The Abia State Governor, Dr Okezie Ikpeazu, has stated that the governorship candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the state, Dr Alex Otti, has no similarities in character with the presidential candidate, Peter Obi.
Ikpeazu, while speaking with newsmen in Aba on Friday, said Obi was noted for his modest, frugal and simple lifestyle, Otti was the opposite.
The governor believes that the move by Otti and the LP to capitalise on the Obi Political Tsunami to capture the Abia Government House would fail due to the people being aware that Otti was not Obi in all ramifications.
The governor believes that the move by Otti and the LP to capitalise on the Obi Political Tsunami to capture the Abia Government House would fail due to the people being aware that Otti was not Obi in all ramifications.
Governor Ikpeazu said Obi’s phenomenon must not be narrowed down to the efforts of LP, stressing that doing so would diminish the huge efforts put in by several angry Nigerians and first-time voters who were not members of any political party but found a credible candidate in Obi who they were willing to vote as president of the country.
Ikpeazu, however, said it was unfortunate that many people, who ordinarily would stand no chance of clinching any political position because of their bad character and poor relationship with the people, are hiding under Obi to bamboozle their way to power and calls for caution.
He said: "In Abia, our people know that Obi is not Otti. They know that both of them represent different things altogether. Their records are there. Obi, as a governor, did not retrench Anambra workers, but Otti as a bank Managing Director retrenched bank workers.
"Obi is not arrogant. He is a very simple man with a very humble lifestyle but Otti is the opposite of Obi. He flies around in private jets and takes up entire floors of 7-Star Hotels for his accommodation. That’s a huge gap from the man he’s hiding under him to grab power.
“Again, it’s on record that Obi left the economy of Anambra very healthy but Otti left a dead bank before moving into politics. These are verifiable facts. That one claims to look like someone doesn’t mean he’s even close to that person.
"Abia is not one of those places where people cannot distinguish the good from the bad. It’s very easy to separate this ‘tare from the wheat’ before they mature because their differences are very obvious, like the night and the day,” read part of the statement.
He stressed that nobody must claim ownership of the ‘Obi wave’ and try to be more important than others.
"The Obi phenomenon was a combination of all pro-Obi servant leadership styles, it was not a feat that can be attributed to the Labour Party per se. 50 per cent of the voters were apolitical first-time voters, while 30 per cent were drawn from all other political parties.
"It will diminish the Obi phenomenon if we narrow his impact to the effort of the Labour Party. So, let some people stop hiding under Obi to get into government magically. Let them come out as they are. Obi has proven who he is and he doesn’t need an introduction anymore."
