Abia State Governor Alex Otti has said he is not in a position to oppose President Bola Tinubu’s bid for another term in office in the 2027 presidential election.
Otti made the remarks during an interview with Arise Television while discussing his position on Tinubu’s re-election bid. The governor explained that, as a member of the government and the National Economic Council, openly opposing the President could create internal conflict.
“It works the way you have said it. It’s a statement of fact. I’m not in a position to oppose his (Tinubu’s) candidacy.
“Sometimes people don’t understand opposition. When you say you’re opposition, and you are part of a government, then what you are driving towards is implosion.
“So if I do have a problem with anything, I’ll sit down in one of our meetings, and I make my point.
“I’m not going to oppose his candidacy, and it is not within my right, even as a human being. So I can choose what I want to do,” Otti said.
The governor rejected the suggestion that his position was simply a politically convenient stance, saying there are aspects of the Tinubu administration’s policies that align with his own views.
He specifically pointed to the removal of fuel subsidy, describing the previous subsidy arrangement as unsustainable and arguing that any decision to restore it would require adequate funding.
“But quite frankly, there are a lot of things that we have talked about now that he (Tinubu) has implemented that resonate with me and my thinking, and people don’t have to agree with me, but from where I sit, I know that, for instance, the fuel subsidy was even unsustainable.
“And if you want to reintroduce it, that’s fine. But you need to also fund it. So that’s how I would respond to that,” he said.
Otti’s comments come amid increasing political activity ahead of the 2027 general elections, with political figures and parties taking different positions on Tinubu’s re-election bid.
The governor has also previously said he intends to leave active politics after completing his tenure in 2031, ruling out a Senate bid and saying he wants younger Nigerians to take on leadership roles.
