BREAKING NEWS: Otti under fire for opposing more South-East states

A file copy of Governor Alex Otti of Abia State

 The immediate past Executive Secretary of the National Agricultural Land Development Authority, Paul Ikonne, has faulted Governor Alex Otti of Abia State over the governor’s stance on the creation of an additional state for the South-East.

In a statement issued in Abuja by his media aide, Chiagoziem Enoch, on Thursday, Ikonne accused Otti of failing to rise to the occasion during the South-East zonal hearing of the 1999 Constitution review, which held in Owerri, Imo State, on July 19.

The former NALDA boss, however, commended Imo State Governor Hope Uzodimma for what he called a “principled and courageous stand” in support of the long-standing agitation for another state in the region.

According to him, while Governor Uzodimma spoke passionately in support of the agitation, Otti downplayed the clamour, insisting Nigeria did not need more states due to issues of economic viability.

“That occasion afforded Governor Otti the golden opportunity to express solidarity with the entire South-East.

“Instead, he chose to squander it with an ambiguous stance that amounts to a betrayal of the region’s collective aspiration,” he said.

Questioning the governor’s credentials as an economist, Ikonne described Otti’s argument against the creation of Aba State as “dubious and infantile,” and accused him of deliberately ignoring global trends that now favour knowledge-based economies.

“The new frontier is the knowledge economy, which Aba and the people of Abia excel in.

“Countries like Finland, Singapore, Israel and the Netherlands have built global competitiveness around human ingenuity, not crude oil. Governor Otti deliberately ignored that,” Ikonne said.

He warned that continued marginalisation of the South-East in Nigeria’s geopolitical structure was fuelling separatist sentiments and should be urgently addressed.

“It is, therefore, worrisome that Otti, who should be in the frontline with the likes of Senator Uzodimma in leading the agitation for the creation of an additional state for Abia to address this abnormality, is the one leading the gang to frustrate it,” he said.

Continuing, Ikonne further noted that the agitation for Aba State has met all the constitutional requirements and enjoys wide support from stakeholders across the region.

According to him, what remains is a formal declaration to bring the long-held dream to fruition.