The governor of Abia State, Alex Otti, on Thursday, October 16, allayed fears of his possible defection to the All Progressives Congress (APC) from the Labour Party.

Otti, while speaking to journalists in Umuahia, Abia State’s capital city, said he has no intention to defect to the ruling APC despite the gale of defections rocking various Nigerian opposition parties.

He also informed the people of the state that he does not feel intimidated by plots to manipulate the forthcoming 2027 election results across the state.

“I have heard that some people around you are saying they must take over the state and they will write the results. The only advice I have for them is that if they truly want to write results, they should write something else before that time.

“You know what it is? Their will. Because this is our state and nobody can intimidate us but having said that; am I threatened? Absolutely no. Do I bother about that? Absolutely no.

“But I want us to maintain peace and decorum, okay,” Otti noted.

Otti’s remarks come days after the governor was engaged in a war of words with the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Benjamin Kalu, over the alignment of the state officials, including the governor, to the power at the centre.

Kalu while speaking to some of his supporters in the state, had claimed that his party, the APC, would take over Abia State from the incumbent Labour Party government led by Otti.

The lawmaker also said that while Otti has constantly received commendations for his good works and delivery of good governance to Abians, it is important that the governor explain to the people where funds for projects carried out in the state emanated from.

Kalu further told his supporters that Otti could not have successfully carried commendable projects in the state without the financial influence of President Bola Tinubu, who is the leader of the APC at the national level.