Governor Alex Otti of Abia State has reiterated his long-held view that he will retire from active politics after serving as governor, stating that he has no presidential, vice-presidential, or senatorial ambitions after that.
Otti said this on Friday at the Government House in Umuahia, in response to a viral video in which someone chastised him for his recent visit to Nnamdi Kanu at the Sokoto Correctional Centre, suggesting that he was harboring presidential or vice-presidential ambitions once his tenure ended.
While conceding that disagreement is a natural aspect of democracy, the governor stated that everyone has the freedom to voice an opinion, even if it is not always correct.
“In the first place, that is the beauty of democracy. So people should hold their opinions, and we respect people’s opinions. And the fact that you hold a different opinion does not mean you are right.
“One of the things he talked about was my ambition after being governor, and I have said it before, and I want to say it again, that by the time I am done with governorship, I will retire. So I do not have presidential ambition, nor vice-presidential ambition. I also do not have senatorial ambition when I finish with the governorship.
“I came on a mission, and when I deliver that mission, I will give way for younger people. So he was talking of the Igbo presidency. I do not even understand what that means. So I think if his thesis is based on that assumption, the assumption has collapsed, because he will not see me on the ballot,” the governor stated.
According to Otti, a political office bearer must know when to step down, especially after completing the task at hand.
“When you have done what you have been asked to do, you must take the exit door and give way to other people. We have seen people here who, after being governor, went back to become local government chairmen.
That is not what we are here for. We are not cut out for those kinds of things,” he said.
The Abia governor, who also used the opportunity to explain his reasons for visiting Kanu at the Sokoto Correctional Centre, said, “The second point is about Nnamdi Kanu, and I do not want to put this matter in the public space so that it does not derail the discussions that we are having. The truth about it is that exactly 24 months ago, I opened up discussions at the highest level on Nnamdi Kanu.
“And going to see him is the right thing to do, because he comes from my state. In fact, he comes from the local government, Umuahia North, the state capital.
“And there are always different ways to solve a problem. I do not believe that the way to solve a problem is to ignore it. I had written extensively, even about Nnamdi Kanu and Operation Python Dance, I think in 2017 or 2018, and I condemned it.
“And I still condemn it. I cannot vouch for some of the recordings that the gentleman put in his video, where he said Nnamdi Kanu called for mutiny. I do not know about that. But I do know that two wrongs do not make a right.”
Otti also stated that, while judicial procedures are necessary, there is also an administrative channel for addressing disputes.
“I am not a lawyer. And if the judiciary says the man has been sentenced to life imprisonment, that is certainly not the end. That is the court of first instance. There is still an opportunity to appeal, and then an opportunity to even go to the Supreme Court. But what we are trying to do is to intervene. I am not a supporter of the disintegration of Nigeria.
“So my position is that it would be insensitive of me to sit here and say that one of our own who has been convicted should die when we have an opportunity to discuss, negotiate, and sue for peace.
“Even people convicted to death can be pardoned. That is what I am working on. It has nothing to do with nonexistent presidential ambition. Everything is not politics,” the governor concluded.
