85 appointees of Governor Otti from Ukwa La Ngwa warn against ethnic sentiment, drums support for Gov.Otti’s development agenda

Eighty-five political appointees of Abia State Governor, Dr Alex Otti, from Ukwa La Ngwa have cautioned politicians against using ethnic sentiments to malign the people of the zone, urging them to support the state government’s development agenda.

The appointees stated this at a press conference organised by Ukwa La Ngwa appointees serving in the Governor Otti administration at the JAAC Secretariat, Umuahia, on Thursday, October 8, 2026.

Reading an eight-point resolution signed by the appointees, the Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Prince Uzor Nwachukwu, said the 85 political appointees and nine mayors from the zone had endorsed the resolutions.

Prince Nwachukwu said the appointees had observed “disjointed and politically motivated narratives” circulating on social media, particularly claims suggesting that the people of Ukwa La Ngwa were opposed to the Governor Otti administration.

He warned politicians against denigrating the people of the zone for political gains, insisting that the appointees fully identified with the governor’s vision, policies and development agenda.

According to him, the appointees would resist any attempt by politicians or groups to undermine the relationship between the people of Ukwa La Ngwa and the governor.

“We shall stoutly resist, within the limits of legitimate democratic engagement, any attempt by any politician or group of politicians to denigrate our people and present in a negative light our very beautiful relationship with our son, the Governor, and his administration.

“The infantile narratives about whether Governor Alex Otti is Ngwa or not are not only unfortunate but connote an absolute lack of knowledge or idiocy. Not even Dr Alex Otti can reverse, after three generations before him, the fact of his land of birth and the potency of the earth that hosts his umbilical cord after birth,” Prince Nwachukwu stated.

The commissioner maintained that sons and daughters of Ukwa La Ngwa were adequately represented in the present administration and were making meaningful contributions to the state’s development.

While acknowledging the right of citizens to express political opinions and engage in constructive dissent, he said the appointees opposed attempts to use the Ukwa La Ngwa political platform to advance personal ambitions at the expense of the zone’s collective interests.

He urged the people of the area to remain calm and allow the administration to continue its development efforts, cautioning those campaigning against the governor against introducing unnecessary sub-ethnic sentiments into their political activities.

“We hereby advise all Ukwa La Ngwa sons and daughters, whose stock in trade is to seek to embarrass our collective sensibilities as a people by giving a needless sub-ethnic slant to their campaigns against the Governor, to retrace their steps immediately.

“We urge our people to remain calm and allow the present administration, which has demonstrated a clear and unmistakable desire to rebuild the broken walls of development in the state, to continue in its trajectory,” he said.

Prince Nwachukwu also expressed concern over what he described as the use of traditional practices during political campaigns, alleging that some individuals had poured alcoholic drinks as libations at campaign grounds.

“For the first time in my life in politics, I’m seeing people who go to campaigns, and then they are carrying hot drinks to pour libation on campaign grounds. That is devilish. That is witchcraft,” he said.
He added that the appointees would not remain silent over practices they considered detrimental to the state’s collective interests, stressing the need for political actors to conduct their activities responsibly.

The commissioner reaffirmed the appointees’ “continued, unalloyed and determined support” for Governor Otti, urging politicians to avoid insults and personal attacks and to ensure that political differences did not undermine the interests of Abia State.

Also speaking, the Chief of Staff to the Governor, Pastor Caleb Ajagba, said the future of Abia State and the collective interests of its citizens should not be sacrificed for the benefit of a few politicians.

Pastor Ajagba called for issue-based political campaigns, urging political actors to focus on policies and programmes capable of addressing the challenges facing the state.

“This is a warning to everyone. I believe that the kind of campaigns we should be looking at should be issue-based campaigns, things that will address the challenges Abia is facing,” he said.

The Chief of Staff argued that three years would not be sufficient to address the consequences of what he described as 24 years of poor governance in the state.

He accused those he said contributed to the bad governance witnessed previously in the state of criticising the current administration while it worked to address the problems inherited from previous governments.

“A government that came to correct maladministration and address the rot of the past cannot begin to dissipate its energy responding to people who created the problems.

“It will be a kind of disfigured expectation and misplaced priority for anyone to expect that, within 24 years of what Abia has passed through, three years would be enough to fix it.

“The same set of people who created the problem are the people who are now pointing accusing fingers at His Excellency, who is trying to address the maladministration that Abia faced over the past 24 years,” Ajagba stated.

He explained that the press conference was convened to clarify what he described as misleading narratives about the composition of the Otti administration.

Pastor Ajagba said the Governor’s approach to appointments was based on integrity, capacity, capability and merit, adding that the administration’s emphasis on these principles had attracted criticism from some quarters.

He further noted that the state had recorded developments in various sectors and was attracting increasing attention, urging critics not to undermine Abia’s progress because of political differences.

The Chief of Staff assured that the administration remains focused on its development agenda and would continue to discharge its responsibilities to the people of the state.

Majority of the appointees, including the Commissioner for Information Prince Okey Kanu, the Director of Publicity of the Labour Party Governorship Campaign Council, Barr. Onyebuchi Ememanka, the Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Public Affairs Dr. Ebere Uzoukwa , Senior Special Assistant on Transportation, Dr. Obiọma Nwogbe were present at the press conference.