Alex Otti says he won an election without Peter Obi's help

Alex Otti, the elected governor of Abia State, Nigeria, claimed that he had previously won an election without the support of Peter Obi, a former governor of Anambra State.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared Alex Otti, a member of the Labour Party, as the winner of the Abia gubernatorial election. This came after protests from residents of Abia who demanded the release of the election results by INEC.

In an interview with Channels TV, Otti stated that he had won the Abia governorship election in 2015 under the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) without the support of Peter Obi.

He said, "In 2015 when I ran under APGA, there was no Peter Obi. And we have it on our record that I won that election. At the time we were joining Labour Party, Peter Obi had not joined. It took about a week before he called me and said that he purchased the presidential nomination form and he was coming to Labour Party.

“We were prepared to fight the way we fought in 2015. The votes we garnered in Abia could have been had but maybe the margin could have been smaller. That is why it’s always good to acknowledge Peter Obi. He came to Abia about four times to campaign for us.

“I think he had done well for us. That is why even in the first election out of the eight House of Representatives seats we took six and sent some people on permanent retirement.

“Peter Obi is a great addition to our campaign, but I can tell you that we won an election before in Abia without him."