Abia State Governor Alex Otti has said he has no plan to seek any elective office after completing his tenure, insisting he will retire from active politics when he leaves office.
The governor made the clarification while reacting to a viral video accusing him of nursing presidential or vice presidential ambition following his recent visit to the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu, at the Sokoto Correctional Centre.
According to a statement issued on Friday, by his special adviser on media and publicity, Ferdinand Ekeoma, Governor Otti spoke at Government House, Umuahia, while addressing the claims.
Otti said differing opinions were part of democracy but stressed that such opinions could be wrong.
“In the first place, that is the beauty of democracy. So people should hold their opinion, and we respect people’s opinion. And that you hold a different opinion doesn’t mean you are right.
“One of the things he talked about was my ambition after being governor.
“And I had said it before, and I want to say it again, that by the time I’m done with governorship, I will retire.
“So I don’t have presidential ambition, nor vice-presidential ambition. I also don’t have senatorial ambition when I finish with the governorship,” he said.
He added that he came into office on a mission and would step aside after completing it.
“I came on a mission, and when I deliver that mission, I will give way for younger people. So he was talking of Igbo presidency. I don’t even understand what that means.
“I think if his thesis is based on that assumption, the assumption has collapsed, because he won’t see me on the ballot,” Otti stated.
The governor said public officials must know when to leave office, noting that holding on to power was not the purpose of public service.
Alex Otti also explained his reasons for visiting Mr Kanu, who was sentenced to life imprisonment by a Federal High Court in Abuja in November on terrorism charges.
“The second point is about Nnamdi Kanu. And I don’t want to put this matter in the public space so that it doesn’t derail the discussions that we are having,” he said.
“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 this Local Government (Umuahia North, the Abia State capital).”
Otti said ignoring the issue would not solve it and recalled his earlier opposition to Operation Python Dance.
“And there are always different ways to solve a problem. I don’t believe that the way to solve a problem is to ignore it. And I had written extensively, even about Nnamdi Kanu and Operation Pyton 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 don’t know about that! But then, I do know that two wrongs do not make a right,” he said.
The governor said while the matter had been addressed legally, there was also an administrative angle that allowed room for dialogue.
“I’m not a lawyer. And if the judiciary says the man has been sentenced to life imprisonment. That is certainly not the end. Because that’s the court of first instance, there’s 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’m not a supporter of the disintegration of Nigeria.
“So my position is that it would be insensitive of me to sit here and say 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’s what I’m working on. It has nothing to do with non-existent presidential ambition. Everything is not politics,” he said.
The governor made the clarification while reacting to a viral video accusing him of nursing presidential or vice presidential ambition following his recent visit to the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu, at the Sokoto Correctional Centre.
According to a statement issued on Friday, by his special adviser on media and publicity, Ferdinand Ekeoma, Governor Otti spoke at Government House, Umuahia, while addressing the claims.
Otti said differing opinions were part of democracy but stressed that such opinions could be wrong.
“In the first place, that is the beauty of democracy. So people should hold their opinion, and we respect people’s opinion. And that you hold a different opinion doesn’t mean you are right.
“One of the things he talked about was my ambition after being governor.
“And I had said it before, and I want to say it again, that by the time I’m done with governorship, I will retire.
“So I don’t have presidential ambition, nor vice-presidential ambition. I also don’t have senatorial ambition when I finish with the governorship,” he said.
He added that he came into office on a mission and would step aside after completing it.
“I came on a mission, and when I deliver that mission, I will give way for younger people. So he was talking of Igbo presidency. I don’t even understand what that means.
“I think if his thesis is based on that assumption, the assumption has collapsed, because he won’t see me on the ballot,” Otti stated.
The governor said public officials must know when to leave office, noting that holding on to power was not the purpose of public service.
Alex Otti also explained his reasons for visiting Mr Kanu, who was sentenced to life imprisonment by a Federal High Court in Abuja in November on terrorism charges.
“The second point is about Nnamdi Kanu. And I don’t want to put this matter in the public space so that it doesn’t derail the discussions that we are having,” he said.
“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 this Local Government (Umuahia North, the Abia State capital).”
Otti said ignoring the issue would not solve it and recalled his earlier opposition to Operation Python Dance.
“And there are always different ways to solve a problem. I don’t believe that the way to solve a problem is to ignore it. And I had written extensively, even about Nnamdi Kanu and Operation Pyton 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 don’t know about that! But then, I do know that two wrongs do not make a right,” he said.
The governor said while the matter had been addressed legally, there was also an administrative angle that allowed room for dialogue.
“I’m not a lawyer. And if the judiciary says the man has been sentenced to life imprisonment. That is certainly not the end. Because that’s the court of first instance, there’s 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’m not a supporter of the disintegration of Nigeria.
“So my position is that it would be insensitive of me to sit here and say 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’s what I’m working on. It has nothing to do with non-existent presidential ambition. Everything is not politics,” he said.
