Don’t Distract Alex Otti With Court Cases, Ikpeazu Tells PDP, Others

Abia State Governor, Okezie Ikpeazu has urged candidates of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP and other political parties that participated in the just concluded gubernatorial election in the state not to distract the Governor-elect, Alex Otti of Labour Party with court cases.

Governor Ikpeazu in a statement made available by Onyebuchi Ememanka,
Chief Press Secretary to the Governor on Wednesday, said Dr. Otti has fought a long battle over a very long period of time and deserves commendation for his staying power and resilience.

“Since we have come to the logical end of this battle, it is appropriate to congratulate the winner, Dr Alex Otti on his hard fought victory.

“In every battle, there will always be a winner and in the spirit of sportsmanship and love for our state, the Governor elect must see his victory as a higher call to service to the people of Abia State”, Ikpeazu said.

The press statement reads: “The Governor also salutes the other candidates who took part in the election, especially the PDP candidate, Sir Okey Ahiwe, for their doggedness. Dr Ikpeazu is of the considered opinion that the Governor-Elect should be given an enabling environment to run the affairs of state from May 29th, 2023 and hereby advises the candidates not to distract the incoming Governor with court cases.

“According to the Governor, “having myself spent about three and half years in different courts and having experienced first hand, the distraction such cases can cause a leader, I appeal to every candidate in this election not to distract the incoming administration with court cases, so that they will settle down and deal with the very demanding business of governance.

“Let us break this negative trend of subjecting our Governors to endless litigations and allow them to concentrate on providing good governance”.

“Governor Okezie Ikpeazu assures the Governor Elect that he will put in place every necessary measure to ensure a seamless transition from his administration to his.

“The Governor thanks the people of Abia State for casting their votes in a very peaceful atmosphere and reminds them that peace remains very critical in the quest for sustainable development, charging them to accord the incoming Governor every necessary support that will enable him succeed.

“Governor Ikpeazu ends by wishing the incoming Governor, God’s blessings and guidance while assuring the people of Abia State that he will continue to discharge his duties as Governor until the 29th day of May, 2023 when he will handover to the new Governor”.

Abia State returning officer, Professor Nnenna Oti, declared Alex Otti winner of the Guber Poll after the LP candidate pulled 175,467 to beat the main opponent, Okey Ahiwe of the Peoples Democratic Party that scored 88,529 votes.

The state returning officer make di final declaration after collating the result of Obingwa Local government area that delayed the final announcement.

From the results, Otti won 11 Local government areas of Abia North, Abia South, Arochukwu, Bende, Ikwuano, Isuikwuato, Ohafia, Umuahia North, Umuahia South, Umunneochi and Obingwa.

PURVEYORS OF FAKE NEWS DO NOT KNOW THAT OBI AND I ARE VERY CLOSE

The Abia State Governor-Elect, Dr. Alex Otti, OFR says that those trying to twist his statement about having won an election in the past when he and his friend and Presidential Candidate of Labour Party, Mr. Peter Obi were not in the same party, do not know the extent of their relationship and virility of their bond, which he described as unbreakable and evergreen.

Reacting to a trending report quoting him as saying that ” I had won election in the past without Peter Obi”, Dr. Otti described the report as Headline-induced Journalistic Sensationalism geared towards driving social media traffic and drawing needless controvery that would keep the promoters busy.

According to the ex bank Chief “Peter Obi knows me, understands my personality, and knows that I hold him very high, and thus would be laughing at those that twisted my statement in a manner it would look like a denigration of him.
That I almost lost the APGA Governorship ticket in 2019 in Abia, was because I had the audacity to defend Obi publicly when I presented facts of evidence to prove that he left the money he claimed to have left behind in Anambra’s treasury while leaving office as governor. This was against the denial by the then Anambra state government.

Again, my Thisday Column of June 8, 2020 captioned “The Triumph of Profligacy Over Prudence” was used to celebrate Obi and his leadership style. As we were not in the same party then, there was no better way to prove that my love, support and appreciation of Okwute has nothing to do with politics. I’m sure he would be laughing over this report, because he’s smarter and thus understands the agenda of those circulating the distorted portion of my interview.

Obi and I have unbreakable bond, therefore those trying to use a news headline to bury the substance of my analogical submission which was made to respond to a question and explain that, outside the massive impacts of the Obi wave, we are on ground in Abia and had won elections twice in the past; are either being misled or are outrightly mischievous.

The ex bank Chief had while responding to a question on whether it was the Obi wave that made him win the election had responded that he won in 2015 and 2019, which were stolen. In 2015, his party also won close to 50% of the House of Assembly seats, an assembly that PDP had always won all the seats since 1999. He was trying to explain the need to be on ground and work hard rather than expecting victory on the wing of a wave. He also explained that when he was joining Labour Party, he wasn’t expecting the Obi wave as he didn’t know Peter was joining Labour party until a week later. These are verifiable statements of fact.

Signed: Ferdinand Ekeoma
Special Adviser
(Media and Publicity)
25-03-2023.