Governor of Abia State, Alex Otti, has ruled out seeking a Senate seat after his tenure, saying he plans to retire from active politics and give younger people an opportunity to take over leadership.
Otti made the statement on Thursday in Umuahia while speaking on governance and the need for a change of leadership.
“Once I finish this one, I will retire. Why do I say so? I want the young people to take over,” he said.
The governor also said he had no plans to become a political godfather or remain involved in politics after leaving office.
“I don’t want to be a godfather. And I don’t tolerate godfathers,” Otti said.
He said he was not interested in seeking another political office, including the Senate.
“I keep saying it, I’m not interested in anything else. I don’t even want to go to the Senate. I’m not interested,” he said.
Otti also called for an end to what he described as “sit-tight” politics, saying younger Nigerians should be given opportunities to participate in governance.
“We should stop this sit-tight; it’s only you. Not only you, it also can’t be only you. There are smarter, more trained, better trained, better equipped younger people. Our children, we need to give them opportunities,” he said.
He said his preference was for citizens to determine who should succeed him based on who they considered suitable for the position.
“We will all sit down, look at everybody and say, who is the best person for this job? And all of us will agree, and we will campaign for him; he will win. We will take a back seat,” Otti said.
The governor also said good governance should remain the focus of political leadership.
“The most important thing you can give a people is good governance,” he said.
Discussion0