Gregory Ibe, the Abia State governorship candidate of the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA), has commended residents of the State for “rejecting the ruling Peoples Democratic Party” (PDP), in the March 18 governorship, that saw Alex Otti of the Labour Party (LP) emerge governor-elect on Wednesday.
The APGA candidate in a signed statement, noted that the dislodgement of the PDP which he accused of underdeveloping Abia, was a major milestone achieved by the electorate at the poll.
“Now that the long anticipated declaration of the governor-elect of our state has been made, let me then congratulate Abians for their unwavering support for Dr Alex Otti and total rejection of the PDP, whose 24 year ignoble testimonial is turning Abia into a pariah state that is only only fit for pitiable outcasts.
“For us in APGA, the 2023 guber election was more about dislodging an apparently clueless PDP government than engaging in parochial politicking that is usually characterized by extreme partisanship and cabalistic sentimentality,” he said
Ibe who had earlier congratulated Otti before the announcement of the final result, appealed to those who lost at the poll never to contemplate challenging Otti’s victory at the tribunal.
This, he said was to avoid distracting the governor-elect and allow him concentrate on the task of rebuilding Abia from the ruins of under-development by the PDP.
He said, “I want to discourage the traditional resort to legalities in order to settle political and election differences.”
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Moreso, he noted he had gone into alliance with his LP counterpart in order to help him move the State forward for the good of all.
“Since our people are more at home with the Peter Obi-led Labour Party for obvious reasons, it therefore, makes sense to forge an alliance with Dr Alex Otti in the all important task of reviving and reforming our state.
“This is why we mobilized our structures to vigorously campaign and vote for Peter Obi and Senator Abaribe during the national elections.”
Revealing why his governorship ambition was not successful, attributing it to internal sabotage, he said, “the prospect of APGA emerging victorious at the governorship election was high but for the political betrayal executed by the infamous three musketeers, who in their shambolic, purile and infantile obsession to shamefully reverse their primary election failure, partnered other collaborators to distract my focus with 22 legal matters, involving cases at the levels of magistrate, high, appeal and supreme courts.”
He, however, said that Abians were the ultimate winners of the dislodgement of the ruling Party.
“With the election officially over, NdiAbia are definitely the winners. I, therefore, enjoin all political gladiators to sheath their sword and join hands with Dr Otti to commence the important task of rebuilding Abia.
“In the spirit of adopting zero tolerance mode to frivolous pre and post election litigations, I shall in due course constitute a team of Abia stakeholders to interface with aggrieved parties in order to create a peaceful environment for the Governor-elect to concentrate on the act of governance.”
