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The campaign organisation of the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Dr. Alex Otti, has decried the strategy adopted by the Governor Okezie Ikpeazu campaign group.
Otti’s campagn organisation said since the beginning of Abia State governorship campaigns, the Ikpeazu campaign organisation has done its worst to create all kinds of confusion and dissension in its main opposition, APGA, all of which has been fuelled by its morbid and understandable fear and loathing of Dr. Otti.
The position of the organisation was contained in a statement signed by the Research and Strategy Adviser to Dr. Otti and his campaign group, Nnanna Ijomah.
The organisation noted that a political campaign could be judged in terms of relevance, effectiveness, vision and organisational ability, but alleged that Ikpeazu’s campaign organisation is devoid of these important elements.
It said it was in doubt if both the governor, his handlers and 3,000 special assistants sleep soundly at night without having recurring nightmares about their nemesis, Dr. Otti. It added that the campaign of calumny, adulterated stories, made up lies, bribery of disaffected APGA primary election losers, etc, notwithstanding their determined efforts, have all come to naught.
“It is pertinent to say you can ascertain the upward or downward trajectory of a campaign by the kind of message it chooses to propagate, usually towards the tail end of a campaign season, before voting day. It has become common knowledge, in political campaign parlance or practice, that the moment a campaign starts getting into what is generally referred as “gutter politics,” it is a blazing neon sign that it is running scared and afraid of defeat.
“In this case, character assassination in the form of fabricated stories, mis characterisation of events and innuendo become its weapon of choice, for the purpose of regaining a degree of political ascendancy, relevance and momentum. But, as the saying goes, “you can never lift yourself up by tearing someone else down through malicious lies. Please note, deliberate and carefully manipulated lies are different from constructive criticisms based on verifiable facts, history and performance.
“However, not deterred and scared of the increasing support of Dr. Otti and practically all APGA candidates by Abia people, as witnessed by thousands of people who throng their campaign rallies from Obingwa to Arochukwu, the Ikpeazu campaign version of Lai Mohammed and Festus Keyamo, in the persons of the usual suspects of Ememanka and Okiyi Kalu, suddenly decided to have one more try in their desperate effort to tarnish the image of Otti and dent his rising popularity, by coming up with another spurious Diamond Bank-related lie.
“This time, as usual, it is a manufactured mendacious lie about how Otti, verbally approved the withdrawal of N1.2 billion from the bank when he was its CEO for the benefit of some People’s Democratic Party (PDP) chieftains, in the persons of the former governor of Ekiti State, Ayo Fayose and former Defence Minister of State, Musiliu Obanikoro.
“As proof of their stupidity, cluelessness and ignorance of banking rules, procedure and processes, it is laughable as it is incredulous that both Ememanka and Okiyi kalu would not know that no banking establishment, worthy of its name and reputation, would allow or dispense N1.2 billion from its vaults without some form of documentation.
“To falsely allege that Otti verbally approved the withdrawal of this said amount with the sole objective of impugning on his character and integrity, all in the name of politics, is not only wicked, malicious and evil but also unconscionable.
“Which then begs the question, how low can the Ikpeazu campaign go just to win re-election? As records have shown and as evidenced by the document recently released by the Director of Publicity of the Alex Otti campaign, Mr. Kazie Uko, there is absolute proof to the contrary that Otti as managing director of Diamond Bank at the time had anything to do with verbal approval of the withdrawal…”
As the document revealed the said money was dispensed from the Diamond Bank branch office at Apapa, Liverpool Lagos, where Otti was neither the branch manager or account officer. As also evidenced by the document, Dr. Otti’s name was not mentioned in any way or form on the document as having permitted or approved the disbursement of the money.
“What the Ikpeazu campaign has done through these two feckless minions is what in social psychology is referred to as “psychological projection” which in one of Anna Freud’s original defense mechanisms is an act whereby, “the human ego defends itself against unconscious impulses or qualities by denying their existence in themselves while attributing them to others.
“For example, in this case, a person who is a habitual thief may constantly accuse other people of stealing. It incorporates blame shifting. It is no secret that the Ikpeazu administration is a criminal enterprise made up of crooks, grifters with corrupt tendencies and inclinations embedded in their DNA.
“It is therefore, absurd that an administration that has both misappropriated, stolen and squandered over N500 billion in the last 4 years, will accuse a political rival of an act of illegality involving money.
If I may pose this one question to Messrs.’ Ememanka and Okiyi Kalu, can they explain to Abia people where Dr. Ikpeazu got the over N100 billion he is spending on his campaign? Did he get a verbal authorisation from his godfather, T.A Orji and son to divert such a huge amount from the state coffers for his campaign or did he as the chief executive of the state dip his soiled hands into the state’s finances, his personal finances, hijacked funds meant for local government councils, get kickbacks from the award of contracts and Internal revenue collection to meet his campaign financial needs?
“It is not a surprise that Ikpeazu is not the one making these allegations himself but his political hatchet men, hence, doing so will be to attract attention to his own financial peccadillos and untrustworthiness.
“As the governor continues with his dying and an empty campaign of “equity” and “ego go again,” two useless substitutes for substance, verifiable and quantifiable accomplishments and vision for a second term they can sense the political gravity shifting under their paperweight and they are getting increasingly anxious, desperate and fearful.
“This is a failing and flailing campaign that has become very much aware of the fact or the reality that the Abia people have rejected this Governor. You can see the evidence in the empty campaign rally grounds and the scant crowd that attended the recent Atiku event in Umuahia to his surprise and embarrassment.
“It is most definite that the reality of the declining political fortunes and popularity of the Abia State governor did not escape the PDP presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar and his vice-presidential running mate, Peter Obi. This is a disheartened and disillusioned campaign grasping at straws so much so that any nugget of news about Otti is grabbed as a lifeline and life- saving opportunity.
“It is said that the right answer to a fool is silence, but unfortunately, both Ememanka and Okiyi kalu are two fools this adage may not apply to and just as everyone has the right to an opinion, but not to their own set of facts, it could also be said that everyone has the right to express an opinion, but not the right to be taken seriously.
“It is about time Abia electorate stop taking those two seriously as their lies and hypocrisy are increasingly becoming appalling.
“Otti is one of the most decent human beings that has ever run for political office in Abia State, hence, no amount of lies and Machiavellian tactics will succeed in denting the trust the Abia people have in him. Just as a day of grief is said to be longer than a year of joy, with the Abia people having lived with 20 years of grief so also is “patience” bitter, but has the sweetest fruit. “Come March 2, that sweet fruit resulting from the patience of the Abia people will be available for all to feast from. Vote APGA, vote Alex Otti. Enough is Enough,” the statement said.
