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By Myke Agunwa
Governor Alex Otti of Abia State has dismissed claims that his recent meeting with President Bola Tinubu was to negotiate on defection to the All Progressives Congress (APC), insisting the discussion centred solely on the continued detention of the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu.
Recall that leaders such as the late Mbazulike Amechi, Ohanaeze Ndigbo leadership, Southeast Governors, several traditional rulers, and respected clergy had at different times visited former President Muhammadu Buhari (of blessed memory) and President Tinubu to appeal for Kanu’s release in the interest of peace and stability in the region.
Otti, who spoke through his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Ferdinand Ekeoma on Thursday, clarified that the visit was part of ongoing engagements he and other prominent Igbo leaders have held with the Federal Government in the last two years, all aimed at securing Kanu’s release.
The governor’s clarification followed allegations by a former Abia Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Charles Ogbonnaya, who claimed that Otti’s visit to the Presidential Villa was a political move ahead of 2027.
Ekeoma described the allegation as false and mischievous, stressing that Otti had met with Tinubu shortly after visiting Kanu at the Sokoto Correctional Centre on Sunday, November 30, where the IPOB leader is serving a life sentence following a judgment by Justice James Omotosho of the Abuja Federal High Court.
According to him, the governor’s mission to Aso Rock was strictly in line with persistent appeals by key Igbo political, religious, and traditional leaders for the Federal Government to consider a political solution to Kanu’s incarceration.
“For avoidance of doubt, the issue of Nnamdi Kanu was the only subject matter that took Governor Otti to Aso Rock. This is in continuation of earlier meetings the governor had been having with the Federal Government on this matter in the past two years” Ekeoma stated.
Ekeoma added that Otti’s approach follows this same longstanding pathway of engagement that many Igbo statesmen have championed.
He further noted that the outcome of the meeting with Tinubu was “positive and fruitful,” saying the President showed “graciousness and generosity” in receiving the governor’s submissions on the matter.
Otti’s visit to Kanu in Sokoto and subsequent engagement with the President, Ekeoma said, were driven by a commitment to ongoing peace efforts in the Southeast, not by partisan political considerations.
He called on the public to disregard what he described as deliberate attempts to twist the governor’s intentions, adding that Otti remains focused on justice, peace, and the collective interest of the people of Abia and the wider Southeast.