Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, LP, in the recently-conducted general elections in the country has admonished Abia State Governor, Alex Otti on the welfare of the poor in the state.
Obi, a former Governor of Anambra state, was speaking as the Special Guest of Honour at an interdenominational thanksgiving Church service held at Trademore event centre, Okpara Square, in Umuahia, the Abia state capital, to celebrate the recent inauguration of Otti as new Governor of Abia state.
The interdenominational service was conducted by the Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, Abia State.
While speaking, Obi appealed to the new Abia governor to prioritize the welfare of civil servants, pensioners and the poor.
According to him, “do not abuse the grace of God.
“Let everything you do be to the good of the poor people in Abia.
“Let the poor people be happy. Let the retirees and pensioners be happy.”
Obi promised to return to Abia after four years to campaign for Otti’s reelection as he has implicit confidence in the capacity and competence of the new state governor in delivering democratic dividends to every doorsteps of the people of Abia.
In his speech at the ceremony, Governor Otti declared that the time for Abia people had come, expressing his gratitude to God for his recent victory and the outcome of the recently-held gubernatorial election.
The Abia Chief Executive who was flanked by his wife, Mrs Priscilla Otti and the State Deputy Governor, Engr Ikechukwu Emetu, assured Obi and the Abia residents that his administration would not only work for the poor but would lift them out of hardship and poverty.
He partly said: “we have come here to work for Abia people and Abia people we will work for.
“We have not come to work for big men; we believe that big men will always find their way.
“But the peasants, the farmers, the poor people all over the place, we have promised to lift them out of poverty and that we would do.”
Recall that Otti, an ex-bank chief and the Abia Gubernatorial flagbearer of the Labour Party, polled a total number of 175, 467 votes cast to beat his closest rival of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Okey Ahiwe, who scored 88,529 votes to come second.