The Catholic Bishop of Aba Diocese, Most Rev. Augustine Ndubueze Echema, has said the work carried out by Abia State Governor Alex Otti will speak for him as the governor prepares for the 2027 election.
Bishop Echema made the statement on Sunday, September 20, 2026, during a thanksgiving Mass at Christ the King Cathedral in Aba to mark his 40th anniversary of priestly ordination.
While addressing Governor Otti at the event, the bishop said he was not campaigning for the governor but believed that the work already carried out by his administration would speak for itself.
“I am telling you, 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,” Echema said.
The bishop also described Otti as a man of integrity, saying his interactions with the governor had strengthened his view of the governor’s approach to commitments.
Echema’s remarks followed Otti’s response to a request from the Catholic Diocese of Aba concerning the construction of a retirement home for Catholic priests, bishops, reverend fathers and religious sisters.
Otti said he and private individuals and foundations had agreed to fund the proposed project, stressing that no Abia State Government funds would be used for its construction.
According to the governor, the Alex Otti Foundation, Unubiko Foundation, Ide John Udeagbara Foundation and other private individuals would support the project.
“We want to take that problem off you. We will fund it. So, work will start very soon,” Otti said.
The governor also congratulated Bishop Echema on completing 40 years in the priesthood and described him as a “rare gift to Nigeria.”
The event was attended by Catholic bishops and priests, members of the Abia State House of Assembly, government officials and other dignitaries, including the Archbishop of Owerri Ecclesiastical Province, Most Rev. Lucius Ugorji.
Bishop Echema had previously made similar remarks about Governor Otti during a Catholic Diocese of Aba event in June 2026, when he said the governor’s works would campaign for him and that nobody needed to campaign for him.
The latest comments come ahead of the 2027 elections and represent the bishop’s personal assessment of the governor’s record in Abia State. They should not be treated as an official endorsement by the Catholic Church as an institution.
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