Abia State Governor, Alex Otti, has said he supports the Labour Party’s presidential candidate for the 2027 election while maintaining that he will not oppose President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s candidacy.

Otti made the statement during an interview on Arise TV on Friday while discussing the 2027 presidential election and his position on Tinubu’s re-election bid.

The governor said he had previously stated that he had a presidential candidate, but clarified that he was referring to the Labour Party candidate.

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Asked if he was supporting the candidate, Otti said, “Yes.”

However, when questioned about whether he was supporting Tinubu, the Abia governor said Tinubu had a right to contest the 2027 election.

“What do you expect me to say? To say I’m not supporting him?” Otti asked.

He added that he had already stated that Tinubu had the right to run and that nobody could stop him from contesting.
Otti also explained that he was not in a position to oppose Tinubu’s candidacy.

“I’m not going to oppose his candidacy, and it is not within my right, even as a human being to… so I can choose what I want to do,” he said.

According to him, opposing a candidate while being part of government could create internal conflict, stressing that disagreements over policies should be addressed within government meetings.

“When you say opposition and you are part of a government, then what you are driving towards is implosion. So if I do have a problem with anything, I’ll sit down in one of our meetings and I’ll make my point,” he said.

Otti further said some policies implemented by the Tinubu administration resonate with his thinking, particularly the removal of fuel subsidy.

“Quite frankly, there are a lot of things that we have talked about now that he has implemented that resonate with me and my thinking,” he said.

He maintained that the fuel subsidy was unsustainable, adding that any decision to reintroduce it would require adequate funding.

Otti also noted that, as a governor and member of the National Economic Council, he is part of discussions and decisions concerning policies implemented by the federal government.

Former Anambra State Governor and 2027 presidential candidate, Peter Obi, has ruled out seeking the office of governor again, saying he would not return to the position even if Nigeria’s Constitution is amended.

Obi made the declaration in a statement on X on Friday while addressing the ongoing controversy over Anambra State’s debt, saying he had no disagreement with the state’s incumbent governor, Chukwuma Soludo, or any other governor in Nigeria.

“I am not seeking the office of governor in any state, and I will not seek that position again, even if the Constitution is amended,” Obi said.

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The former governor also dismissed suggestions of a personal dispute with Soludo, describing him as his “dear elder brother.”

“I wish to assure the public that I have no disagreement with my dear elder brother, Governor Soludo, or with any governor in Nigeria,” he said.

Obi’s declaration comes amid the ongoing public debate over financial obligations allegedly linked to his administration in Anambra State.

He said he had remained silent over the past few days because he was grieving the death of his “very dear elder brother and friend,” Chief Okey Ezeibe, but said he had decided to respond to issues that had occupied public discussion.

Beyond the Anambra controversy, Obi also called on governors across the country to allow political opponents to campaign freely in their states ahead of the 2027 general elections.

He urged governors to support whichever presidential candidates they preferred while also permitting other presidential candidates and contenders for other offices to campaign without interruption.

“Ultimately, voters should be allowed to determine whom they wish to serve them,” Obi said.

He further urged political actors and Nigerians to focus on the challenges confronting the country and the hardship being experienced by citizens rather than what he described as political distractions.

Obi is currently the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) for the 2027 election.

Presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, has distanced himself from the Presidential Campaign Council reportedly constituted by the OK Movement, saying the initiative was created without his knowledge or approval.

Obi made the clarification on Arise TV on Thursday while responding to questions about the ongoing disagreement between the NDC and the OK Movement over the relationship between the party and its support groups.

The OK Movement, comprising supporters of Obi and former Kano State governor Rabiu Kwankwaso, has maintained that it would not surrender its national, state, local government and ward structures to the NDC.

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Responding to the issue, Obi said the NDC was the political party to which they belonged, while groups such as the OK Movement, Obidient groups and Kwankwasiyya should operate as support groups for the party.

“First… NDC is the political party we all belong to. And I agree entirely with the position of the leader. OK Movement, Obidient group, Kwankwasiyya, and other supporting groups are supporting groups.

They must play their role as supporting groups supporting the party,” Obi said.

He stressed that the support groups should not operate as political parties or create structures that could compete with the NDC.

“They should not play the role of a party,” he said.

Obi specifically referred to the reported creation of a Presidential Campaign Council by the OK Movement, saying it should not have been established independently.

“We found a situation where one of the supporting groups is then saying using the nomenclature that is forming Presidential Campaign Council. It shouldn’t be,” he said.

Asked whether the campaign council was created with his knowledge or approval, Obi responded: “Not at all. And I said here, it is wrong.”

He further said any major action taken by the OK Movement would require the express approval of both himself and Kwankwaso because the movement represents supporters of the two politicians.

“Your supporting OK Movement is Obi and Kwankwaso. So whatever you do must have express approval of both of us,” he said.

The remarks come amid an ongoing disagreement over the political structures to be used by the NDC and the various support groups backing Obi and Kwankwaso ahead of the 2027 general elections.