Abia State Governor, Alex Otti, has dedicated his tribunal Victory to God and Abians and has advised his opponents to sheathe their swords and join hands with him to develop the state.
The governor, who was reacting to the victory in his Nvosi country home on Saturday, in Isiala Ngwa South LGA, thanked Abians for their massive support before, during and after the election.
While extending a hand of friendship to his opponents, he said: “My advice to my opponents is that this is a good time to sheathe their sword and join hands with me to develop our state, Abia.
“Anyhow you slice and dice it, it costs a lot of money to engage in litigation. While I will not ask them to bring the money to me I would advise that each of them have villages that are dilapidating, without roads, without water and I believe that their communities will appreciate it if they would channel those resources into building roads in their villages and communities.”
Otti added that the resources could be used in providing pipe-borne water and ensuring that the state remained peaceful for the benefit of its inhabitants, asserting that his victory shouldn’t have been contested in the first place and expressed joy that the wishes of the people had come to fruition.
“If you follow the election and everything that happened thereafter, you will know that quite frankly, this victory shouldn’t have been contested in the first place, but then, I also do not deny my opponents their rights to go to court”, he said and thanked the jurists and all those who ensured that justice prevailed in the end.
The governor described the victory as a reflection of the sacrifice made by Abians in the 2023 governorship election and thanked God for the victory while pledging to continue to serve Abians diligently.