Politics

VIDEO: ‘Uzodimma can’t speak for everyone’ — Otti on Tinubu’s South-East backing

Ngozika Onah
Governor Alex Otti of Abia State
Abia State Governor Alex Otti has distanced himself from a claim by Imo State Governor Hope Uzodimma that all five South-East governors had agreed to support President Bola Tinubu’s re-election bid in 2027, saying no individual governor could speak on behalf of the entire region.

Otti said Uzodimma was entitled to express his personal position but stressed that the final decision on who becomes president in 2027 would be made by Nigerians through the ballot.

The Abia governor made the remarks on Thursday during his monthly media chat while responding to reports that South-East governors had reached an agreement to support Tinubu for a second term.

“If he said that, it is his right to say it as a governor and as an individual, but he can’t speak for everybody. I’m sure that at the appropriate time, people will take their decision,” Otti said.

He noted that his political affiliation with the Labour Party meant he would support the party’s candidate in the next presidential election.

“My party is Labour Party. And Labour Party has its own presidential and vice-presidential candidate. To the extent that we have candidates, we support them,” he said.

Otti, however, said he had no objection to Tinubu seeking another term, adding that the president was constitutionally entitled to contest.

“Am I against the President running for a second term? Absolutely no. He has a right to run for a second term, and others who also want to run have a right to run,” he said.

The governor said democracy allowed all eligible candidates to seek office, with voters having the final say.

“At the end of the day, it’s the ballot box… that will determine what happens,” he added.

Otti also reiterated his support for some of the Federal Government’s economic reforms, including the removal of petrol subsidy, saying he had long opposed subsidising consumption.

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According to him, fuel subsidy created opportunities for corruption, arguing that “subsidising consumption is not the way to go.”

Uzodimma, who chairs the South-East Governors’ Forum, had recently said the region’s five governors agreed to support Tinubu’s re-election, citing federal infrastructure projects, including road construction, rail development and the establishment of the South East Development Commission.

The South-East governors, however, belong to different political parties. Uzodimma and Ebonyi State Governor Francis Nwifuru are members of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Enugu State Governor Peter Mbah belongs to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Otti is a member of the Labour Party (LP), while Anambra State Governor Chukwuma Soludo belongs to the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA).