Governor Alex Otti of Abia State has a direct message for his constituents ahead of the 2027 elections: do not sell your vote for a bag of rice, a wrapper, or a few thousand naira.
Speaking plainly to Abians, Otti warned that accepting those small gifts from politicians comes at a steep price. "Don't use the ₦5,000, the ₦10,000, the wrapper or the rice they will give you and close the destiny of Abians for the next four years," he said, "because even prayer and fasting will not open it."
The message is simple and sharp. A short-term handout, in his framing, locks an entire community into four more years under whoever bought their votes, with no spiritual intervention powerful enough to undo the damage.
With 2027 still on the horizon, the real question is whether voters will remember those words when the rice and wrappers start showing up at their doors.
Originally published by Premium Times.