anything apart from business, this account to why many social gatherings are suspended till weekend (Sunday). That is, if you want a good population to attend such gathering.

However, the jinx was on Friday 20^th of July broken as vehicular, business and economic activities were shutdown in the city especially, around the Osisioma area of the city when the 2015 gubernatorial candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Dr. Alex Otti officially declared his intention to run for the seat of the governor of the state in 2019.

The event which took place at the playfield of the prestigious Ngwa High School, attracted dignitaries from all walks of life that graced the occasion including Senator Victor Umeh (former National Chairman of APGA), Hon. Rtn. Ossy Prestige, Governor of Anambra State, Willie Obiano, represented by his Deputy, Dr. Nkem Okeke, Rev. Augustine Ehiemere, Sir Chris Nkwonta, State chairman of the party and among other party faithful and Otti supporters across the 17 Local Government Areas of the state and beyond who thronged the venue to have firsthand account of the event.

Ngwa High School; one of the foremost missionary schools in the southeastern Nigeria, located near the populous Osisioma junction off Enugu-Port-Harcourt Expressway which is a major exit and entrance point into Aba hosts the famous school and Forward Operation Base (FOB), Charlie Coy of the Nigerian Army, 14Brigade Ohafia.

Speaking at the event, Otti said that he was coming back to wipe the tears of Abians, deliver the state from its state of doldrums caused by maladministration and lack of good governance, allegedly by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) led government in the state.

Otti, who until 2014 was the MD/CEO of Diamond Bank, regretted that the incumbent administration in the state was yet to address some of the things that prompted him to leave his plumb job and comfortable position to come and vie for the governorship position in the state.

Otti who maintained that his loss to the PDP in 2015 was clear case of electoral robbery by the PDP who he accused of using federal might to overturn the party’s victory in 2015, but however stated that it will no longer be business as usual.

The financial expert and former while assuring party faithful and his supporters that the party would become victorious in 2019, promised to deploy his wealth of experience in the private and public sector to bring the state out of its state of slavery. This is even as he stated that it was high time the state was redeemed from the hands of godfathers who do not think well for the state.

“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 people of the state not to allow themselves to be deceived again on where he comes from, Otti said he was proud to say although he has Arochukwu ancestry, that he was born and bred in Nvosi in Isiala Ngwa South Local Government.

He said the same could not be said of some of his political opponents who have made this a political issue and whose ancestry he enthused had been traced to Itim Ekpo in Akwa Ibom state.

“I am all round an Abia man, I have an Arochukwu ancestry, I’m not denying that and I was born and bred in Nvosi in Isiala Ngwa Local Government, but we have traced the ancestry of some of those who have made this a political issue, to Etim Ikpo in Akwa Ibom State and people can now tell who is more Abian”.

Otti said if elected governor next year, he would change the narratives of the state, assuring that he will not only ensure the state prospers economically, but also ensure her workforce will not suffer as a result of nonpayment of salaries, gratuities and pensions.

In their various speeches, 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 have distinguished himself in both public and private sectors of the economy.

According to them, Otti with the experience he has been able to garner would be the most qualified candidate to lead the state out of its present state of doldrums.

Obiano while urging Abians to give Otti the needed support said that the government of Anambra and leadership of the APGA have the confidence that if elected the governor of the state would replicate the APGA transformation in Anambra and also add to the number of governor in the southeast that would help to ensure that they use their influence and connection to draw the attention of the federal government to plight of the Igbos in the southeast in particular.

High point of the event was the receiving of the Senior Special Assistant to Governor Ikpeazu on ICT, Tony Onyenweaku who decamped from the Peoples Democratic Party to APGA officially by the leadership of the party.