Dr. Alex Otti is an only son in the family of governors, the only begotten son of Labour Party (LP), born in the 2023 general elections and midwifed in the midst of great difficulties. Viewed from the spiritual prism, we could say that witches and wizards in Abia State nearly consumed the unborn child, but for the efforts of another Oti (Nnenna Oti, spelt differently and not his relation) who exorcised the spiritual pests about to stop a great thing in the offing for Abia State.
Before he was born, Abia had suffered immensely from blood sucker politicians that only managed their gang and their pockets more than they managed towns and communities in God’s own state. Enter, the anointed Otti, and just under four years, the people of the state are singing gloria in excelsis deo.
Otti would have had a Labour Party brother in Enugu State. But the forces of darkness proved insurmountable in that state and so the party had a still birth in the seat of the former eastern region. In that year, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) seized the governorship of the state through Peter Mbah, who eventually donated the seat to the All Progressives Congress (APC), piteously unchallenged. The issue of party switching after election without resigning from the position remains a sour point of the Nigerian democracy fraught with injustices and all manner of irregularities. That’s a discussion for another day.
Returning to the circumstances of the 2023 election, Prof. Nnenna Oti, who was the Vice Chancellor of the Federal University of Technology Owerri (FUTO) found an opportunity to distinguish herself socially and politically. She stood out of the crowd of many professors who had variously served as returning officers in elections and had come out with their integrity badly bruised due to their conduct.
But for the resistance of Prof. Oti to pressure to accept money and thwart the people’s will, Dr. Otti would not have become the Abia State governor that he is today. Yet, the story of his ascendance to the Abia governorship throne would be incomplete without the mention of Mr. Peter Gregory Obi. How? Obi emerged the Presidential flag-bearer of a little-known Labour Party in 2023 and there was a tremendous turnaround in the fortunes of the party.
Otti’s victory at the 2023 polls owes so much to Obi’s candidacy. The former Anambra State governor became so popular that it took inexplicable glitches in electronic collation of results in the IReV, suspected to have been generated by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), to stop him from packing into Aso Rock.
However, his popularity helped so many LP candidates into the state and national assemblies. Only Otti benefitted at the gubernatorial level. The turmoil that dogged Obi and LP was to force him out of the party he nurtured and loved so dearly. Since he shifted to the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and eventually to the Nigerian Democratic Congress (NDC) his relationship with Otti has remained at mutual respect based on past political affinity within the Labour Party.
Otti has publicly referred to Obi as a brother and defended his record. For instance, Otti reaffirmed his 2020 account (written when Otti was a bank CEO) that Obi left approximately $155 million in investments and Eurobonds in credit to Anambra State when he completed his second term as govern. He claimed to have advised him on the investments he made for his state. That means that they had been doing things together before they met at LP.
Gov. Otti has stated that he did not join the Labour Party because of Peter Obi and maintains that his political choices are independent. When Obi informed him of plans to dump the Labour Party for ADC, Otti gave him his blessings but chose to remain and work to rebuild the Labour Party. Perhaps, all the eggs must not be in one basket. Perhaps he belonged to the puritan group that abhors the despicable party switching which unfortunately is the order of the day and subtly endorsed by the courts as judgements emanating from the indicates.
I’m worried that Otti has shielded his interest as to who gets his endorsement for the Presidency come 2027. Many times, he has spoken glowingly of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, but not as vociferous as his other southeastern brother governors.
As a sitting governor and member of the National Executive Council (NEC), according to him, he prefers to maintain a working cooperation with the president. He has, indeed, resisted the enormous pressure on him by top Abia State politicians in the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). He is the only one in the southeast that could not be entirely slurped into the belly of APC.
He has publicly declined to lock himself into a presidential endorsement, not even for his former ally, Peter Obi, despite arguments that he owed Obi a political debt, having rode on his back to power, and notwithstanding that his party’s NWC had picked Obi as their candidate for president.
Although he said that his main focus at the moment was on governance and his own re-election, the complexity of his prevarication could be reasoned out in some ways. He could be fearing for his political life, having been surrounded by unscrupulous APC predators. He takes the cautious steps of an only son in the family, treading softly so as not incur the wrath of those would gladly snuff the life out of him.
If he tilts towards Obi, the APC heavyweights could come after him. Yet, a full allegiance to President Tinubu would attract the frown of his massive allies annoyed at the president’s utter neglect of the southeast region where Abia State falls. So, he remains on the fence, one leg here, another there.
The approach appears to be paying off. Addressing his constituents recently during his campaign, Senator Orji Uzor Kalu was overheard telling them to reserve their votes for OUK (himself) at the Senatorial elections and to vote massively for “the man living in Umuahia.” I did not hear him stress the presidency. The experience of his brother in APC and Deputy Speaker in the House of Representatives, Ben Kalu, was rather more unsavoury when he mentioned the name of the president at his gathering. He was booed. The shout of “kererenke Obi” rent the air, to the disappointment of the Deputy Speaker.
Otti appears to be someone on a special rescue mission. He does not cut the profile of a typical Nigerian politician that places his personal interest above the people’s interest. That posture governs his attitude to campaigns and caution in utterances.
His ability to hold on to his belief is remarkable. However, he needs to go further than that and influence the people’s choice at the centre. If he believes in the Jagaban, he should make it explicit. If Atiku or Obi, according to his judgement, can lead the nation out of the woods, let him say so. He should not be shy of being accused of political parochialism when he endorses a fellow Igbo man. Why not, if the Igbo man is the best candidate among them?
On a Candid Note, Otti, no doubt the best governor in recent times, is doing us a disservice by sitting on the fence in the matter of who occupies Aso Rock come 2027. He should please tilt to a well-thought-out corner.
Dr. Odu can be reached through [email protected] or SMS 07064052031
