I’ll quit politics after my governorship, no presidential or senatorial ambition – Gov Otti

Abia State Governor, Dr Alex Otti, has declared that he will retire from active politics at the end of his tenure as governor, dismissing claims that he harbours presidential, vice-presidential or senatorial ambitions.

Otti made the declaration on Friday, December 19, 2025, at the Michael Okpara Auditorium, Government House, Umuahia, while responding to a viral video alleging that his recent visit to detained Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, was politically motivated.

The governor said the claims were based on false assumptions, stressing that he had repeatedly stated his intention to leave politics after completing his mandate.

“One of the things he talked about was my ambition after being governor. I have said it before, and I will say it again: by the time I am done with governorship, I will retire,” Otti said.

“I have no presidential ambition, no vice-presidential ambition, and no senatorial ambition after this office. If anyone’s thesis is based on that assumption, then it has already collapsed because they will not see me on the ballot.”

He added that leadership required knowing when to step aside.

“I came here for a mission, and when I deliver that mission, I will give way to younger people. It is important for a political office holder to know when to quit, especially when he has done what he was asked to do,” he said.

Otti criticised the tendency of some former governors to seek lower political offices after leaving office, insisting that such was not his path.

“We have seen people who, after being governor, went on to become local government chairmen. That is not who we are, and that is not what we are cut out for,” he stated.

Addressing his visit to Nnamdi Kanu at the Sokoto Correctional Centre, Otti said the move was borne out of concern and a long-standing effort to find a peaceful resolution to the issue, not political ambition.

“I don’t want to put everything in the public space so that it does not jeopardise the discussions I am having. But the truth is that exactly 24 months ago, I opened discussions at the highest level on the issue of Nnamdi Kanu,” he said.

The governor explained that visiting Kanu was appropriate, noting that the IPOB leader is an indigene of Abia State and Umuahia North Local Government Area, which hosts the state capital.

“Going to see him is the right thing to do. There are always ways to solve a problem, and I do not believe that ignoring a problem solves it,” Otti said.

He recalled condemning Operation Python Dance during the height of the security crisis in the South-East, stressing that his position had not changed.

“I condemned it then, and I still condemn it now. Some of the recordings circulated in that video, I cannot vouch for their authenticity,” he added.

Otti further clarified that while legal processes must be respected, dialogue and administrative intervention also had a role to play in resolving sensitive national issues.

“I am not a lawyer. If the judiciary convicts someone, that is the position of the court of first instance, but the law also allows for appeals up to the Supreme Court,” he said.

“But beyond that, we are trying to intervene. I am not a supporter of the disintegration of Nigeria. It would be insensitive of me to sit here and say that one of our own should die when there is an opportunity to discuss, negotiate and sue for peace. That is my position.”