The All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) governorship candidate in Abia State, Dr Alex Otti, has assured his supporters and Abians that he will coast home to victory in next Saturday’s gubernatorial contest in the state.

In fact, he boasted that he will win with a higher margin than he did in 2015.

Otti spoke on Friday in his Library Avenue Campaign Headquarters in Umuahia, the state capital, where the governorship candidate of Accord Party governorship flagbearer, Barr. Emeka Uwakolam, announced his decision to step down for him (Otti).

The former banker stated that this time around, he would be sworn-in as the Abia State Governor while ruling out the possibility of anyone “stealing his mandate.”

Recall that in 2015, Otti put up a strong fight against the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship flagbearer, Dr Okezie Ikpeazu, forcing the contest into a re-run before his opponent was declared winner.

Otti and many across Abia and beyond have continued to hold the view that he won in that election but that “his mandate was stolen.”

Responding to the declaration by the Accord Party candidate, Otti said the synergy which has boosted his chances to win the gubernatorial contest, was a project to retrieve and reclaim Abia from “the hands of people who have kidnapped this state and converted it to a private property.

“We can assure that, just like we did in 2015, we will win this election again. The differences are there. The margin of win will even be higher this time around than in 2015; more so, when we are now working in partnership with Accord and a few other parties that may join us.

“The second difference is that we will be declared winners and we will be sworn-in and we will take over the Government House,” the renowned banker said.

He noted that the partnership, which he and Uwakolam said was not financially-induced, became necessary because both candidates shared the same vision on how to salvage Abia State, adding that by this development, all members of Accord Party should vote for APGA during the March 9, governorship elections in the State.

He lamented that many Abians were suffering because the government has allegedly shut down the economy by refusing to pay workers their salaries, adding that the government has by so doing created emergency criminals.

“The people who do not see the rot in Abia State are people who are benefitting from the rot. They are the people who are sharing our money; they are the people who are stealing us dry; they are the people who don’t care about you and I and they are very few in number.

“We have been ruled by people who do not mean well for the state. We have been ruled by people who I call certificated illiterates. They don’t even understand that when they don’t pay salaries, they shut down the economy because when people don’t have money, they cannot spend. The economy works by spending, consumption because whatever is produced must be bought,” he said, adding that 80 per cent of criminals in Abia today were not born as criminals but were forced into criminality by survival instincts.

He also identified idol worshipping and godfatherism as other vices that have caged Abia, insisting that Abia needed to be repositioned by abolishing these evil practices.

“The only way to stop it is to refocus the state to abolish idol worshipping, visiting of shrine, godfatherism; so it is important that we have people who are courageous enough to do it. The system that we have today cannot do it because that system is enmeshed in the rot that is Abia State and I say it without any fear of contradiction,” he said.

Otti praised Uwakolam for the bold step he has taken and assured him and his followers that they would be accommodated and carried along if he makes it Government House.

“I want to thank you for this show of humility. The truth is that Accord party is one of the strongest parties in Abia State today. It has offices in the local governments and representation in all the wards and communities; so it is not a port-folio political party,” he remarked.

Earlier, Uwakolam said there was no point splitting the votes that could tilt victory to Otti, hence the decision by him and his party to support the APGA flagbearer.