Some followers of Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, have cautioned Governor Alex Otti of Abia State against probing his predecessor, Okezie Ikpeazu.
This was as they said probing the immediate past governor would amount to distraction as he settles down to governance.
They urged Otti to focus on delivering good governance to the people of the state rather than probing Ikpeazu.
The call was contained in a statement signed by Mazi Chetachi Ikpe of the Peter Obi Grassroots Movement (POGM) in Abia State and Ndubueze Obiakwata, the chairman of Obidients Across Parties Alliance (OAPA) in the state.
Commending Otti for a superlative first month in office, they said: “Your Excellency, you’re indeed God’s Gift to God’s Own State (Abia).”
The statement reads partly: “Abia civil servants are glad that you kept your promise of payment of salaries. Indeed, workers’ welfare should be the foremost priority of any government, especially a Labour Party government. In line with your promise that civil servants shall receive their salaries on the 28th of every month, we expect Abia workers to receive their June salary today, being the 28th day of June.
“We are impressed with the State of Emergency you declared on waste evacuation and management in Aba and Umuahia. Indeed, “cleanliness is next to godliness,” and God’s Own State should not be dirty. We believe that under your watch, the era when a notable Igbo son said that “Aba stinks” is over for good.
“However, we urge you to resist the temptation of embarking on a probe of your predecessor(s) since such shall become a huge distraction [for] your avowed task of rebuilding Abịa and wiping away our tears, as you promised in your inaugural address as governor.
“When Peter Obi came into office as Anambra State governor, instead of turning around to blame and probe his predecessor, he proved to the electorate that he was better by beating his predecessor’s records.”
The groups further noted: “All eyes are on you, as the only Labour Party (LP) governor in Nigeria. We are in a hurry to see you show Nigerians what they will miss if they miss having Mr Peter Obi, the LP presidential candidate, who was robbed of his mandate, as president.”
They added: “Finally, we urge you to keep your eyes on the ball, bearing in mind that you stand on the shoulders of giants such as Dr Michael Okpara and Dr Sam Mbakwe.
“Through you and our principal, Peter Obi, we believe that a new Nigeria is possible.”