Abia state governor Alex Otti on Thursday, September 17, vowed to retire from politics after completing his tenure and said he wants younger Nigerians to take over leadership.
Otti made the remarks in Umuahia while speaking on the importance of good governance and the need to give younger people opportunities to occupy leadership positions.
“Once I finish this one, I will retire. Why do I say so? I want the young people to take over,” Otti said.
He said the most important thing that could be given to the people was good governance.
The governor argued that citizens who experienced effective leadership would resist any attempt to return them to what he described as poor governance.
Otti also said he had no intention of becoming a political godfather.
“I don’t want to be a godfather. And I don’t tolerate godfathers,” he said.
He said political leaders should not remain in power indefinitely and called for an end to what he described as the practice of “sit-tight” leadership.
“We should stop this sit-tight; it’s only you. Not only you, it also can’t be only you. There are smarter, more trained, better trained, better equipped younger people. Our children, we need to give them opportunities,” Otti said.
The governor also ruled out seeking election to the senate after completing his tenure, saying he was not interested in any other political office.
“I keep saying it, I’m not interested in anything else. I don’t even want to go to the senate. I’m not interested,” he said.
Otti said his decision to leave active politics was driven by his desire to see younger people assume leadership responsibilities.
He also said the people would be able to determine who should succeed him based on the candidate they considered suitable for the job.
“So, if you are afraid that we will go back to Egypt, it will never happen. We will all sit down, look at everybody and say, who is the best person for this job? And all of us will agree, and we will campaign for him; he will win. We will take a back seat,” he said.
The governor urged political leaders to view public office as an opportunity to serve rather than as a position to be held indefinitely.
He said leadership should be transferred to capable younger Nigerians while experienced leaders provide guidance and support.
Otti also spoke about his administration’s emphasis on good governance, saying citizens would be unwilling to return to an era of poor governance after experiencing improvements in public administration.
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