2027: ‘Write your will’ – Otti warns those planning to rig election in Abia

Governor Alex Otti of Abia State has cautioned individuals allegedly plotting to manipulate the 2027 governorship election in the state to “write their will” before attempting to subvert the will of the people.

Otti issued the warning on Thursday during his monthly media interaction with journalists at the Government House in Umuahia, the state capital.

The governor said he had received intelligence reports that some political figures were already meeting and strategizing to “take over the state” through unlawful means ahead of the 2027 polls.

“I’ve heard that some people around him said if they must take over the state, they will write result,” Otti said. “The only advice I have for them is that if they truly want to write result, they should write something else before that time — you know what it is? Their will. Because this is our state, nobody can intimidate us.”

He further warned politicians against engaging in premature campaigns, stressing that such activities violate electoral laws. Otti urged aspirants and their supporters to wait for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to officially release the timetable before commencing campaigns.

“We must respect the law. If INEC releases the timetable and says this is the time that campaign starts, if you start campaigning before then, you put yourself in harm’s way — you can even be disqualified before the election,” he said.

The governor explained that any political gathering or public declaration of ambition before INEC’s timetable amounts to early campaigning.

“When you gather people and you’re telling them you’re going to take over the state in 2027, you’re campaigning. It is not right,” he added.

Otti, who won the 2023 governorship election under the Labour Party (LP), maintained that the people of Abia would freely choose their next leader through the ballot box.

“If he wants to run an election, once INEC blows the whistle, he should go and pick up a form and begin to campaign. It’s for Abia people to decide who would be their governor,” the governor stated.