The Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodinma and his Abia state counterpart, Alex Otti are at daggers drawn over alleged hidden causes of the aborted Imo statewide strike that eventually led to the suspended national strike a few days ago.
The sour relationship between the duo came to the fore as the Imo youths under the aegis of Imo Dimma Youths refused to accept Otti's congratulatory message to Uzodinma on his re-election.
Allnews.ng learned that the youths said Otti's good wishes smack of insincerity and hypocrisy.
The Imo sociopolitical group alleged that in the build-up to the off-cycle guber polls held on November 11, Otti had planned for Uzodinma's defeat at the polls and even personally sponsored not a few campaign attacks to sabotage Uzodinma's reelection.
It was also alleged that Otti had boasted he would oust Uzodinma from Douglas' house, using the same political strategy he had effectively deployed in Abia state.
Otti reportedly said, "If I did it in Abia, I can also replicate same in Imo state", a statement the group said he found difficult to fulfil on election day.
Admittedly, the Abia state governor under the platform of the opposition Labour Party, LP, in the company of the party's 2023 presidential candidate, Peter Obi had visited Imo state ahead of the guber elections in a solidarity rally for the Imo LP candidate, Chief Athan Acholonu.
In a reaction, an insider and Otti's trusted aide who spoke on condition of anonymity said, "Governor Otti's activity was basically a conventional party practice which Uzodinma could have played if he were in Otti's position as leader and only elected opposition governor in the southeast, nay the country.
"But the exaggerated campaign of the LP was only to market Acholonu to the Imo electorate not to demarket Uzodinma on malice as an individual.
"I can't remember Otti and Uzodinma having any inter-personal or inter-political differences except that the duo happened to belong to different political parties."
Yet, Uzodinma's handlers are in utter disbelief.
In a press statement signed by the group secretary, Comrade Ebere Ajoku, it said, "We have it on good authority that one of the strategies the Abia Governor, Dr Alex Otti used to fight the APC government was bringing the NLC President, Comr Joe Ajaero a few days to the general election to incite Abia state workers against the government.
“Abia State Workers were forced to down tools a few days to the 18th March 2023, election. He believed that if it worked in Abia State, it would also work in Imo State.”
The group said credible intelligence at their disposal uncovered the clandestine meetings before the governorship election between the Labour leader, Ajaero, Otti and Acholonu on the ways to sack Uzodinma.
Further, the group alleged it was on the premise to sack Uzodinma that Ajaero stormed Imo State for the execution of the Labour protest and subsequent strike even without prior complaint from the state Chapter of NLC or notice to Governor Uzodimma about any Labour disputes.
They alleged that Ajaero was playing the script of Governor Otti as part of the ways he deployed to win the Abia governorship polls.
Again, the group scribe, Ajoku alleged that the Abia governor bankrolled Acholonu's campaign and legal cost for Peter Obi against President Bola Tinubu but Otti has dismissed the allegations as mere political blackmail.
It will be recalled that the NLC national leader, comrade Joe Ajaero had the beating of his life in Imo on his attempts to declare a statewide strike ahead of the November 11, guber polls but Uzodinma later apologized and regretted the controversial assault.
Though the national strike has been suspended, it did not come without verbal exchanges as Senator Adams Oshiomhole, an APC member, representing Edo north senatorial district and former labour leader had partly dismissed the strike as uncalled for, saying "The welfare of workers should be paramount to the Ajaero-led NLC and not regime change."
Yet the fallout still pitted Uzodinma against Otti amid Ajaero's determination to take, yet another calculated risk somewhat anchored on justice to protect the Nigerian workers, regardless of any political blackmail.
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