The 2015 and 2019 governorship candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Dr. Alex Otti, has formally abandoned his party for the All Progressives Congress (APC).
He was received into the APC by officials of the party at his ward (Ward 5, Nguru, Isiala Ngwa South LGA), local government and state levels respectively.
The former Managing Director/CEO of defunct Diamond Bank said he joined APC “with over 450, 000 of his followers.”
Among those who moved over to APC with Otti on were his running mate, Dr. (Mrs.) Uche Eme Uche, Chief David Ogba Onuoha (Bourdex), Chief Chris Nkwonta (both of who ran for Abia North and South Senatorial Districts election in 2019), Navy Command Mac Donald Uba (retd), former House of Assembly members and lots of others.
Speaking during his official declaration for APC at his Ehi na Uguru Ward 5 in Isiala Ngwa South Local Government Area, Otti said he and his followers did not leave APGA because they could not achieve their political desire, but to stand on a better platform “for the good of Abia.”
“It is pertinent to put on record the fact that through the hard work of our supporters, we were able to make APGA a very formidable party in the state that it won 11, out of the 24 House of Assembly seats and a Federal House of Representatives’ seat after the 2015 election.
“It is on record also that we overwhelmingly won the governorship mandate of the state before PDP invaded the collation centre and brazenly stole the mandate, but we have put the whole incident and many ugly ones behind us.”
Otti, who met with Senate Chief Whip, Senator Orji Uzor Kalu, a week before his declaration, said prior to the 2019 election, his supporters and some leaders of APC had urged him to join APC, but that he did not find such a move expedient before now.