Governor Alex Otti of Abia State has called on the sacked National Chairman of the Labour Party, Julius Abure, and his faction to embrace peace following the Supreme Court’s ruling that dismissed Abure and affirmed Senator Nenadi Usman as the Caretaker Committee Chairman of the party.
Speaking at the weekend, Governor Otti addressed the “misleading interpretations” being circulated about the Supreme Court’s decision, which ousted the Abure-led faction of the Labour Party.
He emphasized that the party’s unity should be prioritized over individual interests.
Otti remarked, “The party (LP) is bigger and more important than any of us put together. The triumph of evil over good is for a moment. So, we thank God for yesterday. We somehow believed that justice would be done to the Labour Party.”
He also pointed out, “I was watching and saw some people making some claims about them not being removed by the Supreme Court. We can as well ignore them, but I will not ignore them.”
“want to appeal to them to give peace a chance, except if what they wanted in the first place is to destroy the party, and if they want to destroy the party, they will destroy themselves and the party will become even stronger.”
Governor Otti was speaking during the inauguration of the new leadership of the Abia Arise Organisation, his political structure in preparation for the 2027 elections.
The new leadership included Mazi Nkem Okoro as State Chairman, Mrs. Sophia Chidinma Ikpeama as Vice Chairman, and Dr. Sylvester Ibeneme as Secretary, among others.
The Governor congratulated the newly appointed officials, expressing confidence in their abilities to lead the grassroots support structure of his administration.
“The decision to appoint new leaders was to inject new blood into the organisation to continually engage the people and get feedback to promote good governance in the state,” Otti explained.
He urged the new leaders to focus on strengthening the grassroots support base and emphasized their crucial role in engaging communities, stating, “Every community matters to us. So, we have appointed you to become our eyes and ears in your various localities, working closely with other stakeholders to enable us to serve our people better.”
Governor Otti also reflected on the successes of his administration over the last 22 months, highlighting the progress made in governance.
However, he emphasized the importance of consolidating these gains, stressing the need for teamwork and unity.
He warned against infighting and internal divisions within the party to ensure the continued development of Abia State.
He further acknowledged the significant role Abia Arise played in his political journey, especially its contributions to his migration to the Labour Party and the success of the 2023 election campaign.
In response, Mazi Nkem Okoro, the newly appointed Chairman of Abia Arise, expressed deep gratitude to Governor Otti for his leadership and the positive impact it has had on the people.
He commended the Governor for selecting competent individuals to drive his vision and promised to work tirelessly to ensure the Governor’s success in the state.
