By NewsCritic Reporters
The leadership of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, in Abia State has hit back at its governorship candidate in the 2019 election, Dr Alex Otti, saying that no amount of lies against the national leadership of the party will bring back his lost credibility which led to his rejection by Abians during the last election.
Addressing the press today Monday 6th July 2020 in Umuahia the Abia State capital, the leadership of the APGA led by Revd Augustine Ehiemere, said that the suspended governorship candidate of the party, Otti, granted a press interview in which he falsely accused Governor Willie Obiano and Chief Victor Oye the National Leader and National Chairman of the party respectively of being the reason for the crisis in the party.
According to Revd Ehiemere, there has never been a crisis in APGA except for the one induced by Otti, when in 2016 he sponsored some dissidents in the party to cause crisis by purporting to form a parallel national chairman of APGA using the late Ozo Nwabueze Okoafor which failed. He added that Otti has deceived Abians for eight good years on the pretence that he was God sent, while he forgot the words of Navonne John, who said “A person’s character is shown through his actions in life and not where he sits on Sunday’s”.
APGA maintained that after PDP frustrated Otti in 2014 he ran to APGA where he was admitted and nursed as the party’s governorship candidate for the 2015 polls in the true spirit of upholding the party’s motto of ‘Onye aghala nwanneya’.
The party in Abia stressed that APGA made Otti and brought him to political limelight and instead of being appreciative to the party and its leadership he resorted to cheap lies and propaganda by accusing the national leader and chairman of lacking in leadership qualities.
He said that the allegations against the leadership of the party by Otti is coming after he failed to divide the party both at the national and state level, as well as his failure to become the national chairman of the APGA after he was disgraced in the 2019 governorship elections.
“His bid to become the national chairman of the party was his final bus stop and out of frustration and bitterness of heart, he chose to castigate the party…”
Ehiemere said the party remains loyal and committed to the cherished leadership of Governor Obiano and Chief Victor Oye, adding that the people of Abia are waiting for another opportunity to change the leadership of the state. He pointed out that APGA will resist any attempt to bring a crack in the party, saying that “no amount of external influence will deter us in 2023”.
The APGA also accused Otti of fraudulently collecting and pocketing of N150 million and N300 million respectively from the Abia North and Abia South senatorial candidates of the party on the guise that they were doing joint campaign.
“We hereby put it in the public domain that Alex Otti is indebted to APGA Abia State to the tune of over N100 million and at the appropriate time the party will make a formal demand for the refund of the said money, the party states.
The NewsCritic reports that Dr Otti has been reported to have defected to the All Progressives Congress, APC, following his visit to senator Orji Uzor Kalu. Prior to this time, the speculations have been rife that Otti was planning to defect to APC in a ceremony billed to take place at the country home of APC Board of Trustees, BoT, member, Prince BB Apugo in Umuahia.
