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Abia State Governor, Alex Otti, has declared that he will not become a political godfather or impose a successor on the state after completing his second term in office in 2031.

Otti made the statement on Thursday in Umuahia while receiving former Social Democratic Party, SDP, governorship candidate, Mrs Ngozi Johnson Chukwunenye, and her supporters into the Labour Party, LP.

The governor said the process of choosing a successor should be determined by merit and competence rather than a “sit-tight” approach to leadership.

He expressed optimism that his successor would be better prepared to deliver quality governance to the people of Abia State.

“The most important thing you can give a people is good governance.

“And once people test good governance, it will be very difficult for them to allow you to take them back.

“So, if you are afraid that we will go back to Egypt, it will never happen. What I can assure you is that, by the time I’m done, the person who will succeed me will be better than me.

“I don’t want to be a godfather, and I don’t tolerate godfathers.

“We will all sit down, look at everybody and say, ‘Who is the best person for this job?’ Then all of us will agree, and we will campaign for him.

“He will win, and we will take a back seat,” Otti said.

The governor also restated his earlier commitment not to contest for any elective position after completing his second term in office.

“We should stop this sit-tight. It’s only you. It can’t be only you.

“There are smarter, more trained, better-trained, better-equipped younger people; our children. We need to give them the opportunity,” he added.

Otti revealed that his administration had already begun preparing young people to take up leadership responsibilities through programmes including the Abia Leadership Academy.

He said over 1,080 young people aged between 16 and 25 had recently completed their training at the academy.

“You will see how smart our children are. So, these are the people that will take over from us.

“And they are being trained now for tomorrow, so we can never go back,” he said.

The governor noted that development was a gradual process, explaining that his administration initially concentrated on restoring Aba and Umuahia before expanding its projects to other parts of the state.

“We are now moving into the hinterlands, and we will continue until we reach everywhere, so nothing will stop us,” he said.

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