By Charles Igbo
The roundly defeated Governor of Abia State, Dr Okezie Ikpeazu, said he always suspected that Professor Nnenna Oti, the INEC Returning Officer in the 18th March, 2023 Governorship Election, was not going to be neutral in carrying out her National duties.
The Governor, who lost his bid for the Senate to the incumbent Senator, Enyinnaya Abaribe, of the All Progressives Grand Alliance APGA, and went on to lead his Party, the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, to a disastrous outing in the Governorship Election, said he did a background check on Professor Oti before the Election, and reported his concerns to the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC. But he said his concerns were ignored by INEC which assured him that Oti had been profiled, and found suitable.
Ikpeazu who spoke in an interview with Channels Television said Professor Oti, contrary to the assurances by INEC was partial, and showed a preference for a particular Political Party. Even though the out-going Governor did not mention the Party, he was obviously referring to the Labour Party which Candidate, Dr Alex Otti, won the election and was declared the Governor-elect.
Surprisingly, one of Ikpeazu’s concerns is the coincidence in the surname of the INEC Returning Officer and the Governor-elect. But that concern seems ridiculous.
The INEC Returning Officer whose surname is Oti is from Afikpo, Ebonyi State. Her husband, Dr Nnanna Oti, is also from the same State.
The Governor-elect, Dr Otti, is from Ngwa, Abia State. And while the surname of the Professor, who is the Vice Chancellor of the Federal University of Technology, Owerri, is spelt with a single t, that of the Governor-elect is spelt with a double t.
Ikpeazu also said that Professor Oti was very happy with the outcome of the election, and could barely hide it.
Ikpeazu: “At some point when I saw the coincidence in name and traced a little bit of her background, I complained to INEC, that this Lady is not going to be fair but they assured me that they had profiled her. I am still shocked. What she has portrayed in the aftermath of her service or stewardship in Abia, indicates the fact that she is visibly happy with what she did. Her level of bias in that regard could be placed in favour of a party. She has portrayed that she had something at the back of her mind before she came.”
On return from duty, Professor Oti said that she was under pressure to do the wrong thing, but that she resisted threats, intimidation, and money in order to do the right thing.
Her words: “As an Electoral Officer, I have never in my life participated in any election, but duty came calling. I made my inquiries from Abuja.
“If I perish, I perish. They came with threats, they came with their money, they came with their intimidation. But I stood my ground.”
However, Governor Ikpeazu, in the interview, described Oti’s utterances as unfortunate.
Ikpeazu: “This is very unfortunate. I have not met that Professor, and I am shocked because, in the first place, if she is a Professor, she doesn’t even have the capacity to manipulate results because these are results that emanated from the Units, collated at the Wards, collated at the Local Governments, and brought for her to just add them up and announce. I’ve not met her before, I’ve not spoken to her. If I’ve met her, if I have spoken to her, let her come to the public and declare. So, I’m surprised she is making big noise out of nothing.”
Professor Oti, since her Abia assignment has been celebrated by not a few Nigerians for her. uprightness. At least, two people have appreciated her by gifting her with a car and money.
On the 28th March, the day she returned from Umuahia to FUTO where she is Vice Chancellor, her students, in their thousands, gave her an unprecedented welcome with banners, drumming, dances, and unadulterated love and praises. It was celebration galore.
