Ahead of the 2027 general election, there’s rising political tension in Abia State, with some opposition leaders in the State hell-bent on stopping Governor Alex Otti’s re-election.

The opposition figures, many of whom previously held power in the state, have threatened that Otti will not be reelected for a second term as governor in 2027.

These figures also have been holding political meetings and issuing public statements against Otti’s administration.

Last week, two former Governors of Abia State, Senator Orji Uzor Kalu and Chief Theodore Ahamefule Orji, alongside other former political leaders, said they have formed an alliance to unseat Governor Otti in the 2027 general election.

According to them, they intend to win all elective positions in Abia for the All Progressives Congress, APC.

The duo met in Umuahia and resolved to forge a common front they christened, ‘The Team,’ a platform for their political battle against Otti and other anti-APC interests.

In addition, the group signalled that it will institute a legal action against Otti for allegedly running Abia from his Nvosi country home instead of the Government House, Umuahia.

Kalu described the assembly as a platform for experienced leaders who want to reclaim their relevance in the state’s political landscape.

The Abia north senator rejected narratives portraying previous governments as ineffective, insisting that their legacies live on.

The former Abia governor said: “Leadership is a relay. I handed over to Senator T.A. Orji, who handed over to Okezie Ikpeazu. No single individual can claim we achieved nothing. If we did nothing, where would our people be today?”

Otti hasn’t done better, he’s repainting roads – Kalu

While addressing journalists recently, Senator Kalu accused governor Otti of not doing much with the allocation the state is getting from the federal government.

He claimed that the governor was only repainting roads he (Kalu) built during his time as the state governor.

Kalu said he won’t work for Ottis’ reelection in 2027 even though he delivered for Otti in the last gubernatorial election in 2023.

He said: “I consider the Governor as my friend. And two years, I’ve never criticized. I never said anything, and they shot the first salvo. I replied by telling them that I will work for APC to win.

“We worked for him to have won 2023. We are not going to do that again. What is wrong with that? Is that why I should receive insults? It is not acceptable to me. I’m going to work for my party.

“If he has done better, I don’t know about that, because you can see that what I did in two years as a governor, the records are there for you to see. The money Otti receives in four months is what I received in eight years. That is the truth.

“He is just repainting and rebuilding the roads I built as a governor from 1999 and 2007. I’ve not seen any new major roads taking place.

“I’m in the Senate, and all the roads I’m doing in communities are brand new farmland roads.”

Opposition chasing shadows – Otti’s aide

Meanwhile, an aide to Governor Alex Otti, Rev. Fr. Christian Anokwuru, said the opposition plotting to unseat the governor in 2027 is merely chasing shadows.

Anokwuru, who is Special Adviser to the Governor on Policies and Interventions, said this recently during a news briefing in Umuahia, the state capital.

He was reacting to the spate of criticisms and media attacks against the governor by the leading opposition chieftains.

He entitled his speech, “Abia Opposition: Stop Tinubu Name-Dropping and Face the Fact!”

He said it was absurd for the old political leaders that allegedly ruined and underdeveloped the state to think they would return to power, riding on President Bola Tinubu’s might.

He mocked them for dropping the president’s name and banking on his achievements, rather than citing the legacies they left behind during their time as governors.

He said: “It is a long-established principle in both law and public life that anyone who demands equity must come with clean hands.

“This principle is particularly relevant in the current political climate in Abia state.

“When former executive governors and past political office holders, whose administrations are still fresh in the collective memory of the people, congregate to challenge the present administration of Alex Otti, the public is entitled to interrogate not just their claims, but also their credibility,” he said.

They are ganging up against Otti — Analyst

Speaking about the matter, a public affairs analyst and communication expert at Peaceland University, Enugu, Nduka Odo, said the growing opposition against Abia State Governor, Alex Otti, by former governors is driven largely by the protection of entrenched political and economic interests.

In an interview with DAILY POST, Odo described the development as unsurprising, noting that former governors Orji Uzor Kalu, Theodore Orji and Okezie Ikpeazu share a long-standing political lineage that ensured a smooth transition of power from one administration to another.

According to him, Otti’s emergence marked a departure from that pattern, as he came to office without the backing of his predecessor.

Odo argued that the former governors’ alliance against Otti is less about party politics or the welfare of Abia people, and more about personal interests threatened by the current administration’s policies.

He pointed out that under Otti, Abia became one of the few states to abolish the payment of salaries and allowances to former governors and their deputies, a benefit still enjoyed by ex-governors in many states across the country.

Odo said: “What’s happening in Abia state is not unexpected. Don’t blame the former governors who have vowed to unseat the incumbent governor. They are protecting their interests. And you can’t chastise a man for protecting their sources of livelihood. Kalu, Orji, and Ikpeazu all came from the same lineage. It was a smooth movement from one to the other. That’s unlike Otti, who emerged without the support of his predecessor.

“Why are the former governors teaming up against Otti? The answer is simple. They may say that it’s for the interest of the APC. They may say it’s for Abia people.

“Let’s go back a bit in time to fish out the answer. Under Alex Otti, Abia became one of the few states in Nigeria that stopped salaries and allowances for former governors and their deputies.

“This meant that in most states today, all former governors and their deputies collect the same salaries and allowances as the sitting executives.

“Isn’t this enough reason for them to team up against him? They can say he only paints roads. But Abia people are the right group to answer that question.

“So, I’m happy about what is happening in Abia. Any time you see all politicians in a state work together, trust me, development in that state will suffer.

“This attack from the former leaders on the incumbent will remind Otti that he still needs to do more. If wants the people to continue being by his side, he needs to continue tackling the needs of his people.”

Ex-Govs’ criticism means nothing — CRRAN President

Similarly, the President of the Civil Rights Realisation and Advancement Network, CRRAN, Olu Omotayo, said Abia State Governor, Alex Otti, is delivering tangible development that is evident to the people, irrespective of criticisms from former governors.

Omotayo stated this in a chat with DAILY POST, where he argued that past administrations in many South-East states governed for themselves rather than for the people, a situation he said resulted in widespread underdevelopment across the region.

According to him, genuine development does not require constant government propaganda, stressing that it is the people who should testify to projects that directly affect their lives.

Omotayo noted that under Otti’s administration, residents of Abia State have openly acknowledged improvements in infrastructure and governance, which he described as the true measure of performance.

The CRRAN president dismissed criticisms from former governors, arguing that a comparison between their years in office and Otti’s achievements shows a clear difference in performance.

Omotayo, however, expressed concern over the impact of the nation’s economic hardship on voters’ behaviour, warning that widespread poverty could still influence electoral outcomes.

He said: “In the past, the people who have governed most of the southeast states believed that the government is for them but not for the people. This is because there is no development in most of the southeast states.

“When you are talking of development, you don’t need people in government to be telling you that there is development. ‘We are doing this, we are doing that.’

“It is the people that will be talking that this governor is doing this. He is doing road. They have done road to my village. They have done this.”

“So Alex Ottis’ government, you can see that people are pointing out that he has done this, he has done that. That implies there is development. We are not talking about parties. Are the people getting the dividend of democracy?

“We are not talking about the party. Is the man working? The populace are saying, yes, he has done this. He has done that. That’s the measurement of whether we have good governance.

“So what the man is doing over there is excellent. He’s investing in a lot of abandoned projects that have been abandoned in that state. It’s not just propaganda from the people who are with the governor.

“Irrespective of what the past governors in that state are saying, it doesn’t mean anything.

“Compare what they did in the past with what Otti is doing, it shows that what he has done surpasses what those people who are ganging up against him did in over 16 years of their time in that state.

“Everybody is seeing that. You don’t need any commissioner for information or any of the Governor’s state officials to be propagating that Governor has done this or that. It is the people that are saying this man has done well.

“The only thing is that, you know, because of the economy of the country, they have weaponized poverty. The economic power of people is very low.

“What I see is that people appreciate that a government is doing well. The only thing is that maybe during the election, maybe, if they give them money, they might, because of the poverty level, sell their vote,” he added.

They’re acting out of self-interest — Rights Group Convener

On his part, the Project Manager of Advocacy Partnership for Good Governance and Convener of the Office of the Citizens, Onyebuchi Igboke, questioned the basis of opposition against Abia State Governor, Alex Otti, describing it as a struggle between performance-driven governance and patronage politics.

Igboke said that Nigerian politics often rewards mediocrity and loyalty rather than measurable performance.

According to him, Otti represents a clear departure from that tradition, stressing that the governor’s achievements are visible and acknowledged even beyond Abia State.

Igboke further stated that Otti’s accomplishments in just over two years surpass what former governors Orji Uzor Kalu, Theodore Orji and Okezie Ikpeazu achieved during their combined 24 years in office.

The good governance advocate also suggested that some of the actions of the former governors may be motivated by personal interests, including the pursuit of political relevance, appointments and financial benefits at the federal level.

Igboke maintained that attempts to intimidate or discredit the incumbent governor would not succeed, insisting that Otti’s record in office remains his strongest defence.

He said: “I think any right thinking person will begin to wonder if we are celebrating mediocrity, or we are celebrating performance. Is politics of Nigeria based on performance, or is it based on patronage and eye service?

“These are two different dimensions. Because I think what Alex Otti represents is performance, even people that are not living in Abia State can attest to the tremendous job, you know, that is being carried out by the Governor.

“The masses are happy with him. His projects are visible. His performance within two years plus outweighs the 24 years of Orji Kalu, Theodore Orji, and Okezie Ikpeazu.

“I don’t know the moral basis or the performance index they are using to have that audacity.

“Some people have the opinion that what they are doing is just to get some financial benefit and other appointments from President Bola Tinubu.

“They know what they are doing deep inside them, they know. Their pursuit is self-serving.

“Orji Kalu just recently got his daughter nominated as ambassador. And we know that they have some corruption allegations against him, and some people felt that this is the only way he can do eye service.

“Any person trying to, you know, use any form of intimidation or what have you, he’s just wasting his time. That is it.” (Daily Post)