Alex Otti, the governor of Abia State, has stated that he wants younger people to assume leadership roles and that he does not plan to run for another political position after his term is up.

Otti made the comments while discussing the need to cultivate a new generation of leaders and the governance strategy of his administration.

Good governance, according to the governor, gives people a compelling reason to seek continuity and oppose a return to what he called the “Egypt” of the past.

“The most important thing you can give a people is good governance. And once people take good governance, it will be very difficult. You probably will need to kill them for them to allow you to take them back.

“So if you are afraid that we will go back to Egypt, it will never happen.”

Otti emphasised that he does not wish to become a political godfather and added that he was motivated to make sure his successor outperforms him.

“So what I can assure you is that by the time I’m done, the person that will succeed me will be better than me,” he said.

The governor added, “I don’t want to be a godfather. And I don’t tolerate godfathers.”

Regardless of the pressure involved in making such decisions, Otti says he is willing to turn down ideas that he feels won’t succeed.

He said, “If you bring something that does not work, I will say no. I’m not afraid to say no.”

He said the programme had recently graduated 1,080 young people between the ages of 16 and 25, describing them as smart and capable of taking over from the current generation.

“These are the people that will take over from us. And they are being trained now for tomorrow,” he said.

The governor said the process of selecting his successor should be based on merit rather than personal loyalty, adding that stakeholders would support the person considered most suitable for the job.

“But we will all sit down, look at everybody, and say who is the best person for this job. And everyone of us will agree,” Otti said