Alex Otti, Governor of Abia State has denied meeting with his Imo State counterpart, Hope Uzodimma, to discuss how he would dump the Labour Party for the ruling All Progressives Congress.
Otti in a statement issued by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Ferdinand Ekeoma, on Saturday, said that he remained a committed member of the LP.
The governor clarified that after National Economic Council meeting on Thursday himself and a few other governors joined Uzodimma to attend the birthday anniversary celebration of his twin daughters in Abuja.
Otti, said that the event had no political undertone as he is committed to working to improve the living conditions of the Abia people.
The governor said that every political decision he would take would be in collaboration with his allies and the majority of Abians.
He said that it was too early to be talking about the politics of 2027, considering the fact that it is less than two years he took over as the state’s helmsman.
The statement read “the report that His Excellency, Governor Alex Otti, OFR, held a meeting with Governor Hope Uzodinma of Imo State over his alleged planned defection to the All Progressives Congress (APC), is false, baseless and unfounded. It’s completely devoid of substance and thus should be disregarded.
“After the National Economic Council meeting on Thursday, April 24, Governor Otti and a few of his colleagues joined Governor Uzodinma to attend the birthday celebration of his twin daughters, an event that had nothing to do with politics.
“It’s natural for Governor Otti’s impressive performance, popularity and towering credentials as the Governor of Abia State to attract admiration and permutations from interested parties, however, Governor Otti’s political decisions, especially those that would have huge impact and far-reaching consequences on Abians, would at all times be taken in conjunction with majority of Abians and his allies. Such decisions must be justified and be seen to be in the overriding interest of Abia people.
“Governor Otti strongly holds the view that though political activities seem to have once again started gathering momentum, it would be unfair to the Abia electorate if politics of 2027, instead of governance is allowed to dominate discussions less than two years into the administration.
“Finally, we wish to emphatically state that Governor Otti remains a member of the Labour Party and is presently not planning or discussing with anyone to defect to the APC or any other party for that matter as falsely alleged.”
