Abia State governor-elect, Mr. Alex Otti, has said that he would have won the election without the Presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Mr. Peter Obi, who later joined the Party.
According to Mr. Otti, he won the 2015 election that produced Governor Okezie Ikpazu as governor under the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA).
Mr. Otti also revealed that he joined the Labour Party before Mr. Obi.
The governor-elect said this, on Thursday night, during an interview on Channels TV’s Politics Today.
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Recall that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had, on Wednesday, declared Mr. Otti the winner of the March 18 poll.
According to Mr. Otti, “In 2015 when I ran under APGA, there was no Peter Obi. And we have it on our record that I won that election. At the time we were joining Labour Party, Peter Obi had not joined.
“It took about a week before he called me and said that he purchased the presidential nomination form and he was coming to Labour Party.
“We were prepared to fight the way we fought in 2015. The votes we garnered in Abia could have been had but maybe the margin could have been smaller.
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“That is why it’s always good to acknowledge Peter Obi. He came to Abia about four times to campaign for us.
“I think he had done well for us. That is why even the first election out of the eight House of Representatives seats, we took six and sent some people on permanent retirement.
“Peter Obi is a great addition to our campaign, but I can tell you that we won an election before in Abia without him.”