“Alex Otti’s politics of principles and genuine commitment to the ordinary man is something very strange and foreign to the average Abia State politician”
By. Dodoh Okafor (ED) Njoku SaintJerry A
1. Let’s begin with what is beyond dispute: Dr. Alex Otti, OFR, is the biggest nightmare to Abia’s thieving political elites, the tiny band of old men and their young collaborators who though have no genuine means of livelihood, live in obscene opulence.
2. Alex Otti’s politics of principles and genuine commitment to the ordinary man is something very strange and foreign to the average Abia State politician. To them, politics on its own is a job and everyone is in it for their personal gain. It is all about how much money can be stolen.
3. It is strange to those political leeches how Alex Otti has refused to bend or subordinate his principles to their greed. His failure to think and act like every other politician out there in Abia disturbs them like nothing else.
“Only Dr. Alex Otti represents a genuine departure from the sorrows and pains of the present and past without the influence of any godfather or greedy sponsor seeing Abia State as a private enterprise.”
4. To get back at him for his firmness and belief that politics must never be used as a platform to impoverish the people, they took to character assassination, mud slinging and frantic but futile attempts to tarnish his image with their soiled brush of political corruption.
One of the numerous tales by moonlight stories told to the undiscerning public is this;
5. “Alex Otti took Ikpeazu to Supreme Court, that is why the governor cannot pay salaries.”
Unfortunately, it appeared certain groups of Abians believed this hoax and they went ahead to fabricate some more.
6. Strangely, not for once did it occur to the hungry nitwits spreading these idle fibs that for 3 years, former governor of Anambra state, Dr. Chris Ngige who like Okezie Ikpeazu operated on a stolen mandate, was dragged from one court to the next by Mr. Peter Obi who later retrieved the mandate stolen by Ngige and his party.
“Many perhaps are thinking that the discredited PDP candidate is the only one fronting for the elites. Truth is: these guys have planted themselves and their lackeys in various political parties and groupings. They are in various camps playing a game of smokes and mirrors, hoping that one of their boys would successfully hoodwink the public, take over from Ikpeazu and bring them back together through backdoors”
7. Even while he shuttled from one court to the next, Dr. Chris Ngige still managed to clear the backlog of salary arrears owed teachers by the misbegotten Chinweoke Mbadinuju administration. Ngige built roads and returned the teachers back to classrooms after one year of staying at home due to strike.
8. It is hard to recall a single occasion where Chris Ngige or his lackeys blamed Peter Obi of Chinweoke Mbadinuju for anything. They simply took responsibility. They understood leadership.
Another hoax they have struggled over the years to continue to spin is this;
9. “Alex Otti ran Diamond Bank aground. He is not a good manager.” So the diminutive Eze Chikamnayos, John Okiyi Kalus, Onyebuchi Ememankas and others within Ikpeazu government in other to justify their pay checks continue to churn out lies and deceit to the undiscerning public.
10. Now imagine any reasonable person blaming Lee Iacocca for the problems that forced Chrysler board into selling the company to Mercedes. Pray, did Alex Otti not leave Diamond Bank better than he met it? Were the staff, shareholders and customers of Diamond Bank not happier under Alex Otti management of the bank than they ever were?
“Again Alex Otti is offering us a choice to either redeem and reclaim our state or stand idly by while the worst of us continue to preside over our affairs.”
11. So why then should anyone blame Alex Otti for events that happened long after he had left his last job? Was Otti still responsible for taking decisions at Diamond Bank after he left in 2014?
Why does anyone think it makes sense to blame someone who left an organisation in 2014 for events that happened in 2018?
12. “Alex Otti was Theodore Orji’s banker. He authorised huge loans and made money from his dealing with Ochendo,” says the diminutive critics. Now ask yourself: was Theodore Orji the only governor Otti worked with in his banking career? Was Alex Otti, Theodore Orji’s finance commissioner? Or his Accountant General? So in what capacity is Alex Otti being blamed for decisions made by the former governor?
13. Have we not heard Peter Obi, the most remarkable and meticulous governor Nigeria has had since 1999 announce publicly that Alex Otti was one of those who warehoused Anambra State funds while he was governor?
14. If Alex Otti, as alleged by the thieving elites in Abia, made financial decisions for governors, why was the outcome different in Umuahia and Awka? Why did Peter Obi trust Mr. Otti sufficiently to entrust him with tens of billions and millions of dollars and not a penny went missing or mismanaged?
“The greatest tragedy that would befall our people in 2023 is having another idiot as governor. Ikpeazu has caused us a trans-generational damage. Another clone of his would sink us into abyss”
15. One would have expected that before these idiots make these silly attempts to tar Alex Otti with their evil brush, efforts should be made by them to say something that can win them the sympathy of reasonable men and women. Sadly, they care not.
16. “Ikpeazu is repaying debts that Alex Otti gave Abia State government, we therefore cannot pay salaries or fix roads.” Seriously?
How much was Abia State government debt in 2015 when Mr. Ikpeazu took over, albeit criminally? How much is it today?
How did the state government debt jump from around N30 billion in 2015 to over a hundred billion today? Did Alex Otti also approve the loans that is suffocating Abia finances today?
17. “Alex Otti wrote a petition to World Bank. That is why the Enyimba Economic City Project failed.” Interesting I must say. You mean the World Bank honours the letter of a single, private citizen over the commitments of a state government?
18. Now on a serious note, are these men and their followers so daft to believe that an institution as big as the World Bank does not undertake some due diligence before handing out its finances for projects undertaken by questionable, integrity-bereft entities?
Truth is: Ikpeazu is only smart when it comes to criminal engagements, understanding how global institutions work is clearly beyond him.
” It is also great that we have many candidates sponsored by different groups in the governorship race. Abians perhaps for the last 7 years have seen who stood by us during our long dark nights. We also know those who dined with the devil in the dead of night for crumbs of contracts, appointments and other favours.”
19. The fact is that countless lies have been told against Alex Otti by Mr. Okezie Ikpeazu and his army of sycophants. Dishonesty is their major tool because they clearly have nothing to offer as we can see from 7 years of idiocy, pain, misery and death.
20. Okezie Ikpeazu’s wickedness is the reason several teachers, pensioners and thousands of ordinary Abians have been forced into untimely graves, in sick beds and in endless misery. His policy of starving hardworking Abians is the reason Abia’s misery index is the worst in all of southern Nigeria.
21. With the benefit of hindsight, it is good we have seen Okezie Ikpeazu and what he can offer. It is also good that we have now come to realise how wicked our political elites, many religious leaders and several traditional rulers are. They sold or rather imposed Mr. Okezie Ikpeazu on Ndi Abia, defended his incompetence and refused to speak out when it became clear that Ikpeazu’s mission is the causation of destruction and death.
22. Abia is where it is today because of the greed and connivance of our elites. They are unthinking and unconscionable. Abia would have been better if we had a different set of elites and leaders.
23. Thankfully, it appears a new dawn is here. Hopefully in 2023, the people would get the opportunity to reclaim their land from the criminals who have long stifled the space and made dreaming of a decent society difficult for millions of our people.
24. It is also great that we have many candidates sponsored by different groups in the governorship race. Abians perhaps for the last 7 years have seen who stood by us during our long dark nights. We also know those who dined with the devil in the dead of night for crumbs of contracts, appointments and other favours. We also know those who refused to say a thing while our pensioners died, in the hope that they would win the favour of the self-appointed king makers for 2023.
“To get back at him for his firmness and belief that politics must never be used as a platform to impoverish the people, they took to character assassination”
25. The greatest tragedy that would befall our people in 2023 is having another idiot as governor. Ikpeazu has caused us a trans-generational damage. Another clone of his would sink us into abyss unless we stand our ground and insist that we have had enough.
26. Again Alex Otti is offering us a choice to either redeem and reclaim our state or stand idly by while the worst of us continue to preside over our affairs.
27. Many perhaps are thinking that the discredited PDP candidate is the only one fronting for the elites. Truth is: these guys have planted themselves and their lackeys in various political parties and groupings. They are in various camps playing a game of smokes and mirrors, hoping that one of their boys would successfully hoodwink the public, take over from Ikpeazu and bring them back together through backdoors to continue the looting spree.
28. We must be wise and attentive. Only Dr. Alex Otti represents a genuine departure from the sorrows and pains of the present and past without the influence of any godfather or greedy sponsor seeing Abia State as a private enterprise.
Again the choice belongs to us: either Alex Otti in Labour Party or the oppressors who like the proverbial leopard, cannot change the things that make it recognizable
Article edited for use by Njoku SaintJerry A. (LensAfrik International)
