The Catholic Bishop of Aba Diocese, Most Rev. Augustine Ndubueze Echema, has described Abia State Governor Alex Otti as a leader with integrity, saying the governor’s achievements will speak for him as he seeks re-election in 2027.

Echema made the remarks on Sunday at the Christ the King Cathedral (CKC), Asa Road, Aba, during an event held to celebrate his 40th priestly anniversary.

The celebration was attended by Governor Otti, Catholic bishops, priests, Catholic faithful, government officials and other dignitaries who gathered to honour the bishop for four decades of priestly service.

While appreciating Otti for his decision to support the construction of a retirement home for Catholic priests in the Aba Diocese, Echema recalled that he had discussed the need for the facility with the governor about three months earlier.

The bishop said Otti had demonstrated integrity through his actions and expressed confidence that his achievements in office would speak for him during the 2027 election.

“Let me go to our amiable governor. It is not up to three months we invited you here and then we cornered you and presented our needs,” Echema said.

“I mentioned that day that I am dealing with a governor with integrity. And I have no fear of any contradiction to repeat it here.

We are dealing with a man with integrity.

“If you are in doubt, you go to Aba. He is a man of integrity.”

Echema further stated that he was not campaigning for Otti, insisting that the governor’s performance would serve as his own campaign ahead of the 2027 governorship election.

“I am telling you, Otti, I have said it before, I am not campaigning for you and I don’t need to campaign for you. The work that you have done so far will campaign for you,” he said.

The bishop also expressed confidence that the governor would fulfil his commitment to the construction of the proposed retirement home, which he said would ease the burden faced by the diocese.

“You will continue to go higher and higher and I know you will do it. Thank you so very much.

I’m sure the priests are very happy. You have taken down our heavy load. There are so many things to do. So, thank you for this wonderful gesture,” Echema added.

The bishop also thanked God for sustaining him throughout his 40 years of priestly ministry and appreciated the governor, fellow bishops, priests and Catholic faithful for joining him in marking the anniversary.

Otti announces private funding for priests’ retirement home
In his remarks, Governor Otti congratulated Echema on his 40th priestly anniversary and prayed for continued divine strength and good health for the bishop.

The governor described Echema as a “rare gift to Nigeria” and expressed gratitude to God for sustaining him throughout his four decades of service.

Otti also recalled the bishop’s request for a retirement home for Catholic priests, saying he and some private individuals and foundations had decided to take up the project without using government funds.

According to him, the initiative would be financed by the Alex Otti Foundation, Unubiko Foundation, the Ide John Udeagbara Foundation and other private individuals.

“We are very happy that our Father has clocked 40 years in this service and it is a rare privilege to do 40 years. We thank God that he has good health. So that is the grace of God,” Otti said.

The governor added that the project would cater for retired priests, bishops, reverend fathers and potentially reverend sisters.

“I know that there is something that the Bishop has so much passion for. He called me sometime and said, ‘this is what I want to do.’

That is a retirement home for priests, bishops, reverend fathers, and I believe Rev sisters too.
“We want to take that problem off you.

We will fund it. So, work will start very soon. And I know it’s not government’s fund.

It’s from Alex Otti Foundation, Unubiko Foundation, Ide John Udeagbara Foundation and private concerns. So, it’s not a government thing. We will do it to our standard,” he said.

Otti speaks on Abia Airport
The governor also used the occasion to update residents on the progress of work at the Abia Airport in Nsulu.

Otti said construction work had progressed significantly, with the airport’s runway nearing completion.

He added that work on the runway would soon be completed.

The event attracted several prominent figures, including the member representing Arochukwu/Ohafia Federal Constituency, Hon.

Ibe Okwara Osonwa; members of the Abia State House of Assembly; mayors; members of the State Executive Council and senior government officials.

Also present were the Archbishop of the Owerri Ecclesiastical Province, Most Rev.

Lucius Ugorji; Catholic bishops from across the country; friends of Governor Otti, including Chief James Ume, popularly known as Ike Abam, and other dignitaries.

The bishop’s comments come as political activities gradually build ahead of the 2027 elections, with Otti expected to seek another term in office.

Oyo State Governor and presidential candidate of the Allied Peoples Movement (APM), Seyi Makinde, alongside his party, has dragged Abia State Governor, Alex Otti, before the state High Court over an alleged N200 million campaign fee imposed on presidential candidates seeking to display campaign materials in the state.

The suit, marked HU/214/2026, was filed at the Abia State High Court, Umuahia Judicial Division, on September 17, 2026.

The plaintiffs are challenging the legality of the fee reportedly imposed by the Abia State Signage and Advertisement Agency (ABSAA) for political campaign billboards and outdoor advertisements.

Joined as defendants in the suit are the Abia State Attorney-General, ABSAA and the Abia State House of Assembly.

Makinde and the APM are asking the court to declare the N200 million fee unconstitutional and inconsistent with the provisions of the Electoral Act 2026 and other relevant federal laws.

The plaintiffs’ legal team, led by Musibau Adetunbi, SAN, includes Ire Egert-Olusesi, Ridwan Azeez, Oluwabusola Oluwaniyi and Joseph Lukman of Musibau Adetunbi, SAN & Co., Ibadan.

They have asked the court to set aside regulations made by ABSAA relating to political campaigns, including the N200 million fee imposed on presidential candidates or any similar amount.

The claimants are also seeking a perpetual injunction restraining the defendants, their agents and representatives from enforcing the disputed fee.

They further want the court to stop the defendants from removing, defacing, destroying or obstructing their campaign billboards and outdoor advertisements within Abia State on account of non-payment of the fee.

Makinde, APM challenge legality of fee
In their claims, Makinde and the APM argued that the N200 million charge amounted to an unconstitutional restriction on political campaigning and could undermine equal participation in the electoral process.

They are asking the court to declare the fee null and void from inception on the grounds that it conflicts with the Constitution, the Electoral Act 2026 and other federal legislation.

The plaintiffs specifically relied on Section 99(2) of the Electoral Act, which they said prohibits the use of state apparatus or regulatory bodies to confer an advantage or disadvantage on a political party or candidate.

According to the claimants, the imposition of the fee effectively places non-incumbent presidential candidates at a disadvantage by making public campaign visibility prohibitively expensive.

They argued that a state regulatory agency should not be used in a manner that could limit the ability of candidates to communicate their political messages to voters.

Campaign spending limit cited
The plaintiffs also based their argument on Section 92 of the Electoral Act, which sets the total campaign expenditure limit for a presidential election at N10 billion nationwide.

They contended that if similar billboard and outdoor advertising charges were imposed across multiple states, such fees could consume a substantial portion of the statutory campaign expenditure ceiling.

According to the claimants, cumulative billboard charges could potentially account for more than 80 per cent of the N10 billion ceiling if replicated across states, even before other campaign expenses are considered.

They listed expenses such as transportation, media advertising, venue rentals, security arrangements and payments to agents across the country’s more than 176,974 polling units as additional costs candidates must bear during a nationwide campaign.

The plaintiffs therefore argued that the disputed fee should be considered within the wider framework of federal electoral regulation and campaign expenditure limits.

Federal law versus state signage regulation
While acknowledging the authority of states to regulate outdoor advertising and signage within their jurisdictions, Makinde and the APM argued that such powers must be exercised within the limits of the Constitution and applicable federal electoral laws.

They relied on Sections 1(3) and 4(5) of the Constitution in arguing that valid federal legislation takes precedence where there is an inconsistency between federal and state laws.

The plaintiffs maintained that state signage regulations should not be applied in a manner that frustrates provisions governing federal elections or prevents candidates from exercising their constitutional political rights.

Nationwide campaign tour
In a supporting affidavit filed alongside the suit, Aisha Abdullahi Abubakar, identified as the APM’s National Welfare Officer, said the plaintiffs became aware of the disputed fee while preparing for a nationwide campaign tour.

The campaign tour is expected to cover all 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory.

The claimants argued that enforcing the N200 million fee could have serious financial and operational implications for their campaign activities in Abia State.

They further told the court that unless it intervened, they could suffer irreparable harm to their constitutional right to seek public office.

The plaintiffs also argued that enforcement of the fee could undermine the principle of a level playing field among candidates contesting the 2027 presidential election.

The case is now before the Abia State High Court, where Makinde and the APM are seeking judicial determination on the legality of the disputed campaigns.

The All Progressives Congress National Leader for Persons with Disabilities, Tolu Bankole, has urged the Independent National Electoral Commission to review how it presents figures for Persons with Disabilities captured on Nigeria’s national voters’ register.

Bankole made the call in a statement issued in Abuja on Sunday titled, “Misreporting PWD Numbers in Nigeria’s Voter Register: Why INEC’s Captured Figures Do Not Reflect the Full Historical Reality.”

He argued that the figure of 137,487 Persons with Disabilities being circulated by INEC should not be interpreted as representing the total number of registered voters with disabilities across the country.

According to him, the figure largely reflects voters who indicated their disability status after INEC introduced a dedicated disability field into its Continuous Voter Registration process in 2021.

Bankole explained that voters with disabilities who registered before 2021 were not adequately represented in the disability-disaggregated figures because previous voter registration systems did not consistently provide disability status as a separate data field.

He said the figure should therefore be understood within the period and methodology used to collect the data.

“The 137,487 (or derivative) figure is therefore a flow measure of indicated disability from the 2021–present window, not a stock measure of all PWDs in the full historical register.

You cannot count what you never measured,” Bankole said.

The APC chieftain called on INEC to publicly and consistently qualify its PWD statistics by explaining the temporal and methodological limitations surrounding the figures.

He also urged the electoral commission to intensify targeted sensitisation campaigns to ensure that eligible voters with disabilities who are registering or updating their voter information understand the importance of accurately indicating their disability status.

The 137,487 figure cited by Bankole comprises 13,080 visually impaired persons, 9,299 hearing-impaired persons, 30,561 persons with albinism, 19,430 persons with physical impairment and 54,941 persons under other categories.

However, Bankole said the figures could still represent an undercount even for registrations conducted from 2021, noting that some persons with disabilities may have registered without indicating their status.

“As I have consistently stated is that many PWDs indeed registered without indicating their PWD status,” he said.

He attributed the failure by some voters to self-identify to factors including inadequate awareness, stigma and the perception that declaring a disability during voter registration was unnecessary.

Bankole further urged INEC to explore, within existing legal and privacy safeguards, mechanisms that could improve the historical visibility of Persons with Disabilities already captured on the voters’ register.

He also called for stronger collaboration between the electoral commission and disability organisations ahead of the 2027 general elections and subsequent electoral cycles.

The APC National Leader for Persons with Disabilities stressed that clearer and more comprehensive data would help provide a better understanding of the participation of Persons with Disabilities in Nigeria’s electoral process.

He said improved data collection, public awareness and collaboration with PWD structures would contribute to more effective planning for inclusive elections.

The call comes as stakeholders continue to push for greater participation and accessibility for Persons with Disabilities in Nigeria’s electoral process, including better representation in voter registration data and improved access to voting facilities.