“I’m Closer to the Centre Than Some of Them” — Alex Otti Dismisses Defection Rumours

Abia State Governor Alex Otti has dismissed rumours of his alleged plan to defect from the Labour Party (LP) to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), describing the speculation as baseless. Speaking in an interview with Arise Television, Otti laughed off the idea that he needed to join the APC to be close to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu or the federal government.

His comments came amid a wave of high-profile defections from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Delta State, where former Governor Ifeanyi Okowa and his successor, Governor Sheriff Oborevwori, recently joined the APC. At their reception, both leaders said the move was aimed at connecting Delta State to the “centre” of national power in Abuja.

Otti, however, rejected this logic, asserting that loyalty to one’s political convictions matters more than political migration. “I am even closer to the centre than some of them,” he said. “Governor Otti is not decamping and my party is not on shaky ground.”

He pointed to President Tinubu’s political history as a model of consistency, noting that the president remained with the Alliance for Democracy (AD), Action Congress (AC), and Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) before helping form the APC. “If he was always defecting, he wouldn’t be president today. Sometimes, you have to also stand for something,” Otti added.

While he reaffirmed his current loyalty to the Labour Party, Otti acknowledged the internal challenges facing the party. When asked if he might ever leave the LP, he replied, “I am not God. I cannot say if there’s no LP tomorrow.”

Otti has previously been a member of the PDP, the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), and the APC, before winning the 2023 governorship election under the Labour Party.