…As former SDP governorship candidate Johnson-Chukwunenye joins Labour Party
Abia State Governor Alex Chioma Otti has declared that the state will not return to what he described as “Egypt”, insisting that his administration’s development agenda is already changing the state and will continue despite criticism from political opponents.
Otti spoke on Thursday, September 17, 2026, at the Labour Party State Secretariat in Umuahia, where he received the 2023 governorship candidate of the Social Democratic Party, Dr. Ngozika Gladys Johnson-Chukwunenye, who formally joined the Labour Party alongside her supporters.
The governor said his administration would remain focused on governance and improving the lives of Abians, rather than allowing political attacks to distract it from its development agenda.
According to a statement by the Governor’s Senior Special Assistant on Public Affairs, Dr. Ebere Uzoukwa, Otti said the progress being recorded in the state was the result of deliberate planning and prioritisation.
He acknowledged that not all of the state’s challenges could be addressed simultaneously, noting that his administration was about 39 months into its tenure and inherited what he described as 24 years of poor management.
“This is just about 39 months. Everything cannot be done in one day, particularly in a place that has been badly managed in the last 24 years. It takes a lot of time, resources and planning,” Otti said.
The governor said his administration initially concentrated on Aba and Umuahia, before extending its interventions to communities in other parts of the state.
“The most important areas for us were to restore Aba and Umuahia. And I can tell you without any fear of contradiction that we have literally restored those cities. We are now moving into the hinterlands, and we will continue until we reach everywhere,” he stated.
For residents who depend on functioning roads, regular public services and a more predictable government system, the governor’s remarks amount to a promise that the administration’s focus will increasingly move beyond the major cities to communities across the state.
Otti also used the occasion to speak about his political future, saying he would not seek a Senate seat or attempt to control Abia politics after leaving office. He said he intended to retire from politics after completing his tenure and give younger people an opportunity to take leadership positions.
“So, what I can assure you is that by the time I’m done, the person that will succeed me will be better than me. Once I finish this one, I will retire. I want the young people to take over. We should stop this sit-tight system,” he said.
He added:
“I don’t want to be a godfather. We will all sit down, look at everybody, and say who is the best person for this job. And then all of us would agree and we will campaign for him,” Otti added.
The governor maintained that his immediate priority remained the development of Abia and the welfare of its people.
For Johnson-Chukwunenye, her entry into the Labour Party marked a significant shift from her participation in the 2023 governorship election on the platform of the SDP.
Explaining her decision, the former governorship candidate said she had watched developments in the state under the Otti administration and was particularly influenced by what she described as improvements in salary payments, pension administration and road infrastructure.
“I saw a State that was once the dustbin of unpaid salaries and 29 months of arrears, now paying salaries on the 28th of every month. I saw pensioners who were left to die, now smiling again because Abia remembers them,” she said.
She also cited the rehabilitation of Port Harcourt Road and other roads in Aba and Umuahia, as well as efforts in sanitation and other areas, as factors behind her decision to support the administration.
Johnson-Chukwunenye said her decision to support Otti’s second-term bid was driven by her desire to see what she described as the current development trajectory sustained.
The former SDP candidate also arrived at the event with children from the School for the Blind, drawing attention to the concerns of vulnerable members of society. Otti commended the gesture and welcomed her supporters into the Labour Party.
Her formal reception ended with the handover of the Labour Party flag by the party leadership, marking her official entry into the party.
The development adds another political dimension to the 2027 election cycle in Abia, while Otti’s comments also place attention on the longer-term question of political succession and whether younger people will play a greater role in the state’s leadership.
For now, the governor says his attention remains on completing the work of his administration and extending its interventions from Aba and Umuahia to communities across Abia.
