Abia State Governor Alex Otti has ruled out imposing a successor on the state or becoming a political godfather after completing his second tenure in 2031.

Otti stated this on Thursday in Umuahia while receiving the former Social Democratic Party (SDP) governorship candidate, Ngozi Johnson-Chukwunenye, and her supporters into the Labour Party (LP).

The governor said succession should be based on identifying the most suitable candidate rather than perpetuating what he described as a “sit-tight” political culture.

Otti said he expected his successor to be better equipped to provide quality leadership to the people of Abia.

“The most important thing you can give a people is good governance.

“And once people test good governance, it will be very difficult for them to allow you to take them back.

“So, if you are afraid that we will go back to Egypt, it will never happen and what I can assure you is that, by the time I’m done, the person who will succeed me will be better than me.

“I don’t want to be a godfather and I don’t tolerate godfathers.

“We will all sit down, look at everybody and say, who is the best person for this job and then all of us will agree and we will campaign for him.

“He will win and we will take a back seat,” Otti said.

The governor also reiterated that he would not seek another elective office after completing his second tenure, saying younger people should be given opportunities to assume leadership responsibilities.

“We should stop this sit-tight. It’s only you. It can’t be only you.

“There are smarter, more trained, better-trained, better-equipped younger people; our children. We need to give them opportunity,” he said.

Otti said his administration was already preparing young people for future leadership through initiatives such as the Abia Leadership Academy.

He disclosed that more than 1,080 young people between the ages of 16 and 25 had recently graduated from the academy.

“You will see how smart our children are. So, these are the people that will take over from us.

“And they are being trained now for tomorrow; so we can never go back,” he said.

The governor said his administration would continue with its governance and infrastructure programmes despite criticism, stressing that development could not be achieved overnight.

According to him, the government initially focused on restoring Aba and Umuahia before extending its interventions to other parts of the state.

“We are now moving into the hinterlands, and we will continue until we reach everywhere; so nothing will stop us,” he said.

Otti thanked Johnson-Chukwunenye for joining the Labour Party and commended her for supporting vulnerable members of society, including pupils of the School for the Blind.

The Labour Party National Vice-Chairman, Southeast, Ishmael Onuoha, said the party’s motto aligned with the ideals expressed in the third stanza of the national anthem.

Onuoha described the LP as a party committed to the masses and hope for Nigerians.

The LP Chairman in Abia, Peter Azubuike, said the growing support for the party reflected what he described as Otti’s performance in government.

Azubuike said the party was preparing for the 2027 elections and urged members to focus on polling-unit-based campaigns and grassroots mobilisation.

In her remarks, Johnson-Chukwunenye said she had closely followed the Otti administration and was convinced by its efforts to “clean up, light up and restore dignity” to Abia.

She said she decided to support Otti’s second-term bid because she believed his administration’s policies aligned with her vision of a government that remembers the poor and promotes equity.

Johnson-Chukwunenye also called for legislation on “continuity and completion” to ensure that successive administrations continued projects inherited from previous governments.

Otti’s remarks came amid preparations for his second-term bid, with the governor maintaining that he would not impose a successor or assume the role of a political godfather after leaving office.