Alex Otti has raised alarm over the continued drop in the number of Nigerians exercising their voting rights during elections.
Otti, who was speaking in Umuahia on Thursday during a lecture organised to mark the third anniversary of his administration, said that only 27% of registered voters cast their votes in the 2023 election.
He warned that the refusal or reluctance of voters in Abia and Nigeria at large to play an active role in the electoral system would result in the emergence of wrong leaders and bad governance.
Otti noted that citizens who register to vote but refuse to exercise that mandate create stronger grounds for corrupt or unprepared persons to emerge as leaders of the people.
The Abia State governor, who acknowledged that many Nigerians are losing faith in the country’s electoral system because of malpractice, said this should not serve as an excuse to abandon the political future of the country to corrupt individuals.
“You can say sometimes when you come and exercise your will that it does not count.
“If votes do not count, why do politicians campaign? They could have just sat down and written the results,” Otti said.
Responding to the lecture delivered by Chidi Odinkalu, Governor Otti announced the appointment of his commissioners for tertiary education, health, and basic and secondary education into the Abia State Security Council to ensure security in the educational system.
He declared that kidnapping, banditry, and armed robbery have been drastically reduced by his administration but lamented that cultism remains a challenge that must be crushed, starting from the school environment.
“The other day, cultists went on a rampage and killed some people in Aba, and then we traced them back to the schools,” Otti said.
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