The Abia State Government has issued a stern warning to opposition politicians, particularly senior members of the All Progressives Congress, to desist from what it described as deliberate attempts to manufacture a political rift between Governor Alex Otti and President Bola Tinubu for electoral advantage.
The caution was delivered on Sunday by the governor’s Special Adviser on Policies and Interventions, Rev. Fr. Christian Anokwuru, against the backdrop of reports suggesting that three former governors, all now aligned with the APC, were allegedly scheming to oust Otti and dismantle the Labour Party’s hold on the state before the 2027 general elections.
Anokwuru accused opposition figures of exploiting President Tinubu’s name and the federal government’s “Renewed Hope” agenda as the foundation for attacks on the Otti administration, rather than engaging in substantive, policy-driven criticism. He characterised the tactic as “forced enmity” and a calculated misrepresentation of the relationship between the Abia governor and the nation’s president.
“When former governors and past political office holders, whose records are still fresh in the collective memory of Abians, congregate to challenge the leadership of Dr Alex Otti, the public is entitled to interrogate not just their claims, but also their credibility,” Anokwuru said in a statement made available to journalists.
He criticised what he described as the opposition’s overreliance on federal symbolism instead of substantive engagement with governance issues affecting ordinary citizens in Abia State.
“Everything about your supposed criticism against Dr Alex Otti’s administration is resting on ‘Renewed Hope’. It is expected that an opposition made up of former governors should build arguments based on their own achievements, not by name-dropping President Bola Tinubu,” the governor’s aide stated.
Anokwuru urged opposition leaders to abandon what he termed politics of vendetta and personal bitterness, warning that efforts to create a wedge between Otti and the president were futile and would not yield the desired political outcomes.
“Stop forcing enmity between Alex Otti and President Bola Tinubu; it cannot work because their friendship is beyond politics,” he said, emphasising that the relationship between the two leaders transcended partisan considerations.
He acknowledged the importance of opposition politics in a functional democracy but argued that it loses moral standing when driven by selfish ambition rather than genuine concern for the welfare of the people or coherent alternative policy proposals.
“More concerning is the heavy reliance on the perceived might of President Bola Tinubu as the backbone of the opposition. Federal proximity cannot substitute for local legitimacy, nor can it erase the lived experiences of the people under previous administrations,” Anokwuru added, in what appeared to be a reference to the records of former Abia governors now active in opposition politics.
He dismissed outright any suggestions that the opposition enjoyed the backing of President Tinubu, insisting instead that the president had consistently demonstrated goodwill and support for Governor Otti’s administration.
“The irony is that President Bola Tinubu has not shown support for whatever propaganda these relevance seekers are pushing. The president knows that Dr Alex Otti is one of the best-performing governors in Nigeria and has continually shown support for his administration,” Anokwuru said.
The statement comes amid heightened political tension in Abia State, where the Labour Party’s unexpected victory in the 2023 governorship election ended decades of dominance by the Peoples Democratic Party and dealt a significant blow to the APC’s ambitions in the South-East.
Governor Otti, a former banker and economist, emerged as a third-force candidate riding on widespread public dissatisfaction with the established political order in the state. His administration has sought to position itself as a departure from previous governments, focusing on infrastructure development, civil service reforms, and what it describes as fiscal discipline.
However, his tenure has not been without controversy. Opposition figures, including former governors and party chieftains, have repeatedly questioned his policies and accused his administration of marginalising certain political interests. The alleged plot to unseat him reflects the enduring rivalry between the Labour Party, which controls the state, and the APC and PDP, both of which are seeking to reclaim political influence ahead of the next electoral cycle.
The invocation of President Tinubu’s name in local Abia politics is significant. As the leader of the APC and the sitting president, Tinubu wields considerable influence, particularly in matters involving federal support, resource allocation, and political endorsements. Opposition figures may be banking on the perception that aligning with the president could confer legitimacy and mobilise federal backing for their cause.
Yet Anokwuru’s statement suggests that the Abia government views such tactics as hollow and disconnected from the realities on the ground. By asserting that Tinubu has maintained a cordial relationship with Otti, the governor’s aide appears to be attempting to neutralise any potential advantage the opposition might gain from federal association.
“Tinubu is not backing you; you are backing yourself with Tinubu. This approach does not strengthen democracy; it weakens public trust,” Anokwuru concluded, framing the opposition’s strategy as both disingenuous and counterproductive to democratic norms.
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