Alex Otti, a banker-turned-politician, believes he has what it takes to defeat Governor Okezie Ikpeazu in Abia State
By Emeka Ejere
There are strong indications that the 2019 governorship election in Abia State will be a battle royale between Okezie Ikpeazu, the incumbent governor from the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and Alex Otti, of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA.
Otti, who believes he won the 2015 election but was denied the mandate by the powers that be, appears to be increasingly confident that he will not only win again, but will also ensure that the mandate is defended this time.
The former group managing director of Diamond Bank Plc has, consequently, told Ikpeazu to start preparing his handover note, vowing to end what he termed the 19 years of the PDP misrule in the state.
Addressing the APGA members and supporters during the official flag-off of his campaign on Wednesday, December 12 in Umuahia, Otti decried the dilapidated state of infrastructures in the state, asserting that the current state government had failed despite huge allocations to Abia from the federal government.
At a town hall meeting held in Lagos on Saturday, November 24, Otti regretted that since civilian rule returned in 1999, Aba, the commercial capital of the state, has suffered immense neglect and has lost its vibrancy, with insecurity, sadness, and depression characterizing the city.
He observed that many of the business men and women that made Aba thrive have since relocated, while rampaging, band of marauders make life unbearable for the few people who remain in the face of armed robbery, kidnapping, and gangsterism.
“Instead of concentrating on solving these problems, and recreating the thriving bustle of that city, the government invests hundreds of millions of naira in propaganda; in hiring Nollywood stars to produce TV and radio commercials believing that all you need is to tell a lie and convince people that it is the truth,” Otti said.
He further revealed that every month, the government of Abia State earns between N5billion and N6billion from internally generated revenue, federal allocation, and various other capital injection funds from the federal government.
Otti is raising accountability issues that seem to be dear to the hearts of the electorate. From his findings, between 1999 and 2018, which is a period of 19 years, Abia State government has earned close to N1trillion.
“The question I want to ask all of you sitting here is, what did the governments of the PDP in Abia do with that money in the years it has been in power?
“Many of you here have been to Abia State recently. Can anyone in this hall tell me if there is anything in Abia State that justifies that huge sum of money? The question I want every son and daughter of Abia State to ask the government of Abia State is, where did our money go? What did you do with the monies of the people of Abia State?”
To further buttress his point, he went more precise: “In 2015, I challenged the government of Chief T.A. Orji to explain to the people of Abia State what it did with the federal allocation, the state internally generated revenue and all the other monies accruing to Abia State in eight years. I challenged Chief T.A. Orji to come to Aba and stand on Fox Road…, or Umungasi and tell the people of Aba what he did with the monies allocated to the state.
“I challenged him to point to anywhere in Aba that justifies the huge sums of money. I stood in Umuahia, the state capital and asked him to tell me and the people of Umuahia what he has done with the monies accruing to us, to show me anywhere in Umuahia that looks like a state capital.
“You know what happened? Chief T.A. Orji did not have an answer to my question. And because he couldn’t answer those questions, the people of Abia turned out on mass to vote for APGA.
“As you all know, APGA won that election in every local government in Abia State. APGA won the election in the booth in Umuobasi, Umuahia, that is the ward of Chief T.A. Orji who was the incumbent governor running for Senate.
“The people of Umuobasi, the people of Ugba community, the people of Ibeku, the people of Umuahia stood up against their son, Chief T.A. Orji and voted for APGA. You know why? Because he could not answer the question of what he did with the monies belonging to Abia people.”
“Just five days ago, I heard in the news that it is not just me asking, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, arrested him (T.A. Orji) and asked him to account for N27billion, monies which he allegedly stole. And I tell you, that is just a fraction of the monies belonging to the people of Abia State.
“As you also know, Chief T.A. Orji’s godfather, his predecessor in office, is also answering the question of what he did with the monies belonging to Abia State. Today, the two previous governors of Abia State are standing before the law to answer to the question, what did you do with the money of Abia people?
“The information available to me is that what happened under Chief Orji Uzo Kalu and Chief T.A. Orji is a child’s play compared to what is happening now in the government of their godson, Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu. As they say, in Abia, it is from grandfather to father to son.”
Otti believes there is no better time to move Abia away from the road of backwardness to the path of progress than now. He said, “A time comes in the life of a people when they must stand up and say, enough is enough. The time has come when the children of Abia State, the owners of the state should say, enough is enough. Enough of the lies, enough of the looting. It is time for action.”
According to his manifesto, the rescue mission of his government shall stand on five levers of industrialization and MSMEs, trade and commerce, agriculture and agro processing, sports/entertainment and tourism as well as energy.
The manifesto has continued to receive patronage from stakeholders. On August 8, a group of Abia State professionals, South East businessmen and technocrats threw their weight behind Otti.
Speaking at a business meeting in Lagos, tagged: Time Out with Alex Otti, where the banker turned politician was hosted, the group vowed to use their means and power to force the incumbent out of Abia Government House and retrieve the mandate allegedly stolen from Otti in 2015.
Stella Okoli, chief executive officer of Emzor Pharmaceuticals Limited, said God has appointed Otti as the messiah to restore the glory of Abia for the benefit of the people of the Southeast.
She said, “I believe that Dr Otti is intelligent and a well-read man with great understanding of the needs of the people of Abia State and as such I recommend him as the best man to do the job of restoring our people.”
She called on all well-meaning people of the state to back Otti’s aspiration, adding, “we need to work together and give him our support so that we can get him to offer his service to our people”.
ABC Orjiakor, chairman of Seplat Petroleum, Plc., described Otti as the solution to the problem of Abia, noting that what the state lacks presently is a man that will bring good governance to the people of Abia.
He said that the victory of Otti was stolen in 2015 because a lot of people were not on ground to monitor the counting of votes, stressing that once Otti is elected his good governance in the state will affect the whole Southeast.
The large crowd that witnessed Alex Otti’s declaration in Umuahia last week
Ernest Ndokwe, former executive vice chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, praised Otti for his outstanding quality which he said made him suitable for the job of bringing good governance to the people of Abia.
He said, “He has the means to change the life of the people of Abia, he knows what the people wants and has the capacity to respond to the needs of the people.”
Outside Abia State, Otti has also enjoyed the endorsements of some political and economic heavy weights. Willie Obiano, governor of Anambra State, said: “Alex Otti is a good man. In recent times, I have worked closely with him. I count him as a friend and a dependable ally. We shall once again work together in no distance time.”
Aliko Dangote, president of Dangote Group, said: Alex is very trustworthy, dependable and very straightforward. In terms of honesty, you can’t really fault him. I can vouch for him. He is more than capable to govern Abia State. I feel honoured to be associated with him.
But Ikpeazu believes that he and his team have lived up to their campaign promises, hence the endorsements coming from all angles for their second term. Convinced that the endorsements are not products of inducement, arm twisting or devious manipulations, the governor said he was humbled by the confidence reposed in him by the people and promised to do more.
His words: “The people are the repositories of power and the elected emerge by the grace of God and the votes of the people.
“Having said that, it is important to state that before the elections, we made campaign promises that defined choices. In the last three years and counting, we have recorded commendable success in delivering on our promises.
If there are milestones that are likely not to be met within the four years, we have been sincere and humble enough to explain the constraints and challenges which the citizens are aware are not peculiar to Abia and cannot be blamed on lack of gravitas on the part of the governor and his team.
“In the light of the above, armed with requisite information freely released to the people in recognition of their position as stakeholders and convinced that we are leading the state through the right path to an assuring paradigm shift, the people in their wisdom feel that the momentum should be sustained, thus, the endorsements. Beyond these, the discipline and transparency you bring in driving government business, becomes the icing on the cake.”
Sam Nkire, deputy national chairman of the Reformed All Progressives Congress (South), is certain that Ikpeazu will easily win his re-election in 2019 going by the level of development he has brought to the state.
According to a statement he issued in Umuahia, Nkire said he was quite sure the people of Abia State would not forget to pay Ikpeazu with a resounding victory in order to encourage him to do much more.
He further commended the Abia State governor especially for what he called the monumental facelift he is giving Aba town, adding that Aba was on the way to regaining its name as the Japan of Nigeria.