I’m not part of coalition, not joining APC – Otti
By Jeffrey Agbo
Abia State Governor Alex Otti has said he remains a member of the Labour Party and is not looking to join the opposition coalition party nor the ruling party.
“I will just spend a few minutes talking about what some members of the Global Economic Council have been asking me. One of them is the report about five governors decamping to the APC. I’m still a member of the Labour Party and I’m not looking for where to decamp to,” he said at a dinner in Umuahia on Tuesday to mark the start of the 2025 mid-year retreat for government appointees.
“The second point is about coalition, and a lot of people have been asking me, are you a member of the coalition? And my response is, have you seen my name? Have you seen me attending the coalition meeting?
“We are just busy doing the work that Abia people have given us. So, we are not attending any coalition meeting, I have not attended any one, and nobody has invited me.
“I am happy where I am. Yes, we had issues. If you don’t have issues, you are dead So, you wake up and there is one problem or the other, you solve the problem. You don’t run away from a problem and pretend to have solved it.”
The governor added that while the party had faced internal challenges, those issues were resolved at the Supreme Court.
Otti also dismissed claims that his administration has been borrowing to run the state, saying Abia has not taken any new loans since he assumed office in May 2023.
Otti said, “There is nothing wrong with criticising the government, but you must criticise with facts. Opinions are free, but facts are sacred.
“Some people have come out to say that we are borrowing; they are lying. Did I borrow from them? I saw a report yesterday that says that 26 out of the 36 states have actually reduced loans in the last 12 months, and Abia came first, having reduced its debt profile by 57.20% in one year.
“So, when we say we have not borrowed, we know what we are talking about. But that we have not borrowed doesn’t mean we will not borrow. We will borrow when we need to borrow. We will borrow for regenerative investments. We will not borrow to eat. We will not borrow to consume. We will borrow for capital expenditure.”
The governor announced that providing potable water is the next major focus of his administration, with projects set to be flagged off in Aba and Umuahia in the coming weeks.
