Dr Alex Otti is faced with a variety of tasks.
After three decades in the banking and financial sector where he rose to the top echelon in the sector as a Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of one of the most successful bank, Diamond Bank before it was taken over, Dr Alex Otti ventured into politics and contested in the governorship race in Abia State on the platform of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) in 2015.
He lost at the ballot but was somehow declared winner of the election by the pronouncement of the Court of Appeal in Owerri Imo State capital removing the winner at the ballot, Okezie Ikpeazu who is the current and the outgoing governor of Abia State after the Supreme Court On February 3, 2016 overturned the judgment of the Court of Appeal.
Dr Otti undeterred returned to the contest in 2019 on the same platform of APGA but failed to secure the needed votes – he took third with 64,366 votes as the incumbent governor, Ikpeazu emerged winner with 261,127 votes.
The 58-year-old banker and politician decided to give a third trial to his political ambition and this time around luck was in his favour as he was declared winner of the March 18 governorship election as the Governor-elect of Abia State.
Governor-elect, Dr Otti is one of the few governorship aspirants that contested in three elections before finally getting the people’s mandate in Abia.
Perhaps Otti finally became the people’s choice after they realised that Abia State need a leader from a different order because of his wealth of experience in economic development, sustainability and economic management.
Another factor that aided Dr Otti to victory in the March 18 governorship election was the platform he chose to contest on – the Labour Party.
It is believed that since Peter Obi joined the Labour Party after his dissatisfaction with the process of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Obi’s switch to the party was obviously the game changer as like minded politicians too joined the party after witnessing the massive acceptability love by millions of Nigerians both home and abroad which birthed the Obidient movement.
Dr Otti although denied that Obi’s fame did not in any way aided his victory but deep down within his consciousness he must have given credit to the Obidients on his election victory.
To many Abians who have been yearning for development, May 29 will be a fresh start, a new beginning of a new dawn in the state particularly for the civil servants in the state who are at loggerhead with the current administration.
The Governor-elect recently in an interview said his plan is to revamp the economy of Abia while noting that he is aware that the state is in debt but steps have been taken to restore the economy back to where it should be for the benefit of the people.
Dr Otti has a penchant in picking the right brains as he was quoted by Arise TV claiming to “have a knack for choosing the right people… every organization is only as good as its people.”
Although, generating revenue for Abia according to Otti will not be his main focus but will gradually stimulate the economy which will lead to growth.
While the Governor-elect might have wonderful ideas on how to bring back Abia to a state of stable economic growth an advice from the Director-General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) asked Otti to focus on “disruptive strategies rather than traditional operational systems”.
The eight years of Governor Ikpeazu, the development indicators have been heading downward.
According to a writer, Kevin Oji, Otti is expected to hit the ground running with his economic development master plan, a product of thorough and painstaking analysis of the state’s financial profile, its assets and liabilities and of course consideration of the areas the state has comparative advantage to get Abia working again for the people.
It is expected that Otti will provide solutions to the state’s unemployment rate at 50.07%, the second highest in the south east after Imo State, it is not surprising that all the development indicators are on downward spiral.
No doubt, Otti understands the pulse of the people of Abia, the complexity in governance having spent more than 30 years in corporate governance.
In a document, The New Deal For Abia by Oji, if Otti is prudent with the state resources it will free enough funds and enable him to make the payment of salaries a first item in the budget; make possible free and compulsory education for Abia citizens up to secondary school level, launch a revolution for SMEs and large scale industries. The Deal will create an export free zone to stimulate industry and commerce, create a new future for the youths through gainful employment and transform Aba into the Dubai of Africa.
Aba as the commercial centre of the state, Otti is expected to revitalise the moribund industries and create new ones to generate employment.
Industries and factories constructed by the legendary Dr. M. I. Okpara and sustained by Dr. Sam Mbakwe – Aba Textile Mills, Aba Glass Factory and Ceramic Industry, Nigerian Breweries plant, are expecting a touch from the Governor-elect as soon as he assumes power May 29.
These are some of the numerous areas needing attention from Otti.
