Abia State Governor, Alex Otti, on Sunday flagged off the 2027 Labour Party campaign in Umuahia, the state capital, warning his supporters against obstructing opposition parties from holding political activities in the state.

Otti said he had issued a public directive that opposition parties should be allowed to use public facilities, including the stadium, provided they obtained the necessary approvals and made the required payments.

He warned that security agencies had been directed to arrest anyone who attempted to obstruct any political group from holding legitimate activities, regardless of whether the person was a member of the Labour Party.

“I have since given a public directive, and I am repeating it here, that opposition parties should not be restricted from the use of public facilities, including the stadium, once they apply and obtain the necessary approvals,” Otti said.

“You do not have my mandate to attack people or to stop people from campaigning. Security agencies have been mandated to arrest and deal decisively with anyone who attempts to obstruct any political group from holding their legitimate activities, even if they are Labour Party members. I hope I am heard clearly,” he added.

The governor advised political actors to focus on issues and avoid personal attacks, urging them to sell their manifestos to the electorate.

He said Abia had moved beyond campaigning on the payment of salaries and pensions, road construction and urban sanitation, noting that those basic governance issues had been addressed.

“Do not forget that in Abia we have gone past the era of campaigning on the payment of salaries and pensions, construction of roads or urban sanitation.

“The hygiene issues have been dealt with. If you are unable to raise your campaign pitch to the development realities of our state, you will definitely struggle to convince any informed voter,” he said.

Otti cited Abia’s ranking in the Citizen Satisfaction Index and its performance in the State Performance Index and Fiscal Performance Ranking by governance-tracking institutions.

“You should go and do your research first before coming out to open your mouth, because there are data everywhere to show what has been achieved. Evidently, the world knows that Abia is on the right track,” he said.

He said the testimonies of millions of Abians at home and in the diaspora validated assessments by multilateral institutions that had opened development assistance pathways for the state.

“It would therefore be unthinkable that anyone will ever be allowed to return us to the old era of irresponsibility and misery,” Otti stated.

He thanked residents for turning out in large numbers for the campaign flag-off and urged supporters to take the campaign to every community.

“This is your project, and as you return to the communities, knock on every door and remind our people that we still have a job to complete. Invite them to join the campaign so that together we can conclude the journey that began 12 years ago in faith and optimism,” he added.