Emmanuel Ugwu-Nwogo in Umuahia
The newly elected governor of Abia State, Mr. Alex Otti, has been advised to manage well the messianic status conferred on him by the people of Abia following the mandate he received to topple the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
The Chairman of Ikwuano/Umuahia Supreme Council of Traditional Rulers, HRM Eze Nnamdi Ofoegbu, gave the royal counsel while speaking with journalists on the outcome of the 2023 governorship poll in Abia.
He said: “Abia is liberated based on the fact that an opposition candidate has been able to win the governorship election after over two decades of one party holding on to power.
“Abians are looking for a messiah and people now look at Otti as someone who can change the terrain.We hope he can do so.”
Eze Ofoegbu, who is also the Chairman of Ndi Eze Ohuhu Council, noted that people were happy as Otti fits into their expectation of a good leader who would change the state for better.
He said that the governor-elect should embrace all and harness good ideas and should give positions of trust to people with capacity to solve problems and not those whose interest is only to enrich their pockets.
The monarch said that the state governor, Dr Okezie Ikpeazu was the architect of the ruling party’s downfall, noting that people were not happy because salaries and pensions were not paid.
“People feel they have been neglected and treated unfairly. Even the traditional institution has been neglected by the government,” he lamented.
In his reaction, a former Chairman of Abia PDP, Senator Emma Nwaka, noted that the spontaneous jubilation in the streets of Umuahia, Aba and across the state was very significant.
“It eloquently bespeaks the fact that Otti is the choice of the people,” he said, adding that what the governor-elect “owes the people in return is to rewrite their story” of bad governance.
“I urge Abians from all walks of life and our Diaspora to rally round our governor-elect to ensure the success of his administration for the common good,” Nwaka said.
