In a 2022 newspaper interview, Alex Otti, the governor-elect of Abia, expressed these sentiments.
“I began a journey in 2015 but have not yet reached my destination. I can either continue until I reach my destination or turn around and return to where I came from”.
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“I cannot stop in the middle of the process. If I had to return to where I came from, there would have been no reason to embark on the journey in the first place. Therefore, my only viable option is to continue to my destination.”
And on this day in 2023, the former head of a bank reached his destination. Otti had failed twice under the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), but his first attempt under the Labour Party was successful.
Professor Nnenna Oti, the Returning Officer of the election, reported that Otti received 175,467 votes to defeat his main opponent, Chief Okey Ahiwe of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who received 88,547 votes.
Below are five important facts about Otti:
Early Life
He was born on February 18, 1965, in Isiala-ngwa Local Government Area, Abia state, to the late Pastor Mr. and Mrs. Lazarus Weze Otti.
Otti attended Ngwa high school and Okpuala Ngwa secondary technical school in the state of Abia. The University of Port Harcourt awarded him a degree in Economics with the highest possible grade (UNIPORT).
In addition, he earned an MBA from the University of Lagos (UNILAG). Alex Otti attended international courses at Columbia business, Stanford business, and Wharton business schools, among others.
Banking Career
In 1989, he began his banking career at Nigeria International Bank before moving to Nigerian Intercontinental Merchant Bank Ltd. In 1992, he joined societe bancaire Nigeria limited (Merchant bankers) before transferring to the United bank of Africa (UBA) as the manager in charge of the corporate banking sector for the entire south division.
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He joined the First Bank of Nigeria in 2001 as assistant general manager and was later promoted to executive director of commercial banking. In 2011, he transferred from First bank Nigeria to Diamond bank as Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer. In 2014, he retired from the banking industry.
Career in Politics
In 2015, he ran for governor of Abia state under the All progressive’s grand alliance (APGA). Otti was declared the winner of the election after the court of appeal removed People’s Democratic Party (PDP) candidate Okezie Ikpeazu, but the Supreme court reversed the decision. He served under the All Progressives Congress (APC) after his ambitions failed a second time under APGA.
Member Of Thisday’s Board Of Directors
The incoming governor of Abia is a member of THISDAY’s Editorial Board.
He also writes columns. Otti pens his thoughts on a wide variety of topics under the title “Outside The Box.” Politics, economics, and security, you name it.
He has without a doubt pulled off one of the biggest upsets of the 2023 governor’s race, having forced the PDP, which has governed Abia since 1999, to retire.
Otti now has many opportunities, but two stand out: the first is to implement the ideas he has been advocating in his column, and the second is to think outside the box, as his column title suggests.
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