By Editor, Umuahia

The national working committee of the Accord party has directed their members in Abia state to support and work for the re-election of governor Alex Otti come 2027.

The National Chairman of the Accord Party, Professor Christopher Imumolen have the directive in while visiting the governor with his executive members.

He consequently endorsed Abia State Governor, Dr Alex Otti, OFR, for second term in office, assuring that Accord Party will support and work with him to make his reelection a reality.

The Accord Party Chairman noted that Governor Alex Otti has performed exceptionally well and deserves to be commended and supported by all, irrespective of political party affiliation.

“For me, development is beyond party line. Once there is development, once there is progress, it’s important that the opposition should acknowledge it.

“Opposition should not only be there to criticize, but should also appreciate good leadership when they see one.

“So, we are here today to appreciate the Governor, to thank him for what he is doing, and to also stand with him. “We know election is drawing closer, and we are saying that, if he has done this much, we believe that as a party, we should stand with him, we should fight with him, and ensure that there is continuity, even after 2027.

“We are giving him all the support from the Accord Party from the National to our Abia State Chapter, because he has done so well as the Governor of Abia State and the only way we can appreciate beyond words is to see that we support him and make sure that as a Party, we do everything possible to support and work for his re-election.

“Of course, we are going to work with the Governor, and we will align and work according to his leadership and directive to the party,” Prof. Imumolen said.

Also speaking, the National Secretary of Accord Party, Malam Mukhtar Abdullah Djungo, assured Governor Otti that the Accord Party would not field any governorship candidate in Abia State in 2027.

“On behalf of our party, I want to assure your Excellency that no candidate from our party will be contesting for the Governorship position in Abia State.

“The National Working Committee has directed the State Executive of the party to join hands with the Labour Party and work for the good of the people of Abia State.

“Let the good work continue,” he said.

In her speech, the National Chairman of the Labour Party, Senator Nenadi Usman, who joined the meeting virtually alongside the National Secretary of the Labour Party, Hon. Iheanacho Obioma appreciated the National Chairman of the Accord Party for saying the truth and appreciating good governance taking place in Abia State.

Senator Usman said that, Nigeria opposition politicians find it difficult to appreciate good things done by the ruling party and commended Prof. Imumolen for standing on the truth.

“Opposition believes that once you are in the opposition, it means, even when the ruling party is doing well, you must criticise for criticising sake..

“So, for Accord Party to now come, not with criticisms, but to appreciate the good work you are doing for the people of Abia State, honestly, its a welcome development that is not common in our polity.

“I wish Nigeria would start doing things this way. I believe Nigeria would be a better place, and leaders would be able to deliver more of the dividends of democracy to their people with people encouraging them.”It gladdened my heart to hear that nobody would be contesting from Accord Party. Sincerely, we are very grateful,” Senator Usman stated.

Responding, Governor Alex Otti thanked the National Chairman and members of the National Working Committee of the Accord Party for their understanding of why political parties exist.

The Governor further appreciated the fact that the party is interested in working together with him and and assured that he would work together with the party too.

“The whole essence of politics is about the welfare of our people and security of our people.”I want to assure you that we will also work together with you.

We will work together both at the State and National level.”it’s in politics that people see it as an anathema to say the truth. So, you see something that is working and you pretend that you are not seeing it. Or you may lie that it’s not working.

“But then, the whole essence of politics is about the welfare of the people. And even before this time, I had maintained that if I see somebody who would do this job better than me, I would quit and let the person continue, because that’s what it’s about. It’s about the welfare of our people, the security of our people.

“Welfare starts with security and then, of course, other things that go with it. So, I want to really, really thank you. Thank you for your very kind comments.”Like I said, we will work together, both at the National level and at the State level. There’s a lot that we can do, working together,” Gov. Otti stated.

By Editor, Umuahia

Abia State Governor, Dr Alex Otti, OFR, has called on Nigerians to embrace digital and distance education as the way to go in the contemporary time.

Governor Otti was speaking, while receiving in audience a delegation of the management of the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) led by Professor Uduma Orji Uduma in his office.

Governor. Otti recounted that it was the NOUN that pioneered virtual learning in Nigeria.

“It is interesting that National Open University of Nigeria pioneered an effort decades ago when the world had not gone virtual. But today, I sit here and hold meetings with people in New York and Singapore.

“That is what learning has become. Distance, Open, Virtual, Zoom, Google meet and all the platforms for distance learning and virtual meetings have become the order of the day.

“So, we have no choice but to embrace it,” Gov. Otti stated. Governor Otti approved the citing of the Aba Study Centre of the NOUN, and directed the Commissioner for Tertiary Education to do a feasibility study on how to fix and upgrade the Umuahia study centre.

This was in response to the requests made by the Vice Chancellor of the institution.

“On your request to support in upgrading the place (Umuahia centre), I would like the Honourable Commissioner for Tertiary Education to take that up together with other members of the team.

“Let’s have a look and see how we can support them to upgrade the place.”On the request for a study centre in Aba, I think that one is a no-brainer. It has to be done.”So, the General Manager of the Greater Aba Development Authority (GADA), please take that up and let’s find a place for them.

“Maybe we need to find a place that they will operate from on a temporary basis. Because before you start and finish building, it will probably take a long time.”So, you can start from a temporary place. We will now be thinking of a permanent site, which will be a fairly long-term project,” Gov. Otti said.

The State Chief Executive, who thanked them for the good job that they were doing at National Open University of Nigeria and for establishing a study centre in Asaga Ohafia as well as the one in the State capital, congratulated the Vice Chancellor on his position.

The Governor noted that his government pays a lot of attention to education, saying that, in the last three years, he had committed 20% of the annual budget to education, disclosing that, soon, he would be commissioning three smart schools within the month.

Earlier, the Leader of the delegation and Vice Chancellor of NOUN, Professor Uduma Orji Uduma said that the visit was to solicit for partnership with the Governor for the establishment of a study centre in Aba, describing Open and distant learning as the way to go in the 21st Century.

While noting that the University has 120 Study Centres across Nigeria with only 8 in the South East region, Professor Uduma appealed to the State government to partner with the University to secure land for the establishment of a study centre in Aba to enable more Abia people enjoy the gains of open and distant learning, in addition to fixing and upgrading the existing Umuahia study centre.

He appreciated the transformation projects of Governor Alex Otti in the State and maintained that the people across the country are happy about his people oriented development strides.

Stephanie Clems, Umuahia

The Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) in Abia State took a significant step toward internal stability on Monday, as delegates gathered in the state capital to produce a new State Executive Committee through a peaceful consensus arrangement.

The congress, held at Bishop Nwedo pastoral centre in Umuahia, saw party faithful from all 17 Local Government Areas converge in an atmosphere described by observers as “orderly and unified.”

The turn out of party faithful to the congress was something many analysts said was both amazing and unexpected.

The NDC opted for a harmonized list of candidates which saw Chief Akọ Atuloma emerge as the state chairman of the party. Following hours of deliberations by party stakeholders and elders, the proposed names were presented to the floor and ratified by a unanimous voice vote from the accredited delegates.

The emergence of the new executive is seen as a strategic move to reposition the NDC as a formidable force in Abia State politics ahead of the 2027 general elections.

While the full list of executives is expected to be published later this week, the newly ratified State Chairman, in his acceptance speech, thanked the party members for their maturity and sacrifice.

“I want to thank the delegates from the ward level who participated in the various primaries. I also want to thank delegates who stood the grounds at the LGA level. I’m so proud of you, there were no incidents that would attract the police or attract any of the security agencies.

” Everything went smoothly and we are happy we have arrived at this very day,” he said.

He said the party’s delegates had empowered the new executive to succeed in the coming general elections.“I want to assure you that this executive that I have termed “vehicle of grace” and because we’re a vehicle of grace, we will all succeed come 2027,” he said.

Also speaking during interviews on the sidelines of the event, the chairman said he was confident that the party will exceed expectations in the state and national.

He said although the party was new to the state, it had made significant inroads in all the books and crannies of the state.

“The masses have been yearning for change, NDC symbolises this change. It’s a vessel of this change. I’m not surprised at the massive acceptance of the party by Abia people and Nigerians at large,” he stated.

Other members of the state working committee, the publicity secretary and welfare officer, Mr. Emeka Okoro and Nkeiruka Okpala both expressed optimism in gaining the trust of the electorate.Observers from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) were present to monitor the proceedings and ensure compliance with the Electoral Act and the party’s constitution.

Observers say the successful outing in Umuahia sets the stage for the party’s national convention, as the Abia chapter joins several others across the country in formalizing their leadership structures this month.