Otti’s ‘Abia Weep No More’ Campaign Message Unsettles Govt

Emmanuel Ugwu-Nwogo in Umuahia

The campaign message of  Abia State governorship candidate of  Labour Party (LP), Mr. Alex Otti, appealing to the people of Abia to “Weep No More, Help is on the Way”  is  said to be  unsettling the government of Governor Okezie Ikpeazu because he  considered it as “derogatory and inciting.”

The contentious message was initially displayed on a billboard mounted at Umuikaa junction in Isiala Ngwa South local government along the Enugu-Port Harcourt expressway. But it was promptly pulled down by the Abia State Signage and Advertising Agency(ABSAA).

Director General of the Alex Otti Campaign Council, Hon Acho Obioma told a press conference in Umuahia that the Peoeples Democratic Party (PDP)- controlled state government “is plunging the state into crisis (through) violent attacks, intimidation of our members and destruction of our campaign billboards.”

Describing the removal of the campaign billboard as provocative, Obioma brandished a certificate of approval to display campaign materials issued by ABSAA dated June 30, 2022 after payment of N10 million fee by Otti.

The campaign DG also displayed a certificate of approval issued by the Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria (APCON) dated July 28, 2022.
The certificate of approval, signed by APCON Registrar/Chief Executive, Dr Olalekan Fadolapo, authorised Otti to display “Ndi Abia Weep No More, Help is on the Way” and “Let’s Rebuild Abia” with display period spanning July 28, 2022 to July 28, 2023.

But the General, Manager of ABSAA,  Anthony Otuonye, explained in a radio programme monitored in Umuahia that government took exception to the Weep No More message because “it is derogatory to government and inciting the people against government”.

Though he admitted that his agency removed the flex bearing what government considered offensive message, Otuonye insisted that the agency didn’t destroy the billboard as alleged by Otti’s campaign team.

He further argued that Otti’s claim that he would perform  better than Governor Ikpeazu if given the mandate in 2023 “is superlative and against the regulations for advertising”.

However, Obioma alleged that the major reason the billboard was destroyed was because the location where it was mounted was exclusively reserved for the ruling PDP.

According to him, the ABSAA DG had claimed that the flex was yanked off “on the grounds that the PDP has no presence there (at Umuikaa junction) and thus would not allow an opposition party to mount a billboard there.”

“He stated that Otuonye had exhibited “unbridled arrogance and primitive ego” when he told the Otti Campaign team that “the government would be angry if we were allowed to mount our billboard there”.

Obioma said that Otti’s Campaign Council petitioned both the state police command and the Department of State Services (DSS) over the harassment, intimidation and destruction of LP’s campaign materials. He lamented that the ABSAA boss  has refused to restore the billboard flex  even after “repeated advice” of the DSS.

“The DSS has repeatedly warned Mr. Otuonye against setting the state on fire through his actions and asked him to resolve the matter quickly by allowing us mount our billboard which we paid for,” he said.