Victor EzejaLabour Party governorship candidate in Abia State, Dr Alex Otti, says his administration will restore the dignity of the Abia person, when he takes over the seat of government on May 29, 2023.
Otti said Abia citizens have become the butt of jokes when issues of development and good governance among the federating states of Nigeria are discussed in private and public gatherings.
The LP gubernatorial frontrunner, who spoke on Tuesday in Uturu, Isuikwuato Local Government Area, in continuation of his local government campaign tours of the state for the 2023 elections, said that was one of the reasons he resigned from his plum job as chief executive officer of a foremost bank in 2014, to run for the governorship of Abia.
Otti said it was critical to delivering Abia State from the stranglehold of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which has entrenched the state in poverty and underdevelopment for over 23 years and more disastrous in the last seven years of Okezie Ikpeazu’s administration.
“What is critical to us is to rescue Abia State and that’s the reason I joined the governorship race. I’m not in it for personal enrichment. God has already blessed me,” he said.
The renowned economist and top banker reiterated his position that a leader must understand the workings of the economy in order to properly address the issues involved in governance.
“Understanding how the economy works is critical to leadership and governance.
The good thing about our leadership is that we are standing firmly on our feet. We don’t have any godfather. We have not signed any agreement with anybody. What we are doing is coming to develop our state; develop our infrastructure, create wealth and the enabling environment for our people to prosper.
“Whatever it takes, we’re going to rescue the state and restore the dignity of the Abia person. We are tired of people insulting us due to the underdevelopment of the state,” he said.
Otti, who was accompanied by his wife, Mrs Priscilla Otti, on the campaign tour, spoke about supporting the enterprising women and youths of Abia through the disbursement of interest free loans and asked them to begin the process of grouping themselves into cooperatives in order to benefit from the proposed programme.
He said: “If you’re trading with N100,000, we will give you additional N100,000. If you’re conducting your trade with N200,000, we’ll give you additional N200,000. Whatever amount of money you have invested in your business, we will double it.”
Speaking earlier while welcoming Dr Otti to his palace, Eze Uwadiegwu Ogbonnaya, Chairman of Isuikwuato Traditional Rulers Council, enumerated all the challenges of poor infrastructural development in his community.
He praised the LP governorship candidate for helping the Isuikwuato people in attracting some critical road projects, including the 4.5 km Mbalanano/Umuasua road project, through the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).
On the campaign trail with Otti was the senatorial candidate for Abia North, Chief Nnamdi Iro Orji (Opotoyom); candidate for Isuikwuato-Umunneochi Federal Constituency, Amobi Ogah and Isuikwuato state Constituency candidate, Ifeanyi Njoko.
– Kazie Uko
11/01/2023
Victor Ezeja is a passionate journalist with six years of experience writing on economy, politics and energy. He holds a Masters degree in Mass Communication.
Follow Us