2027: Nobody is competent to talk about tomorrow except he or she wants to play God – Governor Otti
Abia State Governor, Alex Otti, has criticized early political campaigns ahead of the 2027 elections, stating that discussing future elections in 2025 amounts to “playing God,” as no one is guaranteed tomorrow.
Speaking on June 9 while receiving Senators Orji Uzor Kalu and Chris Adighije, who visited to commend his administration’s performance, Otti emphasized his focus on governance rather than political distractions. He expressed continued support for President Bola Tinubu, particularly praising the removal of the fuel subsidy, which he called a long-overdue and bold move.
Otti recalled advocating for the subsidy removal in his past newspaper columns, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. He added that his government is committed to progress, choosing to move forward rather than dwell on past failures. According to him, his priority is serving the people, not engaging in political battles.
“People in 2025 are talking of 2027… you can’t even talk about 2027 because there is no guarantee that you would go beyond 2025. Who are you to begin to talk about 2027?”
“Today is certain; tomorrow is a promise. Next tomorrow is gambling. Let us talk about today; when tomorrow comes, and we are lucky to be part of it, we can hold the discussion,” the Governor stated, adding that nobody is competent to talk about tomorrow except he or she wants to play God.
“When you talk about supporting President Tinubu, the President and I are very good friends and our friendship predates party politics and current positions; we agree on so many issues, and as it is natural, we know where we disagree. But, when you talk about the economy, what Mr. President is doing has always been my position for a long time.
“So, it requires somebody with courage to remove that subsidy and I am in support of it. We have behaved in an irresponsible manner for a very long time. And, when you have years of irresponsible behavior, the correction would be tough, difficult, and painful. It is the correction that we are going through now; if we don’t lose faith, we will eventually get it right.
So, talking about supporting the President, it’s a no-brainer; I will continue to support him because it is the same administration,” Gov. Otti said
“Government and Governance is a continuum, it can be broken but you must go back and recover it,” Governor Otti explained, recalling how his late mother was a strong supporter of Orji Uzor Kalu for the good works he did in road construction when he became Governor, especially in Aba, adding that it is still the same template he is using.
I can assure you, that template is not wrong. You fix the place that generates the revenue, the revenue will come and you use it to fix other places,” he said
