Immediate past Managing Director of Diamond Bank Plc, Dr. Alex Oti, on Tuesday in Abuja dumped the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), picking up the latter’s nomination form for the 2015 governorship election in Abia State.
He picked the APGA governorship nomination form after paying N2 million for expression of interest and the N10 million for the nomination form at the party’s national headquarters.
Oti resigned as chief executive officer of Diamond Bank in October to contest the election on the PDP platform because of what he described as his passion for his people and desire to see how he can touch the lives of the over three million Abia people.
He fell out with the PDP after the ward congresses when it became obvious that he was not Governor Theodore Orji’s preferred candidate.
He premised his decision to join APGA on his strong beliefs in the party’s ideology and his “determination to rescue Abia State from total collapse.”
His words: “I have left the PDP and to me, coming to APGA is like home-coming. I like to use this opportunity to thank APGA leadership for warmly welcoming me to your office and welcoming me home. I have always said that APGA is not a political party but a religion for Nigerians, some of you will recall that when our national leader (Chukwuemeka Ojukwu) died, we did everything to make sure that he was given a befitting burial. I was the Chairman of the finance sub-committee.
“I am very happy to be back home, we have a mission to take back our state and put it back on the part of progress and industrialization. We have started that journey, we know that there are a whole lot we could do. When I look at Aba, I regret that I did not take this decision to serve my people. It is a great sacrifice for me to leave what I was doing until a few weeks ago. But it is not too late, we are here to win and we must win.”
National Chairman of APGA, Chief Victor Umeh, was on hand to welcome Oti to the party.
