Abia Governor Alex Otti’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Ferdinand Ekeoma, has clarified that the Governor’s visit to President Bola Tinubu on Tuesday focused primarily on issues concerning the detained leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu.
Ekeoma issued the statement on Thursday, December 4, to counter claims made by Charles Ogbonnaya, a former state Commissioner, alleging that Governor Otti’s visit was intended to discuss plans to defect to the All Progressives Congress (APC) ahead of the 2027 general election.
The aide firmly maintained that the meeting was a continuation of the ongoing efforts to secure Kanu’s release.
“The governor subsequently had a meeting with the President after visiting the IPOB leader at the Sokoto Correctional Centre on Sunday, November 30, 2025.
“This is in continuation of earlier meetings the governor had been having with the FG on this matter in the past two years.
“The issue of Kanu was the only subject matter that took Gov. Otti to Aso Rock and to the glory of God, the meeting was both positive and fruitful, as the President was so gracious and generous,” he said.
Ekeoma said his response to Ogbonnaya’s claim became necessary because the issue of Kanu’s release is both sensitive and important to the state government, making it imperative to set the record straight.
Ekeoma attributed the former commissioner’s repeated attacks on Otti to the governor’s decision to defect from his party ahead of the 2023 general election.
The aide then challenged Ogbonnaya, urging him to substantiate his claims of betrayal by naming the individuals Otti supposedly betrayed and providing details on when and how those events took place.
He said: “Ogbonnaya’s allegation of Gov. Otti going to lobby to join the APC is both petty, ignoble, laughable and very irresponsible.
“At the risk of sounding immodest, any political party Governor Otti chooses to join today would roll out the drums and red carpet to welcome him with joy and excitement.
“If anything, many notable and respected APC leaders are not just desirous of having him in their fold, but are strongly appealing to Governor Otti to join their party because they know that he is not a liability.
“Ogbonna accused Otti of betrayal, but he didn’t say who Otti betrayed, how or when. He claimed that Otti does not have capacity, yet Otti defeated him in his Polling Unit, Ward and LGA where his PDP candidates from House of Assembly to President lost woefully.
“He accused Gov. Otti of inconsistency, yet he abandoned Alhaji Atiku Abubakar less than 48 hours after the result of the presidential election was announced, despite the empty noise and boast he made about the PDP’s Presidential Candidate, all for Atiku’s money when it was needed and available.
“He alleged that Gov. Otti is playing politics with Nnamdi Kanu, yet, he is angry that the Governor is engaging the FG to secure Kanu’s freedom. Is there anything more contradictory and ridiculous than Ogbonna’s utterances?”
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