The Governor of Abia State, Dr Alex Otti, has said that the 2027 governorship election in the state would be smoother than the 2023 polls.

Speaking at the weekend during the 2025 Aro Day celebration held in Arochukwu Local Council of the state, Otti said, although the election is still far away, a lot of people have “started killing themselves” ahead of time.

The governor said his government is not distracted by the 2027 election, noting that its priority remains delivering good governance to the people of Abia.

The governor said the 2027 election will be an easy win for him, as he now has substantial evidence to show, compared to 2023, when he had only promises.

He attributed his confidence to the tangible achievements he had recorded since assuming office.

Otti said: “We are not worried about 2027 because we have a mandate to deliver to our people in four years.

We’ve done 30 months, so we still have a long way to go.

“In 2023, we were selling promises, but now there are one or two things we can point to.”

Otti is currently the only sitting governor elected on the Labour Party (LP) platform.

In 2023, he garnered 175,467 votes to defeat Okey Ahiwe, his closest rival and the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who received 88,529 votes.

This is as the Emir of Kano, His Highness (HH) Muhammadu Sanusi II, has commended the achievements of the governor in the last two years, saying that even outside Abia and Nigeria, people have taken note of the great transformation of the last two years of Otti’s administration.

The revered traditional ruler spoke during the 2025 Atani Day Celebration at Atani Community School field in Arochukwu Local Council, where he joined his longtime friend, Otti, to attend the event.

Sanusi said: “I like to congratulate Dr Otti for all the work he has done in Abia. I’m sure, those of you in Abia, nobody needs to tell you. But you will want to know that even outside Abia and outside Nigeria, everyone has taken note of the transformation of the last two years.”