OPINION: WHAT DOES ALEX OTTI REALLY WANT?

For instance, when Governor Ikpeazu arranged for a $200m African Development Bank (AfDB) facility that would help the state fund the construction of 500km new roads, Otti did not only fund media propaganda against the availment of the facility to the state he also left the comfort of his home in Lagos to travel to the National Assembly and the Federal Ministry of Finance, Abuja, to frustrate the approval of the facility. When his efforts failed, he reportedly traveled to the headquarters of AfDB in Cote D'Ivoire to further push against the facility after writing multiple petitions to whoever has something to do with the bank.

If Abia State Government had received that needed support in 2017, like Anambra State did under Peter Obi, not only would the state have been able to improve its road infrastructure capital, much needed funds would have been freed up to pay outstanding pensions and gratuities dating back to military government era to date. Even distressed state parastatals such as Abia State Polytechnic, Aba, and Abia State College of Education (Technical) Arochukwu would have benefited from needed financial intervention by the Ikpeazu administration.

Alas, the facility is yet to be availed to Abia State and during the 2019 round of election campaigns, Otti simply campaigned on the sufferings of state pensioners and infrastructure deficit in the state. He went as far as launching his campaign at Ngwa High School, Aba, by propping up frail pensioners as campaign tools while lying to the rest of the world that Governor Ikpeazu has done nothing about road infrastructure and regular salary payment even when civil servants working with state ministries, departments and agencies were up to date with salary payment.

Otti's attempt to distract the Governor is legendary but thankfully, evidence on the ground shows that at best he has had limited success as Governor Ikpeazu has continued to push his 5 point development agenda anchored around education, agriculture, SME development, Industrialization and oil & gas development. To the chagrin of Otti who would never stop wishing the worse for the State, Abia has maintained first position in performance ranking for West Africa School Certificate Examinations, back to back, for 4 years, grown public school enrollment from 142,000 to more than 650,000 students, constructed more than 359 new classroom blocks, four model schools and retrained Abia teachers using local and international education service providers.

Not many know that recently a petition was sponsored and sent to the Presidency to the effect that the counterpart fund of N20bn provided by the federal government in lieu of their 20% share in Enyimba Economic City has been looted by those promoting the project in league with the Government of Dr Ikpeazu. Governor Ikpeazu had to visit the President to point out that the money is still with the Central Bank of Nigeria and, hence, could not have been looted.

It is no secret that Otti believes that whatever is not done by him is bad for the state or any organization he is associated with. That is why his former employers at Diamond Bank lost all their investment for daring to shunt Otti aside thereby compelling him to resign and join partisan politics to the detriment of Abia State and her people.

His chosen political party, APGA, after leaving PDP, is now in ruins because of Otti's poor leadership qualities that do not see anything good in any other person other than Alex Chioma Otti. Even today, elected APGA members of the state House of Assembly are more comfortable associating with Governor Ikpeazu than with Otti.

Indeed the party leadership in the state have long disowned Otti as their leader or member and installed Honorable Ossy Prestige whom they believe have better leadership credentials as their leader.

Otti came a distant third during the last election, having polled 64,366 votes as against Governor Ikpeazu/PDP who polled 261,127 votes and Uche Ogah/APC who polled 99,574 votes. Yet, Otti went to the tribunal to canvass the cancellation of the results in 15 LGAs where he lost while upholding the two he marginally won. That Otti expects to win Arochukwu his home LGA while Governor Ikpeazu should lose Obingwa and Uche Ogah must have lost in Isuikwuato is the kind of mindset that only men with symptoms of exaggerated messianic complex have.

Throughout the campaigns, Otti's campaign rhetoric was full of anger and bile. From his assertion in Lagos that he was coming to Abia with blood shot "red eyesÔÇØ to his "enough is enoughÔÇØ campaign message, Otti obviously wanted to incite violence with a view to benefiting from it.

When on election day the state experienced the most peaceful election in Nigeria, Otti quickly hoodwinked the APC candidate, Uche Ogah, to show up with him for a press conference to call for cancellation and repeat of the election. Those present during the press conference he called while early results showed him heading for certain electoral disgrace will confirm that the APC candidate hardly spoke during the conference.

It was all about Otti.

While Governor Ikpeazu has offered his hand of fellowship to Otti, after the tribunal ruling, nobody should be deceived into believing that Otti will accept it and work with the Governor to positively advance the Abia project. Otti will appeal the tribunal ruling simply to remain politically relevant, find a platform to disrupt governance in Abia and distract Governor Ikpeazu from doing the work he was elected to do. Unless the Governor will accept to step down for Otti, the self acclaimed messiah, nobody should expect Otti to stop pursuing his disruptive mission.