29th October, 2026
1. Our attention has been drawn to an article titled “Why Ohafia Must Produce the Next Senator for Abia North: The Justification for Chief David Onuoha Ogba (Bourdex),” written by Ukoha Njoku Ukoha on October 28, 2026. Ordinarily, we would not have bothered responding to an article clearly driven by narrow political interests and selective interpretations of history. However, the attempt to misrepresent the political history of Abia North, distort the principles of equity and fairness, and portray the legitimate political aspirations of other local government areas as acts of greed makes this response necessary.
2. Since the return of democracy in 1999, Ohafia LGA has held the position of Deputy Governor for 12 years. If Governor Alex Otti is re-elected, it will amount to 16 years of Ohafia occupying the position. The LGA also held the Speakership of the Abia State House of Assembly for four years and the Deputy Speakership for another four years. Ohafia has produced Ministers of Transportation, Culture and Tourism, and Foreign Affairs, a National Secretary of the PDP, and a Nigerian Ambassador to Canada, without the other four LGAs overheating the polity.
3. Now, Ukoha Njoku Ukoha is pushing for the same Ohafia to retain both the Deputy Governorship, which was zoned to Abia North, and the senatorial seat of the district. The same LGA is also plotting to succeed Governor Otti in 2031. What selfishness on the part of Ukoha Njoku Ukoha and his fellow daydreamers! Is that how brotherhood should be?
4. Is Ukoha not aware that an Abiriba man, Senator Onyeka A. Okoroafor, represented Abia North in the Senate during the Third Republic? Even if we concede to his argument that it is the turn of Ohafia LGA, the Senate seat should go to Ohafia clan and not Abiriba, because Abiriba has already taken its turn. As for Bourdex, we do not consider him suitable for the Senate, given the allegations concerning his conduct, including the of slapping people.
5. Ukoha was a member of the PDP in Abia State when another PDP senator, Uche Chukwumerije, represented Abia North for 12 years, yet we did not see him agitating for Ohafia LGA. He was also there when another PDP senator, Enyinnaya Abaribe, served from 2007 to 2023 under the PDP and another four years under APGA. The same Abaribe is seeking another term, which would bring his total tenure to 24 years, this time under his own Labour Party.
6. Because of sentiments and bitterness, Ukoha went blind, deaf and dumb to these developments, yet he is now writing about Abia North. Why not write or clamour for the people of Aba, who have waited for 24 years without producing a senator? What he is doing is hypocrisy and iberiberism, to borrow the expression of former Imo State Governor Rochas Okorocha.
7. Ukoha Njoku Ukoha and the person he wrote for, Bourdex, are both clannish irredentists. They do not care about Abia North beyond their selfish interests and those of their community. Otherwise, can Ukoha show us any article he has written in support of another Labour Party candidate outside his Abiriba community? Instead, he appears more interested in pulling others down.
8. Can he show us his efforts in support of Deputy Governor Ikechukwu Emetu, Chief Ibe Okwara Osonwa, Mkpa Oju Uka or Kalu Mba Nwoke? He is not shouting for Abia North but for Abiriba, and we reject his attempt to present that narrow interest as the collective position of Abia North.
9. Ukoha Njoku Ukoha is also trying to use his position to instigate a political fight or create the impression that the Governor sent him to do so. Although I carefully examined the article and observed that he did not officially sign it in his capacity as Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, he should understand that he is only setting his boss up.
10. Governor Otti is not indispensable, as they seem to think. A united opposition can present a formidable challenge to his re-election. Ukoha should be warned to steer clear of attempts to dictate the political choices of Abia North. Senator Orji Uzor Kalu still enjoys grassroots appeal across the state and remains a significant political force. The people of Abia North must be allowed to make their political choices freely, without intimidation or attempts to impose an unwritten rotational arrangement on them.
Signed:
Chief Nnanna Ukaegbu
Director General
Abia North Peace Foundation
29/10/2026
