The Labour Party (LP) in Abia State has debunked reports that Governor Alex Otti is backing President Bola Tinubu’s re-election bid for the 2027 general elections.

This comes after the Minister of Works, David Umahi, on Tuesday, asserted that all five governors from the South-East, regardless of their political affiliations, supported President Tinubu’s second-term ambitions.

Speaking in Umuahia on Thursday, the Abia State Chairman of the Labour Party, Emmanuel Otti, dismissed the minister’s statement as speculative.

“No, he (Umahi) didn’t say Governor Otti and the other South-East governors are supporting the President’s re-election in 2027. What he said was, ‘they will.’ Umahi was simply making a postulation,” Otti clarified.

Otti emphasised that Governor Otti had not communicated any official stance on the matter to the party, stating that it remained mere speculation.

“The governor has not told us anything like that. So for now, it remains speculation. We didn’t hear it from the governor—Umahi merely postulated,” Otti explained.

In response to Governor Otti’s invitation to President Tinubu to inaugurate the Port Harcourt Road in Aba, the Labour Party Chairman stressed that the invitation was purely an official one.

He explained, “That is the official function of the President. He is the President of the country, and commissioning projects is part of his statutory role. Abia is part of Nigeria, and therefore it is within the President’s jurisdiction to visit and perform such functions.”

On whether Governor Otti or President Tinubu may make political statements during the President’s upcoming visit, Mazi Otti said he would not speculate on the matter.

“I wouldn’t preempt either the governor or the President. Let’s wait and see what they say when the President visits,” Otti stated