News
100 days assessment of Otti: PDP berates Kalu, ex-Abia AG *Say’s he’s lost touch with reality
Abia State Chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has lampooned a former Attorney-General of the State, Chief Umeh Kalu (SAN) for what it tagged an unintelligent and uninspiring assessment of Governor Alex Otti’s 100 days in office.
The PDP described as ridiculous, the efforts of Kalu to defend what it described as total failure by Otti after 100 days, stressing that a man who had served as Adviser, Attorney General and Commissioner of Justice for more than 10 years during the governments of Orji Uzor-Kalu, his successor Theodore Orji and Okezie Victor Ikpeazu should know better.
Abraham Amah, Abia PDP Vice Chairman and spokesman, while berating him said Kalu tried very hard, still unsuccessfully, to change track after he had openly scored Otti low by saying that 100 days was not enough to judge the Governor’s performance because he met Abia in a difficult situation.
His words: “The “100 Days in Office” activity is used to assess the performance of an executive office holder and how the person has put the right foot forward within that time threshold to give hope to the electorates and citizens that he will take them far into the journey and to successful completion of tenure.
“Resorting to brickbats that have become his stock-in-trade and those in the Labour Party, including Alex Otti who rather than face the delivery of tangibles, would always dwell on how PDP ran Abia for 24 years, Umeh Kalu once again, tried to bring in the PDP into the mix rather than show what Alex Otti did to give Abians hope in his 100 days in office.
“According to Umeh Kalu, 100 days may not be enough time to make any meaningful assessment given the enormity of the problems we have in Abia State for those who understand. I understand what is on the ground. They have taken off; he has appointed Commissioners and some principal officers of government. But you can still say we have some kind of problems and challenges- and it is a very serious one facing him.”
Arguing that Kalu had justifiably confirmed that Otti was already facing problems bigger than him, which indicated a direct indictment, he wondered when appointing Commissioners and Principal Officers had become a yardstick to measure performance of a governor in his 100 days in office.
Charging the former AG to publish the records of the governors he served within the same period for the people to compare, he added: “We challenge him to tell Abians how he can possibly absolve himself of any blame or wrongdoings in his purported misgovernance of Abia State in the 24 years of the PDP. It is only on the basis of such disclosures that Umeh Kalu can have the effrontery to condemn Abia PDP.
“Abia PDP does not have to assess the performance of Dr Okezie Ikpeazu because it would amount to a self-assessment and may be termed subjective by naysayers and contrarians who do not want to accept the reality of the superlative performance of Dr Okezie Ikpeazu’s administration.
“In Abia PDP’s stead, two external bodies have recently assessed Dr Ikpeazu’s performance and we have taken the liberty, once again, to present them to Umeh Kalu to educate him further on the achievements of Dr Ikpeazu while in office.”
Amah who cited how the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) in its regular Multidimensional Poverty Index, MPI, released in October 2022, during Ikpeazu’s tenure, put Abia as one of the best States and the best in the Southeast ahead of Anambra, when measured against the four key sectoral indices of education, health, standard of living and security, said that the assessment was a testimony to the fulfilment of the former governor’s promise to the people in 2015 when he campaigned to be governor and told them that he would make their lives better.
His words: “Just a fortnight ago, an international human rights organisation, the highly regarded think-tank on international affairs, The Council on Foreign Relations, CFR, released its report on insecurity in Nigeria which covered the period 2020-2022.
“According to the report, there were a total of 14,168 deaths arising from insecurity in Nigeria with the South East accounting for 1,178 deaths with Abia State recording the lowest with 72, Imo 183, Enugu 125, Anambra 317 and Ebonyi 391 deaths.
“As the record shows, and very clearly too, Abia was the least affected in the South East and this excellent record continued until the exit of Dr Ikpeazu on May 29, 2023. Umeh Kalu can take this home and stop having sleepless nights about the performance of Okezie Ikpeazu. We are not surprised that Umeh Kalu now doubles as the Coordinator of Alex Otti’s legal team and the government spokesperson at the same time, because, certainly that was also what he did for governors Orji Uzor-Kalu, T. A. Orji and Okezie Ikpeazu until his inglorious exit in the last government.
“While the majority of Abians, Alex Otti’s handlers and members of the Labour Party have all admitted that Alex Otti is overwhelmed with the weight of governance in 100 days, having not passed the route before, Umeh Kalu’s interview did the best for the PDP by putting to rest the argument about Alex Otti’s performance in his 100 days in office because he succinctly passed a vote of no confidence on him instead of the damage he felt he was causing the PDP with that unintelligible interview.”
Amah called on the people of the state the LP, especially handlers of Otti to be wary of Kalu and his likes, who he described as career politicians who swing with the political pendulum.
“And to Umeh Kalu, thank you for vindicating our position that in the past 100 days, Alex Otti has not offered any hope and will never do so.”
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has appealed the judgement of the federal high court in Abuja nullifying the timelines issued for the conduct of party primaries and the nomination of candidates.
Alex Izinyon SAN, leading a team of lawyers of the commission in a notice of appeal dated May 25, raised nine grounds it urged the appellate court to consider and vacate the judgment the Federal High Court in Abuja delivered on May 20.
Apart from raising the issue of jurisdiction, which it said the lower court did not determine, INEC also maintained that the legal action the Youth Party (YP) initiated against it was not only hypothetical but academic.
Arguing that failure of the trial court to make pronouncements on the issues, resulted in the denial of fair hearing to the Appellant, the commission also stressed the lower court misinterpreted the provisions of the electoral act.
It said: “The high court erred in law when it held that: ‘It is clear from the wordings of Sections 29(1), 82 and 84 of the Electoral Act, 2026, the following can be understood. Section 29(1) of the Electoral Act, 2026 mandates Political Parties to submit the names of candidates in prescribed forms of the candidates who emerged from its valid primaries which such a political party intends to sponsor at the elections, not later than 120 days before the date of the General Election.
“What is required of Political Parties to do under the Electoral Act, 2026 is to notify the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) 21 days before the holding of its primaries, congresses or conventions, days before the holding of its primaries, congresses or conventions, or any conference or meeting convened for the election of its executive committees, other governing bodies for nominating candidates.
“The Defendant is not mandated to impose a timeframe for political parties to conduct their primaries provided that it will be done and submitted not later than the 120 days provided by the Electoral Act, 2026. See Section 82(1) of the Electoral Act, 2026.”
It was another day of misery in Kwara State, when daredevil terrorists reportedly stormed Yashikira Community in Baruten Local Government Area of Kwara State, and as has been the case in many of the attacks, abducting scores of residents including women and children.
But, apparently to register their authority, the gunmen, who were said to have operated for hours without challenge from the security operatives, were said to have torched the palace of the Emir.
The attackers, which reportedly occurred late Sunday night were said to have announced their presence through heavy firing and after storming the palace of the monarch during the period, set it on fire before whisking away their victims, but a similar attempt at the police station in the community, was repelled.
While some of the residents, narrated how the spent hours without resistance, leaving behind destruction and fear in the border community, another account said the villagers were caught unawares as the gunmen invaded the town under the cover of darkness.
However operatives made up of the police and military personnel, were said to have launched a manhunt immediately for the immediate rescue of the victims, including throwing a cordon in the area as part of the mission.
“The suspect offered ₦500 million to the SPU commander in an attempt to make the team stand down and allow him to contact his associates to move the consignment elsewhere. The offer was rejected immediately and properly documented for further investigation.”
These were the exact words of Olohundare Jimoh Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIG), with which he detailed how operatives of the Zone 2 Command of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) scoffed at a N500million bribe to turn their eyes off the importation of a huge consignment of drugs imported into the country.
This was part of the details of a major breakthrough by the operatives after bursting a major drug trafficking syndicate in Lagos, which led to the seizure of suspected illicit drugs estimated at ₦7.8 billion and arresting several suspects, including the alleged kingpin.
In the operation, reportedly carried out by officers of the Special Protection Unit (SPU) in collaboration with divisional police detectives, the operatives, were said to have stormed a house in Mende, Maryland area of Lagos, following months of surveillance and intelligence gathering coordinated by the Zone 2 Headquarters.
The recovered drugs consisted of hundreds of bags of suspected Canadian Loud, allegedly stored in the residence of the prime suspect, Jimoh, said disclosing that the suspect was apprehended on May 19 after weeks of strategic monitoring by operatives.
Offering further details, he said the operation was executed with technical support and guidance from the Inspector-General of Police, IGP Olatunji Disu, alongside coordinated efforts between the SPU and divisional police teams.
Jimoh revealed that during the operation, the suspect allegedly attempted to bribe the SPU commander with ₦500 million to compromise the mission and allow the movement of the drug consignment.
The AIG described the development as a reflection of the renewed professionalism and operational discipline being entrenched in the Force under the current policing strategy.
He noted that the success of the operation underscored the importance of deploying specialized police units alongside conventional divisional teams in tackling organized crime.
According to him, the operation demonstrated the effectiveness of rapid containment strategies, intelligence-led policing, and professional conduct among the operatives involved in the raid.
“Rapid containment was achieved as the Special Protection Unit worked with divisional teams to secure the perimeter and prevent escape or interference with evidence.
“The operation was intelligence-driven, following months of surveillance and technical monitoring before the raid was carried out.
“The immediate rejection and documentation of the bribe attempt also reflect the standard expected from redeployed personnel at the divisional level,” Jimoh added.
Reacting to the development, the Inspector-General of Police, IGP Olatunji Disu, commended the operatives for their professionalism, saying the success of the operation validated the ongoing redeployment of personnel to divisions and units across Lagos and Ogun states.
The IGP noted: “Policing must be close to the people, and our specialized units must work side by side with divisional teams on the ground.
“The professionalism shown by the SPU commander in rejecting a ₦500 million bribe and following due procedure is the standard we expect. It shows that when you put your best foot forward at the grassroots, you get results and restore public trust.”
Disu further assured that the Force leadership would continue to reward integrity while holding officers accountable to the highest ethical standards.
Police authorities said exhibits recovered during the operation have been properly documented and will be tendered in court. The suspects are currently in custody while investigations continue to track down other members of the drug trafficking network.
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