Abia State Governor Alex Otti has ruled out seeking election to the Senate after completing his tenure, saying he intends to retire from active politics in 2031 and make way for younger Nigerians.
Otti also said he would not seek to control Abia politics from outside government, insisting that his successor should emerge based on merit and suitability for the job.
The governor spoke at the weekend in Umuahia while receiving the 2023 governorship candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Ngozika Gladys, and her supporters, who defected to the Labour Party (LP).
Otti said his priority was to leave behind a legacy of good governance and facilitate the emergence of a successor capable of improving on the achievements of his administration.
“What I can assure you is that by the time I’m done, the person that will succeed me will be better than me,” he said.
The governor said he was determined to give younger people opportunities to occupy leadership positions, rather than perpetuating a culture of prolonged political control.
“Once I finish this one, I will retire. I want the young people to take over. We should stop this sit-tight system,” Otti said.
He also rejected the idea of becoming a political godfather, saying the choice of his successor should involve a collective assessment of available candidates.
“I don’t want to be a godfather and I don’t tolerate godfathers,” he said.
“We will all sit down, look at everybody and say, who is the best person for this job and then all of us will agree and we will campaign for him. He will win and we will take a back seat.”
Otti said his administration remained focused on delivering good governance, noting that citizens who experience improved governance would be reluctant to return to previous conditions.
He said the government had adopted a phased approach to development because of the scale of the challenges inherited by his administration.
“This is just about 39 months. Everything cannot be done in one day, particularly in a place that has been badly managed in the last 24 years. It takes a lot of time, resources and planning,” he said.
The governor said his administration initially concentrated on restoring Aba and Umuahia before expanding development projects to communities in the hinterland.
“The most important areas for us were to restore Aba and Umuahia. And I can tell you without any fear of contradiction that we have literally restored those cities.
“We are now moving into the hinterlands, and we will continue until we reach everywhere,” he added.
Otti also welcomed Gladys into the Labour Party, describing her decision to contest the 2023 governorship election on the SDP platform as courageous.
He commended her for bringing children from the School for the Blind to the event, describing attention to vulnerable groups as an important part of building an inclusive society.
Earlier, Gladys said she decided to join the Labour Party after assessing developments recorded in Abia under Otti’s administration.
