Governor Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia State has disclosed there is no character relationship between the candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the State, Alex Otti, and the presidential candidate of the Party, Peter Obi.
Speaking with journalists on Saturday, he said there are no similarities between the duo, adding that while Obi was noted for his modest, frugal, and simple lifestyle, the gubernatorial candidate was the opposite.
Ikpeazu however accused Otti and the Abia State LP of trying to capitalize on the “Obi Political Tsunami” to capture the Abia Government House.
The governor nonetheless maintained that such plans would fail because the people were aware that Otti was not Obi in all ramifications, adding that the Obi phenomenon must not be narrowed down to the efforts of LP.
He stressed that doing so would diminish the enormous efforts put in by several angry Nigerians and first-time voters who were not members of any political party but found a credible candidate in Obi.
His words: “In Abia, our people know that Obi is not Otti. They know that both of them represent different things altogether. Their records are there. Obi, as a governor did not retrench Anambra workers, but Otti, as a bank Managing Director retrenched bank workers.
“Obi is not arrogant. He is a very simple man with a very humble lifestyle, but Otti is the opposite of Obi. He flies around in private jets and takes up entire floors of 7-Star Hotels for his accommodation. That’s a huge gap from the man he’s hiding under him to grab power.
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“Again, it’s on record that Obi left the economy of Anambra very healthy, but Otti left a dead bank before moving into politics. These are verifiable facts. That one claims to look like someone doesn’t mean he’s even close to that person.
Abia is not one of those places where people cannot distinguish the good from the bad. It’s very easy to separate this ‘Tare from the Wheat’ before they get mature because their differences are very obvious like the night and the day.
“What are we talking about? Who are they trying to compare with Obi? Let us make it very clear that while Obi canvases for job creation, this Otti knows about the collapse of companies like Modern Ceramics in Umuahia and the Star Paper Mills in Aba that led to job losses.”
According to the Ikpeazu, Peter Obi has his investments scattered all over Anambra State, while Otti has no single investment in Abia State.
His words: “Let nobody claim ownership of the Obi wave or try to be more important than others. It was a movement that all Nigerian citizens, especially the youths saw as the only way of restoring their future. The Labour Party was just an available channel.
“The Obi phenomenon was a combination of all pro-Obi servant leadership styles, it was not a feat that can be attributed to the Labour Party per se. 50% of the voters were apolitical first-time voters, while 30 % were drawn from all other political parties.
“It will diminish the Obi phenomenon if we narrow his impact to the effort of the Labour Party. So, let some people stop hiding under Obi to magically get into government. Let them come out as they are. Obi has proven who he is and he doesn’t need an introduction anymore.”
