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Abia State Governor Dr Alex Otti has lashed back at a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Abia State, Chief Charles Ogbonna, over alleged false and malicious statements.
Chief Ogbonna was reported to have, in a statement, alleged that Governor Otti had said that “Ngwa people have no brains”, among other things.
A statement by the Governor’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Ferdinand Ekeoma, described the allegation as false, baseless and a figment of Chief Ogbonna’s imagination.
Ekeoma said at no time, in private or in public, did Governor Otti make such a statement, adding that those who know the Governor well can attest to the fact that he does not speak loosely.
He added that Governor Otti holds Ndi Ngwa, like all Abians, in the highest esteem and has demonstrated this through equitable appointments, projects and policies across all zones of the state.
“Ordinarily, we would have ignored him just like we have ignored many of his attacks in the recent past, but because of the gravity of some of the things he said, we felt we should put the records straight.
“If Chief Ogbonna thought well about the statement he made, he would have known that he contradicted himself when he started by saying that Governor Otti told him he was from Nvosi in Ngwa and proceeded to pronounce Ngwa people brainless.
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“That is to say that Governor Otti himself was without brains too! We challenge Chief Ogbonna to produce the evidence which he claimed he has.”
He further challenged Chief Ogbonna to let the world know what went wrong between him and the Governor. “It’s not enough to come out and throw tantrums at the Governor when he does not have the courage to disclose what went wrong in their relationship.
“His latest outburst followed the commencement of campaigns for the 2027 elections. Having seen that his party is suffering serious visibility and popularity problems, he has resorted to incitement and hate speech.”
The statement said it was unfortunate that at a time Governor Otti’s performance has united Abians across clan and political lines, Chief Ogbonna believes the only way to stop his re-election is to stir clannish disaffection and ethnic hate, which he said was dead on arrival.
The statement condemned what it described as Chief Ogbonna’s divisive utterances and warned him to desist from instigating hatred and division among peace-loving Abians.
