Alex Otti Accused Of Sponsoring Peter Obi’s Court Case With State Resources

Youths under the aegis of Abia Youths Interest Group (AYIG) have accused the state governor, Alex Otti, of sponsoring the court case of the Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate in the 2023 election, Peter Obi, with state resources.

Recall that Peter Obi, who came third in the 2023 presidential election, is legally challenging the victory of President Bola Tinubu.

Naija News reports that leaders of the Abia Youths Interest Group, during a news conference on Sunday in Abuja, said the decision of Alex to fund the LP presidential case will have adverse effects on the economy, welfare and development of the state.

A member of the group, Henry Chigozie, who read a prepared text on behalf of the youths, said the funding of Peter Obi’s case has led to the retrenchment of about 10, 000 civil servants in the state, thereby depriving Abians of the dividends of democracy.

The group also noted that Ottis’ transparency and accountability had been relegated to the background, challenging him to make public the cost of various contracts execution in the state.

The group said, “We, the Abia Youths Interest Group, the national umbrella body of all progressive youths of Abia irrespective of political affiliations, have observed with dismay the following dangerous developments that if not immediately checked will plunge our dear state into avoidable socio-political crisis and financial quagmire.

“That Mr. Alex Otti is (among those) funding the Presidential Court case of Mr Peter Obi leading to massive retrenchment and sack of citizens thereby depriving Abians of the dividends of democracy. So far, in less than 3 months, over 10,000 Abia workers have been retrenched. This is unacceptable.

“In Otti’s Abia, transparency and accountability have been relegated to the background. No one knows the costs of projects nor contractors working on projects in Abia.

“That Mr Alex Otti is creating crisis and instigating political unrest in Imo state thereby creating political instability in the South-east. By asking a sister governor to immediately write his handover notes, such an unguarded and reckless statement, which is capable of creating disunity amongst these states, can also lead to crisis amongst unsuspecting citizens.

“In view of the foregoing we wish to draw the attention of the nation, well-meaning Abians and the relevant security agencies to these sinister activities and urge all concerned to take necessary steps to ensure that the interests of our great state and nation are not jeopardized.”

Meanwhile, the Abia state government had recently denied sacking 10,000 civil servants, saying only those who were employed between December 2022 and April 2023 were shown the exit because some of them were ghost workers while others were illegally employed and their appointment letters criminally backdated.