Abia: It’s justice at last — Otti

WHILE PDP is lamenting and condemning the Court of Appeal judgment which sacked Governor Okezie Ikpeazu as the Governor of Abia State, APGA partisans are rejoicing. For them, it was justice restored at last.

Thus the moment news of the judgment filtered into the State, celebration erupted in various parts of the State by APGA members and their supporters.

APGA said the judgment was “liberation of the good people of Abia from the bonds of mediocrity and self-centred oligarchy”.

By Anayo Okoli

OTTI reacts: For Dr. Alex Otti, who was declared winner by the Court of Appeal, the judgment was “justice at last”.

He said: “It is said that the windmill of justice may grind slowly but it surely does grind. After more than seven months of tortuous and needless legal tussle, the will of the people has triumphed! Today’s ruling is the triumph of the abiding will of the people against the principalities of thuggery, barefaced robbery and high-handed impunity. It is victory of the silent majority over a noisy, unjust and parochial minority”.

“You must recall that Abia, until the emergence of incompetent and insensitive “lootocracy”, was the commercial powerhouse of West Africa. It was an industrial centre where multinationals and indigenous entrepreneurs held sway. It was the area that produced such great men as Michael Okpara, Dick Tiger, Jaja Wachuku, Alvan Ikoku, Nnanna Kalu, OC Ememe and so on. Today, it is a shadow of its former self. Our mission is to restore our beloved state to greatness”.

Ikpeazu and Otti

“For all of us who believe that it is Abia First, I welcome you to come with us to make our state great again. To our opponents including those responsible for what we have gone through in the last couple of months, we extend a hand of fellowship to them as we invite them to join hands with us as we seek to provide credible leadership to our people and restore their dignity. The journey will not be an easy one but I assure you that the result will be fulfilling”.

Reacting on the court decision, APGA Chairman in Abia State, Augustine Ehiemere described it as “a landmark judgment” which he said has proved that the judiciary still has Judges of integrity. According to him, the judgement cannot be faulted because “the judges were thorough in their findings”.

Ehiemere said the party dedicated the victory to Abians and the late chieftain of the party Abbott Otisi Kalu who was actively involved in the struggle to liberate Abia, until he died recently.

He condemned the protests by PDP and accused them of hiring miscreants to cause a breach of the peace in the commercial city of Aba, and described the protest as the handiwork of the enemies of the state, who wish to remain in power against the wishes of the people.

Handiwork of enemies of the state

APGA chairman alleged that the PDP government recruited street urchins in Aba to foment trouble by blocking some roads in the city ‘’just to create a false impression that the people of the state were unhappy with the judgment of the Court of Appeal”.

Saying that Abia people were happy with the Court of Appeal judgment, the party chairman noted ‘’that the protest had exposed the sponsors as the enemies of the good people of Abia state”.

To him, “the judgment has ended the era of looting and restored the people’s hope that our children will graduate and get befitting jobs rather than keke business, that our schools and hospitals should be equipped and that our public water schemes down should function again”.

The party later organized what it tagged “Victory Rally” which took thousands of its members and supporters round some major streets in Umuahia- For now the two parties are waiting, engaging in all manner of prayers for the Supreme Court decision to swing in their direction.