Ohaneze Ndigbo: Our interest is in development, unity of our people -Gov Otti
By: Imo Thomas -Umuahia.
Abia State Governor, Dr. Alex Otti, OFR, has said that his interest and that of his brother Governors from the States that make up the Ohanaeze Ndigbo is the development and unity of the people.
Governor Otti, made this known on Tuesday, in his Umuehim Nvosi country home in Isiala Ngwa South LGA, when he received in audience the newly elected President-General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide, Sen. John Azuta Mbata and Deputy National President, Prince Okey Nwadinobi.
The Ohaneze Ndigbo leadership came to express their personal gratitude to him for his support and that of other Governors which made their emergence in the recently conducted Ohanaeze Ndigbo election possible.
The Governor assured the president General of Ohaneze Ndigbo worldwide of his support
To the President General of Ohaneze Ndigbo, Governor has this to say about him “I have known you for decades. Just like you spoke kindly about me, I also know you. I know your capacity and know what you stand for. I have no doubt that in this role, you will continue to do what you have been known for, which is consistency, truthfulness, fairness, equity, and transparency.
“I can vouch for you. I was very pleased when you showed interest. My colleagues and I also looked at it, and we said if people like this are showing interest, they should be given an opportunity”, Governor Otti stated.
Governor Otti thanked and congratulated Sen. Mbata for his emergence and assumption of office. He re-echoed his believe that leadership is about the welfare of the people, hence, he has prioritized payment of salaries on or before the 28th of every month, building roads, and extending infrastructure to rural areas to create access for easy movement of people and their services from one place to another, etc.
Governor Otti went on to assure Sen. Mbata of his support and that of his colleagues to ensure that they succeed, saying that, although the job is not an easy one, he is confident that he will succeed.
“I know that you will succeed. You can also count on the support of the Governors, the 7 of us because we all consulted, we all met, sometimes virtually. None of us has any personal interest. Our interest is the development and unity of our people. So, if any of us comes to you to say, do something wrong, that person is stepping out of the line.
“We all agreed that this time around, Ohanaeze should be focused on uniting the people, creating that leadership of our heritage, so that we can all do well as a people”, the Governor asserted.
Earlier in his speech, Sen. Mbata thanked Governor Otti for his support alongside his brother Governors whom he acknowledged that their support made his emergence possible.
He said that their presence in the election of the Ohanaeze Ndigbo National Executives held on Friday, 10th January, underscores the importance they place on Ohanaeze Institution.
He assured that they would work closely with Governor Otti and the other 6 Governors to pursue common goals.
“We will come and pay an official visit with the new EXCO, but on a personal level, I thought that we should come and register our gratitude and tell you that we will consult, collaborate, and cooperate with you all the way.
“We are hoping that we would be able to tap into your wealth of experience as somebody well-grounded within the private and public sphere. Your approach and perspective to issues will be a lot more different”, Sen. Mbata remarked.
