He spoke not as an aspiring politician but as a statesman resolved to a single, solemn charge: to serve and then step aside. At a public appearance in Umuahia on December 19, Governor Alex C. Otti, OFR, calmly dismissed speculation about future ambitions — declaring once more that when his term ends he will retire from active politics and will not seek the presidency, a vice-presidency or a senate seat.
The governor met the chatter of social media and the fury of a viral clip not with rancour but with a steady reminder of democratic grace: everyone may hold an opinion, he said, but an opinion is not an incontestable truth. That measured reply was typical of a leader who insists his mandate was earned to deliver a mission, not to pursue a lifetime of office. “I came for a mission. And when I deliver that mission, I will give way to younger people,” he told listeners, underlining a conviction that leadership often means knowing when to hand over the ladder.
When questions were raised about his visit to Mazi Nnamdi Kanu in Sokoto, Governor Otti answered with the same steady logic: his visit was born of duty, compassion and the need for practical solutions, not political calculation. He reminded critics that the matter has been addressed at the highest levels for two years, that Kanu is an indigene of Abia’s Umuahia North, and that a humane, administrative avenue can — alongside legal channels — help soothe a fraught situation. Such outreach, the governor argued, is the work of a leader determined to seek peace rather than inflame division.
Governor Otti was careful to respect the role of the judiciary while also pointing to the complementary role of dialogue. He said he was not a lawyer, that courts must follow their course, and that appeals and legal remediations remain open — yet he defended the duty of public officeholders to explore every avenue that promotes reconciliation and spares needless suffering. “It would be insensitive of me to sit here and say one of our own who has been convicted should die when we have an opportunity to discuss, negotiate, and sue for peace,” he observed, reiterating that he does not support the disintegration of Nigeria but seeks unity through conversation.
What emerges from these exchanges is a portrait of a governor at ease with the hard choices of leadership. He understands that the public sphere will teem with voices — some charitable, some acerbic — and accepts critique as part of democratic life while refusing to let it determine his course. His pledge to withdraw from frontline politics when his task is done is at once an ethical promise and a political rebuke to the idea that power must always be accumulated; it is a pledge that elevates service above ambition.
In the end, Governor Otti’s positions — firm, transparent and focused on reconciliation — read less like the manoeuvres of a politician seeking a new platform and more like the work of a leader intent on securing peace and leaving office with dignity. Whether one agrees with every choice he makes, the tenor of his response points to a deliberate, mission-driven style of governance: act to heal, act to serve, and when the work is done, make room for the next generation to build on the gains.