The 2015 governorship candidate of the All Progressive Grand Alliance, APGA, in Abia State, Alex Otti, has said he believes his party will win the 2019 election in the state.
Mr. Otti asked the incumbent governor, Okezie Ikpeazu of the Peoples Democratic Party, to prepare for his handover note in 2019.
Mr. Otti said this in Umuahia during a rally by the Abia State chapter to celebrate last Saturday’s victory of Governor Willie Obiano in the Anambra State governorship election.
Mr. Obiano of APGA won the Anambra election by over 50 per cent. Anambra is the only state in the South-east and indeed in Nigeria governed by APGA.
Mr. Otti said Mr. Obiano’s crushing defeat of his opponents at the poll had rekindled his hope APGA could win Abia State.
The ex- Diamond Bank chief executive declared that APGA had been revived in South-east and “is now set” to sweep the polls particularly in Abia come 2019.
Some PDP members from Governor Ikpeazu’s Obingwa Local Government Area also defected to APGA during the rally.
Receiving the defectors, Mr. Otti said the PDP administration in the state had failed to address the basic needs of the people, describing Abia as the least developed state in the South-east zone.
He said his emergence in 2019 would liberate Abia State from the clutches of ‘underdevelopment and maladministration’ which he blamed on PDP.
Mr. Otti called on his supporters and APGA faithful to remain steadfast in their support for him until his dream of superintending over the affairs of the state was realised.
“Therefore let every Abia resident here today realise that to break the jinx of underdevelopment ravaging Abia state, we must show an extraordinary kind of altruism, think outside the box and do something extraordinary for the good of our state and our people.
“On my side, I want to assure you that the burning desire to replicate and even surpass the Anambra leadership example in Abia State is very much alive; hence the need for all of us to remain optimistic, committed and steadfast in our quest to herald Abia state of our dream, as that’s the only way my lofty leadership vision for Abia can be actualised”.
In his remarks at the rally, Secretary to Anambra State Government, Solomon Chukwulobelu, said Mr. Obiano’s victory was not for Anambra State alone but for the entire Igbo.
He said Mr. Obiano’s victory marked the liberation of Anambra from political godfatherism and bad influence.
The SSG who represented Mr. Obiano thanked Anambra electorates for their massive support to APGA, saying it was a strong indication that Igbos are now determined to redeem their lost ground on the political equation of the country.
He said APGA is the party to beat in 2019 elections, and urged Igbos to stay with the party as a platform to advance their regional interest.
“We (APGA) stand for the best, to give Ndigbo the best. We have consolidated as a political party to take over South-east and later Nigeria,” he said.
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