Young professionals from Old Bende in Abia State have dismissed claims that Governor Alex Otti has been endorsed for a second term ahead of 2027.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, the group, Old Bende Young Professionals, debunked the purported endorsement of Otti by the member representing Aba North/Aba South Federal Constituency, Hon. Mascot Ikwechegh, as “null and void” since it failed to meet all democratic criteria.
In the statement signed by the president, Barr. Chima Charles Ogbonnaya, and the secretary, Dyke Chidozie Okwara, the group described those who participated in the event as impostors, noting that they did not have the mandate of the Old Bende people to take such a weighty decision.
According to the group, Hon. Ikwechegh abandoned his legislative duties of representing the people of Aba to dabble in a matter he clearly lacked the power and capacity to address.
It noted that, in the first instance, the governorship should rightly be occupied by the people of Abia North in Old Bende come 2027, while a meeting is yet to be convened to deliberate on whom the zone should support.
“What happened in Hon. Ikwechegh’s sitting room is a parody of the absurd. It was premature and presumptuous. If it were in the military, all those who attended that circus show should have been court-martialled,” the group averred.
“If Ikwechegh is genuinely committed to serving the people of Old Bende, he should consider contesting for the House of Representatives in Bende come 2027 and relinquish his current seat to the Ngwa people to promote fairness, equity, and rotational leadership.”
“Ikwechegh’s current shenanigans and undemocratic and self-centred political acts are unacceptable and a blatant disregard for democratic principles and the autonomy of our region, Old Bende,” the young professionals concluded.
