Abia State Governor Alex Otti has said Imo State Governor Hope Uzodinma cannot speak for all South East governors regarding support for President Bola Tinubu’s 2027 re-election bid, insisting that voters will ultimately decide who becomes president.
Speaking at his monthly media chat in Umuahia, Otti was responding to comments from Uzodinma suggesting South East governors have agreed to support Tinubu’s re-election due to development projects delivered to the region. Otti said Uzodinma was entitled to express his personal opinion but could not speak on behalf of other governors, noting that he belongs to the Labour Party, which has its own presidential candidates for 2027. He said he is not opposed to Tinubu seeking a second term, since any qualified candidate has a constitutional right to run, but stressed that the ballot box would ultimately decide the outcome. He reaffirmed his support for some of the administration’s economic reforms, including fuel subsidy removal, arguing that subsidising consumption encourages corruption, and disclosed that Abia is in talks with other South East and South South states to jointly develop a regional rail network.
Separately, the Igbo Leaders of Thought criticised South East governors for what it called excessive credit giving to the president for regional development projects, citing instances where governors attributed locally initiated projects, including an ICT university and a smart school programme, primarily to federal support. The group, in a statement from its leadership, said political office holders from the region should focus on delivering democratic dividends rather than what it called sycophantic praise, and separately warned against the suppression of opposition parties ahead of 2027, citing concerns raised by Nigeria Democratic Congress candidate Peter Obi over his safety and judicial rulings it said appeared targeted at destabilising opposition parties. The group cautioned that narrowing political space ahead of elections carries historical risks, pointing to past political crises linked to disputed elections as a warning against repeating similar mistakes.
