Abia State Governor, Alex Otti, has distanced the South-East from Governor Hope Uzodinma’s endorsement of President Bola Tinubu for a second term, insisting that the Imo State governor was expressing only his personal opinion and not the collective position of the region.
Reacting to Uzodinma’s recent declaration of support for Tinubu’s 2027 re-election bid, Otti said no individual governor has the authority to commit the entire South-East to any political decision.
Speaking during an interview, the Abia governor stressed that the choice of who becomes Nigeria’s next president rests solely with the electorate.
“As a governor and as an individual, you can’t speak for everybody,” Otti said.
He maintained that while Uzodinma has every right to support President Tinubu’s second-term ambition, such an endorsement should not be interpreted as representing the views of other South-East governors or the people of the region.
“I’m sure there are appropriate people who will take that decision,” he added, noting that Nigerians would ultimately decide the outcome of the 2027 presidential election at the ballot box.
Otti also explained that cooperation between different levels of government should not be mistaken for political endorsement, saying governments are expected to work together in the national interest.
“This is a government, and a government sees all the work from the national to the sub-nationals, to the corporates. There are a lot of policies that are supported,” he said.
His remarks come amid increasing political realignments and debates over endorsements ahead of the 2027 general elections, following Uzodinma’s public backing of President Tinubu’s re-election bid.
