The Governor-elect of Abia State, Alex Otti, has said that he had won an election before in the state without the influence of the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, according to a report on Daily Trust newspaper.
Otti stated this while featuring in Channels Television’s ‘Politics Today’.
He said:
“In 2015 when I ran under APGA, there was no Peter Obi. And we have it on our record that I won that election. At the time we were joining Labour Party, Peter Obi had not joined. It took about a week before called me and said that he purchased the presidential nomination form and he was coming to Labour Party.”
He added that he was prepared to fight this time around in much the same way that he fought in 2015 to win.
He, however, yet acknowledged Obi’s influence in his victory, saying that the margin of votes he garnered to win the election would perhaps have been smaller without it.
He said:
“He came to Abia about four times to campaign for us. I think he had done well for us. That is why even the first election out of the eight House of Representatives seats we took six and sent some people on permanent retirement.”
But he insisted that even though Obi was a great addition to his campaign, he (Otti) won an election in the state before without him.